The Zhuang languages (; autonym: Vahcuengh, , pre-1982: Vaƅcueŋƅ, Sawndip: 話僮, from vah, 'language' and Cuengh, 'Zhuang'; ) are the more than a dozen Tai languages spoken by the Zhuang people of Southern China in the province of Guangxi and adjacent parts of Yunnan and Guangdong. The Zhuang languages do not form a monophyletic linguistic unit, as northern and southern Zhuang languages are more closely related to other Tai languages than to each other. Northern Zhuang languages form a dialect continuum with Northern Tai varieties across the provincial border in Guizhou, which are designated as Bouyei language, whereas Southern Zhuang languages form another dialect continuum with Central Tai varieties such as Nung, Tay and Caolan language in Vietnam.[ p. 370.] Standard Zhuang is based on the Northern Zhuang dialect of Wuming County.
The Tai languages are believed to have been originally spoken in what is now southern China, with speakers of the Southwestern Tai languages (which include Thai language, Lao language and Shan language) having emigrated in the face of Chinese expansion.
Noting that both the Zhuang and Thai peoples have the same exonym for the Vietnamese, kɛɛuA1,[A1 designates a tone.] from the Chinese commandery of Jiaozhi in northern Vietnam, Jerold A. Edmondson posited that the split between Zhuang and the Southwestern Tai languages happened no earlier than the founding of Jiaozhi in 112 BC. He also argues that the departure of the Thai people from southern China must predate the 5th century AD, when the Tai who remained in China began to take family names.[ (see p. 15 of preprint)]
Surveys
[[File:Zhuang survey sites.svg|frame|center|Sites surveyed in Zhang (1999), subgrouped according to Pittayaporn (2009):
N,
M,
I,
C,
B,
F,
H,
L,
P
]]
Zhāng Jūnrú's (張均如)
Zhuàngyǔ Fāngyán Yánjiù (
壯語方言研究 A) is the most detailed study of Zhuang
dialectology published to date. It reports survey work carried out in the 1950s, and includes a 1465-word list covering 36 varieties of Zhuang. For the list of the 36 Zhuang variants below from Zhang (1999), the name of the region (usually county) is given first, followed by the specific village. The phylogenetic position of each variant follows that of Pittayaporn (2009)
(see
Tai languages#Pittayaporn (2009)).
-
Wuming County – Shuāngqiáo 雙橋 – Subgroup M
-
Heng County – Nàxù 那旭 – Subgroup N
-
Yongning (North) – Wǔtáng 五塘 – Subgroup N
-
Pingguo County – Xīnxū 新圩 – Subgroup N
-
Tiandong County – Héhéng 合恒 – Subgroup N
-
Tianlin County – Lìzhōu 利周 – Subgroup N
-
Lingyun County – Sìchéng 泗城 – Subgroup N
-
Guangnan County (Shā people 沙族) – Zhěméng Township 者孟鄉 – Subgroup N
-
Qiubei County – Gēhán Township 戈寒鄉 – Subgroup N
-
Liujiang County – Bǎipéng 百朋 – Subgroup N
-
Yishan – Luòdōng 洛東 – Subgroup N
-
Huanjiang – Chéngguǎn 城管 – Subgroup N
-
Rong'an – Ānzì 安治 – Subgroup N
-
Longsheng – Rìxīn 日新 – Subgroup N
-
Hechi – Sānqū 三區 – Subgroup N
-
Nandan County – Méma 麼麻 – Subgroup N
-
Donglan County – Chéngxiāng 城廂 – Subgroup N
-
Du'an – Liùlǐ 六里 – Subgroup N
-
Shanglin County – Dàfēng 大豐 – Subgroup N
-
Laibin – Sìjiǎo 寺腳 – Subgroup N
-
Guigang – Shānběi 山北 – Subgroup N
-
Lianshan – Xiǎosānjiāng 小三江 – Subgroup N
-
Qinzhou – Nàhé Township 那河鄉 – Subgroup I
-
Yongning (South) – Xiàfāng Township 下枋鄉 – Subgroup M
-
Long'an – Xiǎolín Township 小林鄉 – Subgroup M
-
Fusui County (Central) – Dàtáng Township 大塘鄉 – Subgroup M
-
Shangsi County – Jiàodīng Township 叫丁鄉 – Subgroup C
-
Chongzuo – Fùlù Township 福鹿鄉 – Subgroup C
-
Ningming County – Fēnghuáng Township 鳳璜鄉 – Subgroup B
-
Longzhou County – Bīnqiáo Township 彬橋鄉 – Subgroup F
-
Daxin County – Hòuyì Township 後益鄉 – Subgroup H
-
Debao County – Yuándì'èrqū 原第二區 – Subgroup L
-
Jingxi County – Xīnhé Township 新和鄉 – Subgroup L
-
Guangnan County (Nóng people 儂族) – Xiǎoguǎngnán Township 小廣南鄉 – Subgroup L
-
Yanshan (Nóng people 儂族) – Kuāxī Township 誇西鄉 – Subgroup L
-
Wenshan City (Tǔ people 土族) – Hēimò Township 黑末鄉大寨, Dàzhài – Subgroup P
Varieties
The Zhuang language (or language group) has been divided by Chinese linguists into northern and southern "dialects" (fāngyán 方言 in Chinese), each of which has been divided into a number of vernacular varieties (known as
tǔyǔ 土語 in Chinese) by Chinese linguists (Zhang & Wei 1997; Zhang 1999:29-30).
[Zhang Yuansheng and Wei Xingyun. 1997. "Regional variants and vernaculars in Zhuang." In Jerold A. Edmondson and David B. Solnit (eds.), Comparative Kadai: The Tai branch, 77–96. Publications in Linguistics, 124. Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics and the University of Texas at Arlington. .] The
Wuming County dialect of Yongbei Zhuang, classified within the "Northern Zhuang dialect", is considered to be the "standard" or
prestige dialect of Zhuang, developed by the government for certain official usages. Although Southern Zhuang varieties have aspirated stops, Northern Zhuang varieties lack them.
There are over 60 distinct tonal systems with 5–11 tones depending on the variety.
Zhang (1999) identified 13 Zhuang varieties.
Later research by the Summer Institute of Linguistics has indicated that some of these are themselves multiple languages that are not mutually intelligible without previous exposure on the part of speakers, resulting in 16 separate ISO 639-3 codes.
Northern Zhuang
Northern Zhuang comprises dialects north of the Yong River, with 8,572,200 speakers
( prior to 2007):
-
Guibei 桂北 (1,290,000 speakers): Luocheng, Huanjiang, Rongshui, Rong'an, Sanjiang, Yongfu County, Longsheng, Hechi, Nandan County, Tian'e, Donglan County ( )
-
Liujiang 柳江 (1,297,000 speakers): Liujiang, North Laibin, Yishan County, Liucheng County, Xincheng County ( )
-
Hongshui He 紅水河 (2,823,000 speakers): South Laibin, Du'an, Mashan County, Shilong, Guixian, Luzhai County, Lipu, Yangshuo County. Castro and Hansen (2010) distinguished three mutually unintelligible varieties: Central Hongshuihe ( ), Eastern Hongshuihe ( ) and Liuqian ( ).
-
Yongbei 邕北 (1,448,000 speakers): North Yongning, Wuming County (prestige dialect), Binyang County, Hengxian, Pingguo ( )
-
Youjiang 右江 (732,000 speakers): Tiandong, Tianyang, and parts of the Baise City area; all along the Youjiang River basin area ( )
-
Guibian 桂邊 (Yei Zhuang; 827,000 speakers): Fengshan County, Lingyun County, Tianlin County, Longlin, North Guangnan County (Yunnan) ( )
-
Qiubei 丘北 (Yei Zhuang; 122,000 speakers): Qiubei County area (Yunnan) ( )
-
Lianshan 連山 (33,200 speakers): Lianshan (Guangdong), North Huaiji County (Guangdong) ( )
Eastern Guangxi
In east-central Guangxi, there are isolated pockets of Northern Zhuang speakers in
Zhongshan County (14,200 Zhuang people),
Pingle County (2,100 Zhuang people),
Zhaoping County (4,300 Zhuang people),
Mengshan County (about 5,000 Zhuang people), and
Hezhou (about 3,000 Zhuang people) counties. These include the following varieties named after administrative villages that are documented by Wei (2017).
[Wei, Mingying 韦名应. 2017. Guidong Zhuangyu yuyin yanjiu 桂东壮语语音研究. Beijing: Minzu chubanshe 民族出版社. .]
-
Lugang Village 蘆崗村, Etang Town 鵝塘鎮, Pinggui District 平桂區, Hezhou 賀縣
-
Qishan Village 啟善村, Yuantou Town 源頭鎮, Pingle County
-
Xiping Village 西坪村, Zouma Township 走馬鄉, Zhaoping County
-
Xie Village 謝村, Xinxu Town 新圩鎮, Mengshan County
-
Nitang Village 坭塘村, Yuantou Town 源頭鎮, Pingle County
-
Linyan Village 林岩村, Qingtang Town 清塘鎮, Zhongshan County
Southern Zhuang
Southern Zhuang dialects are spoken south of the Yong River, with 4,232,000 speakers
( prior to 2007):
-
Yongnan 邕南 (1,466,000 speakers): South Yongning, Central and North Fusui County, Long'an, Jinzhou, Shangse, Chongzuo areas ( )
-
Zuojiang 左江 (1,384,000 speakers): Longzhou County (Longjin), Daxin County, Tiandeng County, Ningming County; Zuojiang River basin area ( )
-
Dejing 得靖 (979,000 speakers): Jingxi, Debao County, Mubian, Napo County. Jackson, Jackson and Lau (2012) distinguished two mutually unintelligible varieties: Yang Zhuang ( ) and Min Zhuang ( )
[.]
-
Yanguang 硯廣 (Nong Zhuang; 308,000 speakers): South Guangnan County (Yunnan), Yanshan District area ( )
-
Wenma 文麻 (Dai Zhuang; 95,000 speakers): Wenshan (Yunnan), Malipo County, Guibian ( )
The Tày and Nùng language complex in Vietnam is also considered one of the varieties of Central Tai and shares a high mutual intelligibility with Wenshan Dai and other Southern Zhuang dialects in Guangxi. The Nùng An language has a mixture of Northern and Central Tai features.
Recently described varieties
Johnson (2011) distinguishes four distinct Zhuang languages in Wenshan Prefecture,
Yunnan: Nong Zhuang, Yei Zhuang, Dai Zhuang, and Min Zhuang, all of which are Southern Zhuang varieties except for Yei Zhuang, which is Northern Zhuang.
Min Zhuang is a recently discovered Southern Zhuang variety that has never been described previous to Johnson (2011). (
See also Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture#Ethnic groups)
Pyang Zhuang and Myang Zhuang are recently described Southern Zhuang (Central Tai) languages spoken in Debao County, Guangxi, China.
Writing systems
The Zhuang languages have been written in the ancient
sawndip script for over a thousand years, possibly preceded by the
sawgoek script.
Sawndip is based on Chinese characters, similar to Vietnamese
chữ Nôm. Some
sawndip logograms were directly borrowed from Han characters, whereas others were created locally from components of Chinese characters. It has been used for writing songs, and more recently in public communications encouraging people to follow official family planning policy.
There has also been the occasional use of a number of other scripts, including pictographic proto-writing.
In 1957, a hybrid script based on the Latin script and expanded with Cyrillic- and IPA-derived letters was introduced to write Standard Zhuang. In 1982, it was updated to use only Latin letters. These are referred to as the "old" and "new" Zhuang, respectively. Bouyei language is written in Latin script.
1957 Alphabet
Consonants
B b D d G g C c By by Ƃ ƃ Ƌ ƌ Gv gv Y y Gy gy
M m N n Ŋ ŋ Ny ny My my F f S s H h Ŋv ŋv
V v L l R r
Vowels
A a I i U u E e O o Ɵ ɵ Ə ə Ɯ ɯ
Tone letters
Ƨ ƨ Ɜ ɜ Ч ч Ƽ ƽ Ƅ ƅ
1982 Alphabet
Consonants
B b D d G g C c By by Mb mb Nd nd Gv gv Y y
Gy gy M m N n Ng ng Ny ny My my F f S s H h
Ngv ngv V v L l R r
Vowels
A a I i U u E e O o Oe oe (from Ɵ) Ae ae (from Ə) W w (from Ɯ)
Tone letters
Z z J j X x Q q H h
See also
Bibliography
External links