Sanie (autonym:sɑ21ɲɛ21 orsɑ21ŋʷɛ21) is aLoloish language ofYunnan, China. It is similar toSamataw. There were 17,320 ethnic Sanie in 1998, but only about 8,000 spoke the Sanie language fluently. The Sanie are also known as theWhite Yi (白彝) (Bradley 1997).
A Saniepinyin orthography had also been developed recently (Bradley 2005).
Ngwi, David Bradley's reconstruction for the autonym ofLoloish speakers, is based on the Sanie autonymsɑ21ŋʷɛ21 (also pronouncedsɑ21ɲɛ21 by some speakers) (Bradley 2005). Proto-Ngwi *ŋw- changed intoɲ- orn- in most modernLoloish languages.
Bradley (2005) reports significant variation in the Sanie language, and briefly compares the following 6 dialects.
East: Zhaozong 昭宗 (also in Huahongyuan and Yuhua)
Southeast: Chejiabi 车家壁 (also in Shiju)
Northeast: Gulu 古律
North: Qinghe 清河
Northwest: Luomian 罗免
Southwest: Tuoji 妥吉
Bradley (2005) notes that the Sanie varieties spoken in the plains ofXishan District in Heilingpu, Zhaozong, and Biji Townships are particularly conservative. The East and Southeast dialects are particularly conservative in that they preserve Proto-Loloish labiovelars; the speakers call themselves thesɑ˨˩ŋʷi˨˩.
Northwest ofKunming, Sanie is locally known asMinglang 明廊, and it is sometimes classified as aSani dialect. It is spoken inWuding County (Lower Lemei Village 下乐美[3] of Chadian Township 插甸乡, and Tianxin Village 田心[4] of Gaoqiao Township 高桥镇) and Maoshan Township 茂山乡,Luquan County; it is probably also spoken inFumin County.[5][6] Gao (2017)[7] reports high intermarriage rates between the Minglang and other neighboring ethnic groups.
Sanie is spoken in 76 villages, 3 of which are mixed withNasu (Bradley 2005). 58 of these villages are inXishan District, 13 in southwesternFumin County, and 5 in northwesternAnning County.
