Nasu
Eastern Yi
𖼐𖽨𖾑 𖼺𖽪𖾐
Nasu Yi script
Native to	China
Ethnicity	Nasu (Yi)
Native speakers	1.0 million (2007)[1]
Language family	Sino-Tibetan Tibeto-Burman Lolo-Burmese Loloish Nisoish Northern Loloish Nasoid Nasu
Writing system	Pollard script,Yi script
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Variously: ywq – Nasu (Wulu) ygp – Gepo (Köpu) yig – Wusa Nasu ywu – Wumeng Nasu
Glottolog	wudi1238  Wuding-Luquan Yi = Wulu gepo1234  Gepo nesu1235  Nesu = Wusa–Wumeng

TheNasu language, also known as theEastern Yi language or Naisu, Luquan Yi, Wuding Yi, Guizhou Yi, Weining Yi, Guangxi Yi or Longlin Yi, is aLoloish language spoken by theYi people ofChina. Nasu and Wusa are two of sixYi languages recognized by theGovernment of China. Unlike most written Yi languages, Nasu uses thePollard script. A distinct form of theYi script was traditionally used for Wusa, though few can still read it.

The Nasu language is also known as theBlack Yi language, but this name is no longer used.

According to theGuizhou Ethnic Gazetteer (2002),^[2] Yi autonyms include Nasu 哪苏,^[3] Tusu 兔苏,^[4] Lagou 腊勾,^[5] Guo 果,^[6] and so forth.

Most of Yi people of the Luquan area do not have the autonym Luoluo and Nasu (transliterated into Chinese as 纳苏) means "black", hence the Black Yi (黑彝 Hei Yi),^[7] though Black Yi is an aristocraticcaste distinction among the Yi People, and Black Yi Script (Heiyiwen) was a Latin script for Yi introduced by missionaries.^[8]

Chen, et al. (1985:108) recognizes 3 majorvarieties ofEastern Yi (i.e., Nasu) that are spoken inYunnan andGuizhou provinces, namelyDianqian 滇黔 (Yunnan-Guizhou),Pan 盘县 (Pan County ofGuizhou), andDiandongbei 滇东北 (Northeastern Yunnan).^[9]Autonyms includeno55su55 (alternativelynɤ55su13),na33su33pʰo55 (includingna33so33pʰo55,nɤ55su33pʰu55, andni55su33pʰu55),nɒ55pʰo55, andko33pʰo55.

• Dianqian 滇黔次方言: 4 dialects
  • Shuixi 水西土语: spoken inBijie,Qianxi,Dafang,Zhijin,Nayong,Qingzhen, andZhenxiong counties
  • Wusa 乌撒土语 (Yang Zhuang [yig]): spoken inWeining,Shuicheng,Hezhang,Nayong, Yiliang,Huize, andXuanwei counties
  • Mangbu 芒部土语: spoken inZhenxiong andHezhang counties
  • Wumeng 乌蒙土语 (Yang Zhuang [ywu]): spoken inZhaotong andYongshan
• Pan 盘县次方言: spoken inXingren,Pu'an,Qinglong,Shuicheng,Fuyuan, andLuoping counties
• Diandongbei 滇东北次方言: 5 dialects
  • Luquan 武禄土语: spoken inWuding,Luquan,Yuanmou,Xundian,Lufeng, andHuize counties
  • Qiaowu 巧武土语 (Qiaojia-Wuding): spoken inQiaojia,Wuding,Luquan,Yuanmou, andHuize counties
  • Wuding 武定土语: spoken inWuding,Yongren, andLufeng counties
  • Xundian 寻甸土语: spoken inXundian,Luquan,Huize,Songming,Luxi,Shizong,Luoping, andMile counties
  • Kun'an 昆安土语 (Kunming-Anning): spoken inAnning andLufeng counties

In his description of theYi script (not the spoken language), Huáng Jiànmíng (1993) holds that the Nasu variety of the Yi script is used by the groups speaking languages of the Nasu language cluster ofNorthern Yi in south-easternSìchuān, easternYúnnán,Gùizhōu, as well as inGuǎngxī.^[10] He distinguishes two sub-groups. Nasu proper used inWuding,Luquan, and the suburbs ofKunming, and Wusa used in Guizhou and the bordering areas of Eastern Yunnan.

David Bradley (1997) distinguishes three main dialects of Nasu:

• Southeastern (Panxian): 150,000 speakers in southwestern Guizhou
• Northeastern (Nesu): 300,000 speakers, comprising most of the other Nasu speakers of Guizhou, and some in extreme northeastern Yunnan and southeastern Sichuan
  • Shuixi subdialect 水西土语
  • Wusa subdialect 乌撒土语
  • Mangbu subdialect 芒部土语
  • Wumeng subdialect 乌蒙土语
• Western (Nasu proper): 250,000 speakers all in north-central Yunnan; Black (more numerous) and Red subdialects

Lama (2012) determined that Nasu (Western) is more closely related toGepo than it is to the others:

• Nesu
  • Panxian (Nasepho,na33su33pʰo55): North and South dialects
  • Shuixi Nesu (Dafang Nesu)
  • Nesu proper
    • Wumeng
    • Mangbu
    • Wusa (Wusa Nasu)
• Nasu
  • Nasu proper
  • Gepo (ko33pʰu44): 100,000 speakers

• The phonetic sound of /h/ is mainly heard as[ɦh].

There is distinction between tight-throat vowels and lax-throat (plain) vowels.

• Sounds/i,i̱/ are heard as syllabic consonants[z̩,ẕ̩] when following alveolar sounds/t͡s,t͡sʰ,d͡z,ⁿd͡zʱ,s,z/, and as syllabic retroflex[ʐ̩,ʐ̱̩] when following retroflex sounds/t͡ʂ,t͡ʂʰ,d͡ʐ,ᶯd͡ʐʱ,ʂ,ʐ/.
• The phonetic sounds of the rhoticized vowels/ə˞,ə̱˞/ are mainly heard as more back[ʌ˞,ʌ̱˞].^[11]

3 tones occur as follows:

• Nesu word list (Wiktionary; has comparisons with Nasu)

• Bradley, David (1997). "Tibeto-Burman languages and classification". InTibeto-Burman languages of the Himalayas, Papers in South East Asian linguistics. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
• Chen Kang [陈康]. 2010.A study of Yi dialects [彝语方言研究]. Beijing: China Minzu University Press.
• Lama, Ziwo Qiu-Fuyuan (2012),Subgrouping of Nisoic (Yi) Languages, thesis, University of Texas at Arlington.
• Lu Lin 卢琳. 2017. Yiyu Shuicheng Zhichanghua yanjiu 彝语水城纸厂话研究. InGuizhou Minzu Yanjiu 贵州民族研究.doi:10.13965/j.cnki.gzmzyj10026959.2017.11.048

• 283-word wordlist in Wuding Maojie Naisu dialect available fromKaipuleohone as well asword lists from other Nasu speakers

• Loloish languages
• Languages of Yunnan
• Languages of Guizhou
• Languages of Sichuan
• Languages of Guangxi

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• Language articles citing Ethnologue 18
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