Ache ( zh, 阿车) is a

Loloish The Loloish languages, also known as Yi in China and occasionally Ngwi or Nisoic, are a family of fifty to a hundred Sino-Tibetan languages spoken primarily in the Yunnan province of China. They are most closely related to Burmese and its relat ...

language spoken by the

Yi people The Yi or Nuosu people,; zh, c=彝族, p=Yízú, l=Yi ethnicity historically known as the Lolo,; vi, Lô Lô; th, โล-โล, Lo-Lo are an ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with eac ...

of south-central

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, 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 ...

, China. ''Ethnologue'' lists ''Azhe'' as an alternate name.

Demographics

Ache is spoken in

Shuangbai County Shuangbai County (; Chuxiong Yi script: , IPA: ) is under the administration of the Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, in the central part of Yunnan province, China. It is the southernmost county-level division The administrative divisions ...

(pop. 23,000),

Yimen County Yimen County () is a county in the central part of Yunnan Province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Yuxi. Administrative divisions Yimen County has 2 subdistricts, 1 town, 2 townships and 3 ethnic townships. ...

(pop. 11,100),

Eshan County Eshan Yi Autonomous County (; Yi: ) is located in Yuxi, in the central part of Yunnan Province, China. Administrative divisions Eshan Yi Autonomous County has 2 subdistricts, 3 towns and 3 townships. ;2 subdistricts * Shuangjiang () * Xiaojie ...

, and

Lufeng County Lufeng (; Chuxiong Yi script: , IPA：) is a county-level city located in Yunnan province, China, administered as a part of Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture (; Chuxiong Yi script: ，IPA: ; Yi script: ꊉꇑ� ...

. Yunnan (1955) reports that their autonym in

Xinping County Xinping Yi and Dai Autonomous County () is an autonomous county located in the central part of Yunnan Province, China. It is the westernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Yuxi. Administrative divisions Xinping Yi and Dai A ...

is '.

Classification

''Ethnologue'' classifies Ache as a

Southeastern Loloish The Southeastern Loloish languages, also known as Southeastern Ngwi, are a branch of the Loloish languages. In Lama's (2012) classification, it is called ''Axi-Puoid'', which forms the Nisoish branch together with the ''Nisoid'' (''Nisu–Lope'' ...

language, and lists 35,000 speakers as of 2003. Ache has not been analyzed in classifications of Southeastern Loloish by Pelkey (2011) and Lama (2012), and hence remains unclassified within the Loloish branch.

References

* * {{authority control Loloish languages Languages of China