| Wutun | |
|---|---|
| Ngandehua | |
| Native to | China |
| Region | Qinghai province, mainly inTongren County |
| Ethnicity | Tibetans |
Native speakers | 4,000 (2016)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | wuh |
| Glottolog | wutu1241 |
| ELP | Wutunhua |
TheWutun language (Chinese:五屯话;pinyin:Wǔtúnhuà) is aMandarin–Amdo–Bonancreole language. It is spoken by about 4,000 people, most of whom are classified asMonguor (Tu) by the Chinese government. Wutun speakers reside in two villages (Upper Wutun 上五屯 and Lower Wutun 下五屯) ofTongren County, easternQinghai province,China.[2][3] It is also known as the Ngandehua language.[4]
The two Wutun villages, as well as other villages in the area, were under the control of a Mongol banner for several centuries, and have long been regarded by governments as members of a Mongol ethnic group. However, they self-identify asTibetans.[3]
A number of theories have been proposed about the origin of the Wutun villagers, and their peculiar dialect. The Chinese linguist Chen Naixiong infers from the vowel distribution of the Chinese lexical items in Wutun speech that their ancestors may have spoken an oldNanjing dialect. Others think that they may have been a group ofHui people (Chinese-speaking Muslims) fromSichuan who, for reasons unknown, converted toTibetan Buddhism and moved to easternQinghai. In any event, historical documents as old as 1585 attest to the existence of the Wutun community.[3]
Today's Wutun villagers do not speak Chinese, but the knowledge of Tibetan is common both in Wutun and inTongren County in general, as the Tibetan language is thelingua franca of this multiethnic region, which is populated byTibetans andHui people, as well as someHan Chinese and Mongols.[3]
Erika Sandman said Wutun speakers most likely descend from Mongol and Tibetan women marrying newly settled Chinese soldiers in the 14th century.[5][1]
The following table shows the consonants of Wutun.[1]
| Labial | Dental | Retroflex | Alveo-palatal | Palatal | Velar | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m⟨m⟩ | n⟨n⟩ | ŋ⟨ng⟩ | ||||
| Plosive | aspirated | pʰ⟨p⟩ | tʰ⟨t⟩ | kʰ⟨k⟩ | |||
| voiceless | p⟨b⟩ | t⟨d⟩ | k⟨g⟩ | ||||
| voiced | b⟨bb⟩ | d⟨dd⟩ | g⟨gg⟩ | ||||
| Affricate | aspirated | t͡sʰ⟨c⟩ | ʈ͡ʂʰ⟨ch⟩ | t͡ɕʰ⟨q⟩ | c͡çʰ⟨qh⟩ | ||
| voiceless | t͡s⟨z⟩ | ʈ͡ʂ⟨zh⟩ | t͡ɕ⟨j⟩ | c͡ç⟨jh⟩ | |||
| voiced | d͡z⟨zz⟩ | ɖ͡ʐ⟨zzh⟩ | d͡ʑ⟨jj⟩ | ɟ͡ʝ⟨jjh⟩ | |||
| Fricative | voiceless | f⟨f⟩ | sʰ⟨s⟩ | ʂʰ⟨sh⟩ | ɕ⟨x⟩ | x ~h⟨h⟩ | |
| voiced | z⟨ss⟩ | ʑ⟨xx⟩ | ɣ ~ʁ⟨gh⟩ | ||||
| Liquid | voiceless | ɬ⟨lh⟩ | |||||
| voiced | l⟨l⟩ | ɻ⟨r⟩ | |||||
| Glide | w⟨w⟩ | j⟨y⟩ | ɧ⟨xh⟩ | ||||
Wutun consists of six basic vowels, /a e i o u ə/ which are influenced to some extent by their consonantal environment.[1] For instance, vowels are velarized [ˠ] before "k", as in "ek" [əˠ] 'two' or "maidok" [metoˠ] 'flower'.
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i⟨i⟩ | u⟨u⟩ | |
| Long | iː⟨ii⟩ | uː⟨uu⟩ | |
| Close-Mid | e⟨ai⟩ | ə⟨e⟩ | o⟨o⟩ |
| Open | a ~ɑ⟨a⟩ | ||
The Wutun grammar derives fromAmdo Tibetan. There is also aBonan influence.[3]
The greatest portion of Wutun lexical items is Chinese (but with their tones lost); a smaller one, fromAmdo Tibetan, the local lingua franca; and an even smaller element comes from theBonan Mongolian language.[3]
International Council for Philosophy and Humanistic Studies, North China: Intercultural communications involving languages other than Chinese
International Council for Philosophy and Humanistic Studies, North China: Intercultural communications involving languages other than Chinese