Wa (Va) is an Austroasiatic language spoken by the

Wa people The Wa people ( Wa: Vāx; my, ဝလူမျိုး, ; ; th, ว้า) are a Southeast Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in Northern Myanmar, in the northern part of Shan State and the eastern part of Kachin State, near and along Myan ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. There are three distinct varieties, sometimes considered separate languages; their names in ''Ethnologue'' are Parauk, the majority and standard form; Vo ( Zhenkang Wa, 40,000 speakers) and Awa (100,000 speakers), though all may be called ''Wa'', ''Awa'', ''Va'', ''Vo''. David Bradley (1994) estimates there are total of 820,000 Wa speakers.

Distribution and variants

Gerard Diffloth Gerard is a masculine forename of Proto-Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constituents put together. In this ca ...

refers to the Wa geographic region as the "Wa corridor", which lies between the Salween and

Mekong River The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth longest river and the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annual ...

s. According to Diffloth, variants include South Wa, "Bible Wa" and Kawa (Chinese Wa). Christian Wa are more likely to support the use of Standard Wa, since their Bible is based on a standard version of Wa, which is in turn based on the variant spoken in Bang Wai, 150 miles north of

Kengtung th , เชียงตุง , other_name = Kyaingtong , settlement_type = Town , imagesize = , image_caption = , pushpin_map = Myanmar , pushpin_label_position = left , ...

(Watkins 2002). Bang Wai is located in Northern

Shan State Shan State ( my, ရှမ်းပြည်နယ်, ; shn, မိူင်းတႆး, italics=no) also known by the endonyms Shanland, Muang Tai, and Tailong, is a state of Myanmar. Shan State borders China (Yunnan) to the north, Laos ...

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

, close to the Chinese border where

Cangyuan County Cangyuan Va Autonomous County (; Va: ) is under the administration of Lincang City, in the southwest of Yunnan province, China. Wa/Va people are the main inhabitants here. Wa language Wa (Va) is an Austroasiatic language spoken by the Wa ...

is located. Certain dialects of Wa preserve a final -/s/. They include the variants spoken in Meung Yang and

Ximeng County Ximeng Va Autonomous County (; Va: or ) is an autonomous county under the jurisdiction of Pu'er City, in the southwest of Yunnan Province, China, bordering Myanmar's Shan State to the west. Wa/Va people, who speak the Wa language Wa (Va) ...

(such as a variety spoken in Zhongke 中课, Masan 马散,

that was documented by Zhou & Yan (1984)) (Watkins 2002:8).

Burma

David Bradley (1994) estimates that there is a total of about 500,000 Wa speakers in

. A small number of Wa speakers also reside in

Taunggyi Taunggyi ( ; Shan: ; Pa'O: ) is the capital and largest city of Shan State, Myanmar (Burma) and lies on the Thazi-Kyaingtong road at an elevation of , just north of Shwenyaung and Inle Lake within the Myelat region. Taunggyi is the fifth la ...

Mandalay Mandalay ( or ; ) is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. Located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631km (392 miles) (Road Distance) north of Yangon, the city has a population of 1,225,553 (2014 census). Mandalay was fou ...

and

Yangon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

China

The PRC writing system for Wa is based on the Wa variant in Aishuai,

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...

. David Bradley (1994) estimates that there are 322,000 Wa speakers in China. In China, the

live in (Watkins 2002): *

(83% of total) *

(71% of total) *

Menglian County Menglian Dai, Lahu and Va Autonomous County () is an autonomous county in the southwest of Yunnan Province, China, bordering Ximeng County to the north, Lancang County to the north, northeast, and east, and Burma's Shan State to the south and w ...

(over 25% of total; other ethnic groups include the Dai and Lahu) *

Gengma County Gengma Dai and Va Autonomous County () is located in Lincang City, in the west of Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48 ...

Shuangjiang County Shuangjiang Lahu, Va, Blang and Dai Autonomous County () is a county in the southwest of Yunnan province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Lincang Lincang () is a prefecture-level city located in the southw ...

* Lancang County A small number of Wa speakers also reside in

Kunming Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...

and throughout various parts of

. The three dialects of Wa (and their respective subdialects) according to Zhou et al. (2004) are: *1. Baraoke 巴饶克: ~ 250,000 speakers; autonym: ' **Aishi 艾师 subdialect: 218,000 speakers ***

: Yanshi 岩师, Tuanjie 团结, Mengsheng 勐省, Nuoliang 糯良, Danjia 单甲, Mengjiao 勐角, Menglai 勐来, Yonghe 永和 ***

: Shahe 沙河, Mengmeng 勐勐, Nanlang 南榔 ***

: Sipaishan 四排山, Gengyi 耿宜, Hepai 贺派, Mengjian 勐简, Mengding 孟定, Furong 付荣 *** Lancang County: Donghe 东河, Wendong 文东, Shangyun 上允, Xuelin 雪林 **Banhong 班洪 subdialect: 35,000 speakers ***

: Banhong 班洪, Banlao 班老, most of Nanla 南腊 **Dazhai 大寨 subdialect: 3,000 speakers ***

: Mengjian 勐简, Dazhai 大寨 *2. Awa (Ava) 阿佤: ~ 100,000 speakers; autonym: ' **Masan 马散 subdialect: 60,000 speakers ***

: Mowo 莫窝, Xinchang 新厂, Zhongke 中课, Mengsuo 勐梭, Yuesong 岳宋, Wenggake 翁戛科, parts of Lisuo 力所 **Awalai 阿佤来 subdialect: 3,000 speakers ***

: Awalai 阿佤来 in Lisuo 力所 **Damangnuo 大芒糯 subdialect: 30,000 speakers ***

: Fuyan 富岩, Gongxin 公信, Lalei 腊垒, Nanya 南雅 ***

: parts of Wengjiake 翁戛科 **Xiyun 细允 subdialect: 5,000 speakers *** Lancang County: Xiyun 细允 in Donghui 东回 ***

: Shuangbo 双柏 in Mengman 勐满 *3. Wa 佤: ~ 40,000 speakers; autonym: ' **

Yongde County Yongde County () is a county in the west of Yunnan province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Lincang Lincang () is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Yunnan province, People's Republic of ...

: Dedang 德党, Menggong 孟汞, Minglang 明朗, Mengban 勐板, Yongkang 永康, Dashan 大山 ** Zhenkang County: Mangbing 忙丙, Muchang 木厂 **

: parts of Nanla 南腊 Jackson Sun (2018a) lists the Awa dialects and their alternate names as follows. *Masan 馬散 (Lavïa; Ravia; Avë; Avo; etc.). Sun (2018b) documents the Lavïa a-vɨɒʔvariety of Banzhe 班哲 (pa-cʰək) Village, Mengka 勐卡 (məŋkʰa) Town in

, Yunnan Province. Lavïa of Banzhe is non-tonal and sesquisyllabic. *Awalai 阿佤來 (Avëloy) *Damangnuo 大芒糯 (Vo) *Xiyun 細允 (Va àʔ. Sun (2018a) documents the Va variety of Yingla 英臘 (zoŋráʔ) Village, Wenggake 翁嘎科 Township, Ximeng 西盟 County, Pu'er 普洱 City, Yunnan Province. Va of Yingla is monosyllabic has 3 tones, which are high, mid and low. Sun (2018a) notes that the Va varieties of Yingla and neighboring villages in Wenggake 翁戛科 Township of

belong to the same dialect as varieties spoken farther away in Donghui 东回 and Nuofu 糯福 Townships, Lancang County. The Dai exonym for the Wa of Yongde, Zhenkang and Nanla 南腊 is '. In Sipsongpanna, the Dai call them the ', ' ("Raw Va" 生佤), ' ("Head-carrying Wa" 拿头佤), ' ("Religious Wa" 信教佤). In Ximeng and Menglian counties, the Wa autonym is ', while in Cangyuan and Gengma counties it is ' (Zhou, et al. 2004:2). Yan and Zhou (2012:138) list the following names for Wa in various counties. *'', '' (巴饶克): in Lancang, Gengma, Shuangjiang, Lancang counties; exonyms: Small Kawa 小卡瓦, Kawa 卡瓦, Cooked Ka 熟卡, Lajia 腊家 *' (佤): in Zhenkang and Yongde counties; exonyms: Benren 本人 *' (斡), ' (阿卫), ' (日佤): in Ximeng and Menglian counties; exonyms: Big Kawa 大卡瓦, Raw Ka 生卡, Wild Ka 野卡 *' (卡瓦来): in Cangyuan and Gengma counties; also called ' (瓦) A language known as ''Bujiao'' 补角 (autonym: ''Puga'' 仆嘎) in

Mengla County Mengla County (; Tai Lue: , ''Mueang La''; lo, ເມືອງລ້າ; th, เมืองล้า) is a county under the jurisdiction of the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, in far southern Yunnan province, China. ''Meng'' is a v ...

was mentioned in Yunnan (1960) The Bujiao were classified as ethnic Bulang and had a population of 212 in 1960. The ''Kela'' 克拉 (Dai exonym: Kala 卡拉; population: 393 people) live in District 3 三区 of

Tengchong County Tengchong () is a county-level city of Baoshan City, western Yunnan province, People's Republic of China. It is well known for its volcanic activity. The city is named after the town of Tengchong which serves as its political center, previously k ...

腾冲县, Yunnan (You 2013:359). The Kela used to speak a variety of Wa, but now speak only Chinese. The Kela also refer to themselves as the ''Wama'' 佤妈.

Thailand

Wa have also migrated to Thailand in the past several decades, mainly from Burma. There are about 10,000 Wa speakers in Thailand. Wa villages can be found in (Watkins 2002:6): * Mae Sai District, Chiang Rai Province, close to the Burmese border *

Mae Yao Mae Yao ( th, แม่ยาว) is a ''tambon'' (subdistrict) of Mueang Chiang Rai District, in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in South ...

subdistrict near

Chiang Rai City Chiang Rai ( th, เชียงราย, ; nod, , เจียงฮาย, ) is the northernmost major city in Thailand, with a population of about 200,000 people. It is located in Mueang Chiang Rai District, Chiang Rai Province. Chiang Ra ...

Wiang Pa Pao District Wiang Pa Pao (; ) is the southwesternmost district (''amphoe'') of Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand. Geography Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise): Mae Suai and Phan of Chiang Rai Province; Wang Nuea and Mueang Pan ...

, in southern Chiang Rai Province *

Chiang Dao District Chiang Dao ( th, เชียงดาว, ) is a district (''amphoe'') of Chiang Mai province in northern Thailand. It is nicknamed "little Tuscany" and several wines are produced in the area. Geography Neighboring districts are (from the northe ...

Chiang Mai Province Chiang Mai ( th, เชียงใหม่, ; nod, , ) is the largest Province ('' changwat'') of Thailand. It lies in upper northern Thailand and has a population of 1.78 million people. It is bordered by Chiang Rai to the northeast, ...

Phonology

Standard Wa is a non-tonal language. However, tone has developed in some of the dialects. There is correspondence between tones in tonal dialects and tenseness in non-tonal dialects. In Wa, there are 44 phonemes; 35 consonants and 9 vowels. All of these vowels can be tense or lax. Tenseness is a phonemic feature in syllables with unaspirated initials.

Vowels

There are 15 diphthongs: ''iu, ɯi, ui, ia, ɤi, ua, ei, ou, oi~ɔi, ai, aɯ, au'' and 2 triphthongs: ''iau, uai''. The general syllabic structure of Wa is C(C)(V)V(V)(C). Only a few words have zero-initials.

Consonants

Script

The Wa language formerly had no script and some of the few Wa that were literate used

Chinese characters Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji ...

, while others used the

Shan language The Shan language (written Shan: , , spoken Shan: , or , ; my, ရှမ်းဘာသာ, ; th, ภาษาไทใหญ่, ) is the native language of the Shan people and is mostly spoken in Shan State, Myanmar. It is also spoken in ...

and its script.

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

missionary work among the Wa began at the beginning of the 20th century first in the Burmese and later in the Chinese areas of the Wa territory. It was led by William Marcus Young, from

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

. The first transcription of the Wa language was devised by Young and Sara Yaw Shu Chin (Joshua) in 1931 with the purpose of translating the Bible. This first Wa alphabet was based on the

Latin script The Latin script, also known as Roman script, is an alphabetic writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae, in southern ...

and the very first publication was a compilation of Wa

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn ...

s in 1933, the Wa

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...

being completed in 1938. This transcription, known as Bible orthography, is known as lǎowǎwén 老佤文 old Wa orthography in Chinese, and is now used mainly in the Burmese Wa areas and among the Wa in Thailand through the materials published by the Wa Welfare Society ''(Cub Yuh Bwan Ka son Vax, Cub Pa Yuh Phuk Lai Vax, Phuk Lai Hak Tiex Vax)'' in

Chiang Mai Chiang Mai (, from th, เชียงใหม่ , nod, , เจียงใหม่ ), sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the second largest city in ...

. In 1956, a transcription adapted to the new

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese fo ...

romanization Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, a ...

, known as new Wa orthography, "PRC orthography" or "Chinese orthography", was developed for the Wa people in China. However, its publications, mainly propagated through the Yunnan administration, are yet to reach a wider public beyond academics. This transcription, which originally included even a couple of letters of the

Cyrillic script The Cyrillic script ( ), Slavonic script or the Slavic script, is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking c ...

, has also since been revised. Despite the revisions, both the Chinese and the Bible orthography are still marred by inconsistencies. Recently, a revised Bible orthography adopting some features from the Chinese orthography has been adopted as Wa State Wa orthography or "official Wa spelling" by the central authorities of the

Wa State Wa State, my, ဝပြည်နယ် is an autonomous self-governing polity in Myanmar (Burma). It is ''de facto'' independent from the rest of the country and has its own political system, administrative divisions and army.29 December 2 ...

Pangkham Pangkham (; zh, c=邦康, p=Bāngkāng; Wa: ''Bāng kam''), known before 1999 as Pangsang (), is a border town in Myanmar's far eastern Shan State. It is situated at a bend on the Hka River near the border with Yunnan Province, China, opposit ...

which have published a series of primers in order to improve the literacy of the

United Wa State Army The United Wa State Army (; my, ဝပြည် သွေးစည်းညီညွတ်ရေး တပ်မတော်, ), abbreviated as the UWSA or the UWS Army, is the military wing of the United Wa State Party (UWSP), the ''de facto' ...

troops. Also, after 2000 Wa people in social networks such as

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...

, as well as Wa songwriters in

karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music is ...

lyrics of Wa songs, use this Myanmar (revised Bible) orthography in its main variations.Watkins, Justin (2013). ''Wa Dictionary'', 2 vols. Introduction

References

External links

Some links to Wa-related Internet sites

A Dictionary of the Wa Language with Burmese (Myanmar), Chinese, and English Glosses and Internet Database for Minority Languages of Burma (Myanmar)

ワ語の発音と表記
(Pronunciation and spelling of Wa; in Japanese)
RWAAI , Projects
RWAAI (Repository and Workspace for Austroasiatic Intangible Heritage) * http://hdl.handle.net/10050/00-0000-0000-0003-7BBF-9@view Parauk in RWAAI Digital Archive
Consonant Ear Training Tape
* The XG1 collection in

Kaipuleohone Kaipuleohone is a digital ethnographic archive that houses audio and visual files, photographs, as well as hundreds of textual material such as notes, dictionaries, and transcriptions relating to small and endangered languages. The archive is stored ...

br>includes Awa language open access materials
{{Authority control Austroasiatic languages Palaungic languages Languages of Myanmar Languages of China Languages written in Latin script Severely endangered languages Wa people