| Qiangic | |
|---|---|
| Rmaic | |
| Geographic distribution | China |
| Linguistic classification | Sino-Tibetan
|
| Subdivisions | |
| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | naqi1236 (Na–Qiangic)qian1263 (Qiangic) |
.png) Map of eastern Tibet; Qiangic languages are spoken in the green area. | |
Qiangic (Chʻiang, Kyang, Tsiang, Chinese: 羌語支, "Qiang language group"; alsoRmaic,[1] formerly known asDzorgaic) is a group of related languages within theSino-Tibetan language family. They are spoken mainly inSouthwest China, includingSichuan and northernYunnan. Most Qiangic languages are distributed in theprefectures ofNgawa,Garzê,Ya'an andLiangshan in Sichuan with some in NorthernYunnan as well.
Qiangic speakers are variously classified as part of theQiang,Tibetan,Pumi,Nakhi, andMongol ethnic groups by thePeople's Republic of China.
TheextinctTangut language of theWestern Xia is considered to be Qiangic by some linguists, including Matisoff (2004).[2] The undecipheredNam language of China may possibly be related to Qiangic.
Lamo,Larong andDrag-yab, or theChamdo languages, a group of three closely related Sino-Tibetan languages spoken inChamdo, EasternTibet, may or may not be Qiangic.[3][4][5]
Sun Hongkai (1983)[6] proposes two branches, northern and southern:
Sun groups other, poorly described Qiangic languages as:
Matisoff (2004)[2] states thatJiarongic is an additional branch:
Matisoff (2004) describesProto-Tibeto-Burman *-a > -i as a typical sound change in many Qiangic languages, and refers to this vowel heightening as "brightening." Yu (2012)[7] also notes that "brightening" is a defining innovation in Proto-Ersuic, the reconstructed ancestor of theErsuic languages.
Thurgood and La Polla (2003) state that the inclusion of Qiang,Prinmi, andMuya is well supported, but that they do not follow Sun's argument for the inclusion of Tangut. Matisoff (2004), however, claims Tangut demonstrates a clear relationship.[8] The unclassified languageBaima may also be Qiangic or may retain a Qiangic substratum after speakers shifted to Tibetan.[9]
Some other lesser-known, unclassified Qiangic peoples and languages include the following:[10]
Sun Hongkai (2001)[16] groups the Qiangic languages are follows.
Guillaume Jacques &Alexis Michaud (2011)[17] argue for a Na–Qiangic branch which itself forms aBurmo-Qiangic branch together withLolo–Burmese. Na–Qiangic comprises three primary branches, which are Ersuish (or Ersuic),Naic (or Naxish), and [core] Qiangic. Similarly,David Bradley (2008)[18] also proposed an Eastern Tibeto-Burman branch that includes Burmic (a.k.a.Lolo-Burmese) and Qiangic. The position ofGuiqiong is not addressed.
However, Chirkova (2012) casts doubt on the validity of Qiangic as a coherent branch, instead considering Qiangic to be a diffusion area. She considers the following four languages to be part of four separate Tibeto-Burman branches:[19]
BothShixing andNamuzi are both classified asNaic (Naxi) by Jacques & Michaud (2011), but Naic would not be a valid genetic unit in Chirkova's classification scheme since Shixing and Namuzi are considered by Chirkova to not be part of a single branch.
Yu (2012:218)[7] notes thatErsuic andNaish languages share some forms that are not found in Lolo-Burmese or "core" Qiangic (Qiang,Prinmi, andMinyak). As a result, "Southern Qiangic" (Ersuic,Namuyi, andShixing) may be closer to Naish than it is to "core" Qiangic. Together, Southern Qiangic and Naish could form a wider "Naic" group that has links to both Lolo-Burmese to the south and other Qiangic languages to the north.
Shafer (1955) and other accounts of the Dzorgaic/Ch'iang branch[20] preserve the namesDzorgai, Kortsè, Thochu, Outer/Outside Man-tze, Pingfang from the turn of the century. The first three were Northern Qiang, and Outside Mantse was Southern Qiang.[21]
When Jiarongic is included as a branch of Qiangic, but distinct from the non-Jiarongic languages, the label "Dzorgaic" may be used forQiang proper.
Hsi-fan (Xifan) is an ethnic name, meaning essentially 'Tibetan'; the people speak Qiangic or Jiarongic languages such as Qiang, Ergong/Horpa, Ersu, Guiqiong, Shixing, Zhaba, Namuyi, Muya/Minyak, and Jiarong, but not Naxi/Moso, Pumi, or Tangut. The term has not been much used since language surveys of the 1980s resulted in sufficient data for classification.
Qiangic languages are spoken mainly in westernSichuan and northwesternYunnan provinces of China. Sun Hongkai (2013) lists the followingwatersheds (riverine systems) and the respective Qiangic languages spoken there.[12]
Sino-Tibetan branches | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WesternHimalayas (Himachal, Uttarakhand,Nepal,Sikkim) |
|  | |||
| EasternHimalayas (Tibet,Bhutan,Arunachal) | |||||
| Myanmar and Indo- Burmese border |
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| East andSoutheast Asia |
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| Dubious (possible isolates,Arunachal) |
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| Proposed groupings | |||||
| Proto-languages | |||||
Italics indicates single languages that are also considered to be separate branches. | |||||
