| Yei Zhuang | |
|---|---|
| Buyue[1] | |
| Pronunciation | [pu˨jai˩˧] |
| Native to | China |
| Region | Wenshan Prefecture,Yunnan; westernGuangxi |
| Ethnicity | Sha |
Native speakers | 1 million (2007)[2] |
Kra–Dai
| |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Either:zgn – Guibian Zhuangzqe – Qiubei Zhuang |
| Glottolog | guib1244 Guibianqiub1238 Qiubei |
Yei Zhuang is aNorthern Tai language complex spoken inWenshan Prefecture,Yunnan,China. Its speakers are also known as theSha (沙族), a subgroup of theZhuang.
InYunnan, Yei Zhuang dialects are spoken inFuning andGuangnan counties (also inGuangxi to the east and north), as well asQiubei (probably also inQujing Municipality to the north). The largest concentrations of Yei Zhuang speakers are found in Qiubei (80% of total Zhuang population) and Funing (50% of total Zhuang population) counties (Johnson 2011a:43).
Po-ai, aTai language of Funing County described byFang-kuei Li in the mid-1900s, was determined by Johnson (2011b) to be a Yei Zhuang dialect.
Below are various names (bothautonyms and exonyms) for speakers of Yei Zhuang (Johnson 2011a:43).
Many of these are names ofBouyei as well.
There are nopalatalized consonants inQiubei Zhuang. /pj/ instandard Zhuang is /p/, as in /pja1/ "fish", pjak7 "vegetable" is /pa/1, /pak/7.[3] /mj/ is m or n，for example mjaːk3 "slippery", mjaːi2 "saliva" as /ma6/, /naːi2/. /kj/ is merged into k or t，for example kjaːŋ1 "middle", kja4(orphan) is /kaːŋ3/, /tsa4/. Theconsonant k before i, e is changed to ts, for instance ki3 "several", kiːŋ2 (triangular cooker),[clarification needed] ke5 "old" as /tʃi1/, /tʃiːŋ2/, /tʃes/.