| Nuoxi Yao | |
|---|---|
| Native to | China |
| Region | Hunan |
Native speakers | 2,500 (2015)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
| Glottolog | naxi1247 |
Nuoxi Yao (Chinese:𦰡溪瑶话), orNuoxihua 𦰡溪话, is aKam–Sui language of Nuoxi Township,Dongkou County, Hunan Province, China. Even though they are classified as ethnicYao people by the Chinese government, the Nuoxi Yao speak aKam–Sui language closely related toDong. Shi (2015:132) considers Nuoxi Yao to have split off from Dong about 600 years.
The Nuoxi Yao call themselves theɲiu1[2] (Shi 2015:107) ormu2ɲiu1 (Shi 2015:125), and refer to their own language askin1 (Shi 2015:107). The town of Nuoxi (the first syllable is pronouncednuó in Mandarin (Shi 2015:107)) is pronounced in the local Hunanese dialect aslo2ȶʰi1.
Shi (2015:107) estimates a total of 2,500 speakers and 5,000 ethnic Yao in Nuoxi Township. According to theShaoyang Prefecture Gazetteer (1997), language varieties closely related to Southern Kam are spoken in Nuoxi,Dongkou County (which had 4,280 ethnic Yao in 1982 (Chen 2013:39)) and Lianmin,Suining County.
TheSuining County Gazetteer [绥宁县志] (1997) documents the variety of Lianmin Yao as spoken in Xiaohuang, Tianluoxuan Village, Lianmin Ethnic Miao and Yao Township,Suining County, Hunan Province, China. It is closely related to Nuoxi Yao.
Chen Qiguang (2013:39)[3] reports that the ancestors ofNuoxihua speakers had migrated to their current location fromTianzhu,Liping, andYuping counties of southeastern Guizhou during the early 15th century. According to Shi Lin (2015:126), the Nuoxi Yao had migrated from Gaoyi Township,Huitong County, Hunan Province in 1403.