| Xong | |
|---|---|
| Xiangxi Miao | |
| Dut Xonb | |
| Pronunciation | [tu˥˧ɕõ˧˥] |
| Native to | China |
| Region | Hunan,Guizhou,Hubei,Guangxi andChongqing |
| Ethnicity | Qo Xiong |
Native speakers | ~900,000 (2005)[1] |
Hmong–Mien
| |
| Dialects |
|
| Latin | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Either:mmr – Western Xiangxi Miaomuq – Eastern Xiangxi Miao |
| Glottolog | nort2748 |
TheXong language (Dut Xonb[tu53ɕõ35])[2] is the northernmostHmongic language, spoken in south-central China by around 0.9 million people. It is calledXiangxi Miaoyu (湘西苗语, "Western Hunan Miao") in Chinese, as well asEastern Miao (东部苗语). In Western sources, it has been calledMeo,Red Miao, andNorth Hmongic.[3] An official alphabet was adopted in 1956.
Xong is spoken mainly inHunan province, but also in a few areas ofGuizhou andHubei provinces,Guangxi, andChongqing municipality in China. Xong-speaking communities, by county, are:[4]
Xong was classified in its own branch of the Hmongic family in Strecker (1987). Xiang (1999)[4] divided Xong into western and eastern dialects. Matisoff (2001) considered these to be two distinct languages, but Matisoff (2006) consolidated them into one. Yang (2004)[6] divides each of these dialects into three subdialects, as listed below. Speaker populations and locations are from Li and Li (2012).[7]
He Fuling (2009) describes a western Qo Xiong dialect of Gouliang Ethnic Miao Village, Ala Township,Fenghuang County (凤凰县阿拉镇勾良苗寨).
Chen (2009)[8] describes a western Qo Xiong dialect of Daxing Town 大兴镇,Songtao County, Guizhou.
A written standard based on the Western dialect in Làyǐpíng (腊乙坪) village and Jíwèi (吉卫) town,Huāyuán county,Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture was established in 1956.
| Front | Central | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | ɯ | u | |
| Mid | e | ɤ | o | |
| Open-mid | ɛ | ɔ | ||
| Open | a | ɑ | ||
| p | ⟨b⟩ | pʰ | ⟨p⟩ | ᵐp | ⟨nb⟩ | mpʰ | ⟨np⟩ | m | ⟨m⟩ | m̥ʰ | ⟨hm⟩ | ||
| pʴ | ⟨bl⟩ | pɹʰ | ⟨pl⟩ | mpɹʰ | ⟨npl⟩ | mʴ | ⟨ml⟩ | ||||||
| t | ⟨d⟩ | tʰ | ⟨t⟩ | ⁿt | ⟨nd⟩ | ntʰ | ⟨nt⟩ | l̥ʰ | ⟨hl⟩ | n | ⟨n⟩ | n̥ʰ | ⟨hn⟩ |
| ts | ⟨z⟩ | tsʰ | ⟨c⟩ | ⁿts | ⟨nz⟩ | ntsʰ | ⟨nc⟩ | s | ⟨s⟩ | f | ⟨f⟩ | ||
| tɕ | ⟨j⟩ | tɕʰ | ⟨q⟩ | ᶮtɕ | ⟨nj⟩ | ntɕʰ | ⟨nq⟩ | ɕ | ⟨x⟩ | ʑ | ⟨y⟩ | ||
| ʈ | ⟨zh⟩ | ʈʰ | ⟨ch⟩ | ᶯʈ | ⟨nzh⟩ | ɳʈʰ | ⟨nch⟩ | ʂ | ⟨sh⟩ | ʐ | ⟨r⟩ | ɳ | ⟨nh⟩ |
| k | ⟨g⟩ | kʰ | ⟨k⟩ | ᵑk | ⟨ngg⟩ | ŋkʰ | ⟨nk⟩ | ||||||
| q | ⟨gh⟩ | qʰ | ⟨kh⟩ | ᶰq | ⟨ngh⟩ | ɴqʰ | ⟨nkh⟩ | ||||||
| w | ⟨w⟩ | h | ⟨h⟩ | ||||||||||
| i | ⟨i⟩ | u | ⟨u⟩ | ||
| iu | ⟨iu⟩ | ||||
| ɑ | ⟨a⟩ | iɑ | ⟨ia⟩ | uɑ | ⟨ua⟩ |
| o | ⟨o⟩ | io | ⟨io⟩ | ||
| e | ⟨e⟩ | ie | ⟨ie⟩ | ue | ⟨ue⟩ |
| ei | ⟨ei⟩ | uei | ⟨ui⟩ | ||
| a | ⟨ea⟩ | ia | ⟨iea⟩ | ua | ⟨uea⟩ |
| ɔ | ⟨ao⟩ | iɔ | ⟨iao⟩ | ||
| ɤ | ⟨eu⟩ | iɤ | ⟨ieu⟩ | uɤ | ⟨ueu⟩ |
| ɯ | ⟨ou⟩ | iɯ | ⟨iou⟩ | uɯ | ⟨uou⟩ |
| ɛ | ⟨an⟩ | iɛ | ⟨ian⟩ | uɛ | ⟨uan⟩ |
| en | ⟨en⟩ | ien | ⟨in⟩ | uen | ⟨un⟩ |
| ɑŋ | ⟨ang⟩ | iɑŋ | ⟨iang⟩ | uɑŋ | ⟨uang⟩ |
| oŋ | ⟨ong⟩ | ioŋ | ⟨iong⟩ |
| Tone | IPA | Letter |
|---|---|---|
| high rising, 45 | ˦˥ | ⟨b⟩ |
| low falling, 21 | ˨˩ | ⟨x⟩ |
| high, 4 | ˦ | ⟨d⟩ |
| low, 2 | ˨ | ⟨l⟩ |
| high falling, 53 | ˥˧ | ⟨t⟩ |
| falling, 42 | ˦˨ | ⟨s⟩ |