| Kyirong | |
|---|---|
| |
| स्युबा | |
| Region | Tibet |
Native speakers | 100 (2002)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | kgy |
| Glottolog | kyer1238 Kyerung |
Kyirong is a language from the subgroup ofTibetic languages[2] spoken in theGyirong County of theShigatse prefecture, of theTibetan Autonomous Region.
Kyirong haslexical tone, with a three-tone system.[3]
There is a varying degree of mutual intelligibility between Kyirong and otherKyirong-Yolmo varieties. It is most closely related to the Nubri and Gyalsomdo languages,[4] and more distantly related to other languages in the family.[5]
There are 36 consonants in Kyirong, which are summarized in the table below.[3]
| Bilabial | Apico-Dental | Retroflex | Lamino- post-alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |||||
| Plosive/ Affricate | voiceless | p | t | ts | ʈ | tɕ | c | k | |
| aspirated | pʰ | tʰ | tsʰ | ʈʰ | tɕʰ | cʰ | kʰ | ||
| voiced | b | d | dz | ɖ | dʑ | ɟ | ɡ | ||
| Fricative | voiceless | s | ɕ | h | |||||
| voiced | z | ʑ | ɦ | ||||||
| Liquid | rhotic | r | |||||||
| voiced lateral | l | ||||||||
| unvoiced lateral | ɬ | ||||||||
| Semivowel | w | j | |||||||
There are eight places of articulation for vowels. There is a length distinction at each place of articulation, as well as a long nasalised vowel.[3]
| Front | Central | Back | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | oral | i iː | y yː | u uː | |
| nasal | ĩː | ỹː | ũː | ||
| Half-close | oral | e eː | ø øː | ||
| nasal | ẽː | ø̃ː | |||
| Half-open | oral | ɛ ɛː | ɔ ɔː | ||
| nasal | ɛ̃ː | ɔ̃ː | |||
| Open | oral | a aː | |||
| nasal | ãː | ||||
Kyriong has a three tone system; high, medium and low. Low tone is often accompanied by breathy voice.[3]