Mienic languages
Encyclopedia
The Mienic languages are spoken by the Yao people
of China
, Vietnam
, Laos
, and Thailand
.
(2010:3).
Matisoff
2001 proposed the following:
Yao people
The Yao nationality is a government classification for various minorities in China. They form one of the 55 ethnic minority groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China, where they reside in the mountainous terrain of the southwest and south...
of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, and Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
.
Classification
Mienic is one of the primary branches of the Hmong–Mien language family, with the other being Hmongic. The classification below is from Martha RatliffMartha Ratliff
Martha Ratliff is a leading specialist in Hmong–Mien languages and professor at Wayne State University. She is also well known for her recent reconstruction of the Proto-Hmong–Mien language.-External links:*...
(2010:3).
- Mienic
- Iu MienIu Mien languageThe Iu Mien language is one of the main languages spoken by the Yao people in China, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and more recently the United States, in diaspora. There are about 2,172,000 speakers in total, according to census data in 2000 from China, Vietnam, Thai, Laos, United States of America,...
, 2,172,000 speakers - Kim MunKim Mun languageKim Mun language , known as Lowland Yao , is a Hmong–Mien language spoken by the Pingdi Yao, one of the Yao peoples in the provinces of Guangxi and Hunan.Iu Mien and Kim Mun are very similar to each other, sharing 78% of words....
, 300,000 speakers - Biao Min, 43,000 speakers
- Dzao Min, 60,000 speakers
- Iu Mien
Matisoff
James Matisoff
James A. Matisoff is a professor emeritus of Linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley and noted authority on Tibeto-Burman languages and other languages of mainland Southeast Asia....
2001 proposed the following:
- Mienic (Yao)
- Biao–Jiao:
- Biao Min
- Chao Kong Meng
- Moxi
- Mian–Jin:
- Biao Mon
- Iu MienIu Mien languageThe Iu Mien language is one of the main languages spoken by the Yao people in China, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and more recently the United States, in diaspora. There are about 2,172,000 speakers in total, according to census data in 2000 from China, Vietnam, Thai, Laos, United States of America,...
- Kim MunKim Mun languageKim Mun language , known as Lowland Yao , is a Hmong–Mien language spoken by the Pingdi Yao, one of the Yao peoples in the provinces of Guangxi and Hunan.Iu Mien and Kim Mun are very similar to each other, sharing 78% of words....
- Zaomin: Dzao Min
- Biao–Jiao: