Qiangic (''Ch'iang, Kyang, Tsiang'', Chinese: 羌語支, "''Qiang'' language group"; formerly known as Dzorgaic) is a group of related languages within the Sino-Tibetan language family. They are spoken mainly in

Southwest China Southwest China () is a region in the south of the People's Republic of China. Geography Southwest China is a rugged and mountainous region, transitioning between the Tibetan Plateau to the west and the Chinese coastal hills (东南丘陵) and ...

, including

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of th ...

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

and

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 ...

. Most Qiangic languages are distributed in the

prefectures A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

of Ngawa, Garzê,

Ya'an Ya'an (, Tibetan: Yak-Nga ) is a prefecture-level city in the western part of Sichuan province, China, located just below the Tibetan Plateau. The city is home to Sichuan Agricultural University, the only 211 Project university and the largest ...

and Liangshan in Sichuan with some in Northern

as well. Qiangic speakers are variously classified as part of the Qiang, Tibetan, Pumi,

Nakhi The Nakhi or Nashi (; Naxi: ; lit.: "Black people") are an East Asian ethnic group inhabiting the foothills of the Himalayas in the northwestern part of Yunnan Province, as well as the southwestern part of Sichuan Province in China. The Nak ...

, and

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...

ethnic groups by the

People's Republic of 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, sli ...

. The extinct

Tangut language Tangut (Tangut: ; ) is an extinct language in the Sino-Tibetan language family. Tangut was one of the official languages of the Western Xia dynasty, founded by the Tangut people in northwestern China. The Western Xia was annihilated by the Mo ...

of the

Western Xia The Western Xia or the Xi Xia (), officially the Great Xia (), also known as the Tangut Empire, and known as ''Mi-nyak''Stein (1972), pp. 70–71. to the Tanguts and Tibetans, was a Tangut-led Buddhist imperial dynasty of China tha ...

is considered to be Qiangic by some linguists, including Matisoff (2004).Matisoff, James. 2004
"Brightening" and the place of Xixia (Tangut) in the Qiangic subgroup of Tibeto-Burman
/ref> The undeciphered Nam language of China may possibly be related to Qiangic. Lamo, Larong and Drag-yab, or the Chamdo languages, a group of three closely related Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in

Chamdo Chamdo, officially Qamdo () and also known in Chinese as Changdu, is a prefecture-level city in the eastern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Its seat is the town of Chengguan in Karuo District. Chamdo is Tibet's third largest city ...

, Eastern

, may or may not be Qiangic.Suzuki, Hiroyuki and Tashi Nyima. 2018
Historical relationship among three non-Tibetic languages in Chamdo, TAR
''Proceedings of the 51st International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages and Linguistics (2018)''. Kyoto: Kyoto University.

Classification

Sun (1983)

Sun Hongkai (1983) proposes two branches, northern and southern: *Northern:

Northern Qiang Northern Qiang is a Sino-Tibetan language of the Qiangic branch, more specifically falling under the Tibeto-Burman family. It is spoken by approximately 60,000 people in East Tibet, and in north-central Sichuan Province, China. Unlike its cl ...

(Máwō), Pumi (Prinmi), Muya (Minyag), Tangut (extinct; attested 1036–1502) *Southern:

Southern Qiang Southern Qiang is a Sino-Tibetan language of the Qiangic branch spoken by approximately 81,300 people along the Minjiang () river in Sichuan Province, China. Southern Qiang dialects preserve archaic pronoun flexions, while they have disappe ...

(Táopíng). Sun groups other, poorly described Qiangic languages as: * Ersu (Tosu), Shixing, Namuzi (Namuyi) * Guiqiong (2–3 varieties with low intelligibility) * Zhaba, Queyu.

Matisoff (2004)

Matisoff (2004) states that Jiarongic is an additional branch: * Jiarongic: Gyarung, Lavrung, Horpa (Ergong) Matisoff (2004) describes

Proto-Tibeto-Burman Proto-Tibeto-Burman (commonly abbreviated PTB) is the reconstructed ancestor of the Tibeto-Burman languages, that is, the Sino-Tibetan languages, except for Chinese. An initial reconstruction was produced by Paul K. Benedict and since refined by ...

*-a > -i as a typical sound change in many Qiangic languages, and refers to this vowel heightening as "brightening." Yu (2012)Yu, Dominic. 2012.
Proto-Ersuic
'. Ph.D. dissertation. Berkeley: University of California, Berkeley, Department of Linguistics. also notes that "brightening" is a defining innovation in Proto-Ersuic, the reconstructed ancestor of the

Ersuic languages The Ersuic languages (, ''Ersu''; also called Duoxu or Erhsu) are a Qiangic language cluster of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Ersu languages are spoken by about 20,000 people in China as reported by . Muya (alternatively Menia or Menya) is ...

Thurgood and La Polla (2003)

Thurgood and La Polla (2003) state that the inclusion of Qiang, Prinmi, and Muya is well supported, but that they do not follow Sun's argument for the inclusion of Tangut. Matisoff (2004), however, claims Tangut demonstrates a clear relationship. The unclassified language Baima may also be Qiangic or may retain a Qiangic substratum after speakers shifted to Tibetan. Some other lesser-known, unclassified Qiangic peoples and languages include the following: *Bolozi 玻璃哦子/博罗子: 2,000 people; in Xiao Heshui Village 小河水村, west of

Songpan Songpan; former Songzhou, is a county of northwestern Sichuan province, China, and is one of the 13 counties administered by the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture. It has an area of , and a population of approximately 68,000 composed o ...

; also as far south as Wenchuan Township 汶川乡. Sun Hongkai (2013:80-82)Sun Hongkai. 2013. ''Tibeto-Burman languages of eight watersheds'' ��江流域的藏缅语 Beijing: China Social Sciences Academy Press. identifies Bolozi 博罗子 as a

variety, belonging to the Cimulin 茨木林 dialect. *Ming 命: 10,000 people; mixed Chinese in

Mao County Mao County or Maoxian (; ; Qiang: ʂqini) is a county in Ngawa Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China. It has an area of 3,903 and a population of 106,700 as of 2006. 88.9% of the population are Qiang people. The county seat is Fengyi (). Natur ...

and

Wenchuan County Wenchuan County is a county in Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan, People's Republic of China. The county has an area of , and a population of 100,771 as of 2010. Wolong National Nature Reserve is a protected area located i ...

, Sichuan *Xiangcheng 乡城: 10,000 people in and around Xiangcheng Township 乡城, Garzê Prefecture

Sun (2001)

Sun Hongkai (2001) groups the Qiangic languages are follows. *Qiangic **Northern ***'' Tangut'' 西夏 ***Qiang ****'' Qiang'' 羌 ( Northern and Southern) ****'' Prinmi'' 普米 ****'' Minyak'' 木雅 *** rGyalrongic ****'' rGyalrong'' 嘉绒 ****'' Ergong'' 尔龚 ****'' Lavrung'' 拉乌戎 **Southern ***'' Ersu'' 尔苏 ***'' Guiqiong'' 贵琼 ***'' Shixing'' 史兴 ***'' Namuyi'' 纳木依 ***'' Choyo'' 却隅 ***'' nDrapa'' 扎巴

Jacques & Michaud (2011)

Guillaume Jacques & Alexis Michaud (2011)Jacques, Guillaume, and Alexis Michaud. 2011.
Approaching the historical phonology of three highly eroded Sino-Tibetan languages
" ''Diachronica'' 28:468-498. argue for a Na–Qiangic branch which itself forms a

Burmo-Qiangic The Burmo-Qiangic or Eastern Tibeto-Burman languages are a proposed family of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in Southwest China and Myanmar. It consists of the Lolo-Burmese and Qiangic branches, including the extinct Tangut language. Classific ...

branch together with

Lolo–Burmese The Lolo-Burmese languages (also Burmic languages) of Burma and Southern China form a coherent branch of the Sino-Tibetan family. Names Until ca. 1950, the endonym ''Lolo'' was written with derogatory characters in Chinese, and for this reaso ...

. Na–Qiangic comprises three primary branches, which are Ersuish (or Ersuic),

Naic Naic, officially the Municipality of Naic ( tgl, Bayan ng Naic), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 160,987 people. Naic has a land area of 76.24 square ...

(or Naxish), and oreQiangic. Similarly, David Bradley (2008) also proposed an Eastern Tibeto-Burman branch that includes Burmic (

Lolo-Burmese The Lolo-Burmese languages (also Burmic languages) of Burma and Southern China form a coherent branch of the Sino-Tibetan family. Names Until ca. 1950, the endonym ''Lolo'' was written with derogatory characters in Chinese, and for this reas ...

) and Qiangic. The position of Guiqiong is not addressed. ;Na–Qiangic * Ersuish **'' Ersu'' **'' Lizu'' **'' Tosu'' *

**'' Namuyi'' **'' Shixing'' ** Naish ***'' Naxi'' ***'' Na'' (''Mosuo'') ***'' Laze'' *Qiangic **'' Queyu'' **'' Zhaba'' (?) **'' Tangut'' ** Pumi ***''Northern Pumi'' ***''Southern Pumi'' ** Muya ***''Northern Muya'' ***''Southern Muya'' ** Qiang ***''

'' ***''

'' ** rGyalrongic *** rGyalrongish ****'' Situ'' ****''

Japhug Japhug is a Gyalrong language spoken in Barkam County, Rngaba, Sichuan, China, in the three townships of Gdong-brgyad (, Japhug ), Gsar-rdzong (, Japhug ) and Da-tshang (, Japhug ). The endonym of the Japhug language is . The name Japhug (; ...

'' ****'' Tshobdun'' ****'' Zbu'' *** Lavrung ****''Thugsrjechenmo'' ****''Njorogs'' *** Horpa ****''Rtau'' ****''Stodsde''

Chirkova (2012)

However, Chirkova (2012) casts doubt on the validity of Qiangic as a coherent branch, instead considering Qiangic to be a diffusion area. Chirkova considers the following four languages to be part of four separate Tibeto-Burman branches: * Lizu ( Ersu group) * Shixing ("

") * Namuzi ("

") * Pumi Both Shixing and Namuzi are both classified as

(Naxi) by Jacques & Michaud (2011), but Naic would not be a valid genetic unit in Chirkova's classification scheme since Shixing and Namuzi are considered by Chirkova to not be part of a single branch.

Yu (2012)

Yu (2012:218) notes that Ersuic and Naish languages share some forms that are not found in Lolo-Burmese or “core” Qiangic (Qiang, Prinmi, and Minyak). As a result, “Southern Qiangic” (Ersuic, Namuyi, and Shixing) may be closer to Naish than it is to “core” Qiangic. Together, Southern Qiangic and Naish could form a wider “Naic” group that has links to both Lolo-Burmese to the south and other Qiangic languages to the north.

Obsolete names

Shafer (1955) and other accounts of the Dzorgaic/Ch'iang branch preserve the names ''Dzorgai, Kortsè, Thochu, Outer/Outside Man-tze, Pingfang'' from the turn of the century. The first three were Northern Qiang, and Outside Mantse was Southern Qiang.UC Berkeley, 1992, ''Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area'', vol. 15, pp. 76–77. When Jiarongic is included as a branch of Qiangic, but distinct from the non-Jiarongic languages, the label "Dzorgaic" may be used for Qiang proper. ''Hsi-fan'' (Xifan) is an ethnic name, meaning essentially 'Tibetan'; the people speak Qiangic or Jiarongic languages such as Qiang, Ergong/Horpa, Ersu, Guiqiong, Shixing, Zhaba, Namuyi, Muya/Minyak, and Jiarong, but not Naxi/Moso, Pumi, or Tangut. The term has not been much used since language surveys of the 1980s resulted in sufficient data for classification.

Distribution

Qiangic languages are spoken mainly in western

and northwestern

provinces of China. Sun Hongkai (2013) lists the following watersheds (riverine systems) and the respective Qiangic languages spoken there. *Upper

Jialing River The Jialing River, formerly known by numerous other names, is a major tributary of the Yangtze River in the Sichuan Basin. It is named after the Jialing Valley in Feng County, Shaanxi through which it flows. The Jialing River's most notable ...

watershed 嘉陵江上游地区: Baima * Min River watershed 岷江流域: Qiang (including Boluozi 博罗子) * Dadu River watershed 大渡河流域: Guiqiong, Ersu *

Yalong River The Yalong River ( zh, 雅砻江, p ''Yǎlóngjiāng'', w ''Ya-lung Chiang'', IPA ), or Nyag Chu ( Tibetan: , z ''Nyag Qu''), is a major tributary river of the Yangtze River in Southwest China. With a length of , the ...

watershed 雅砻江流域: Ergong, Zhaba, Muya, Namuyi *

Jinsha River The Jinsha River (, Tibetan: Dri Chu, འབྲི་ཆུ) is the Chinese name for the upper stretches of the Yangtze River. It flows through the provinces of Qinghai, Sichuan, and Yunnan in western China. The river passes through T ...

watershed 金沙江流域: Shixing, Pumi

References

Bibliography

*Bradley, David (1997). Tibeto-Burman languages and classification. In D. Bradley (Ed.), ''Papers in South East Asian linguistics: Tibeto-Burman languages of the Himalayas'' (No. 14, pp. 1–71). Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. * Miyake, Marc. 2015
What is the origin of uvularization in Qiang?
* Miyake, Marc. 2012
Nasal codas as clues for the stratification of Chinese loanwords in Ronghong Qiang
* Miyake, Marc. 2011
Danger a-head for the 2 X 2 hypothesis
* Miyake, Marc. 2011
''fm-''
*Sun, Hongkai (1983). The nationality languages in the six valleys and their language branches. ''Yunnan Minzuxuebao'', ''3'', 99-273. (Written in Chinese). *Sun Hongkai ( Academy of Social Sciences of China Institute of Nationality Studies) (1990).
Languages of the Ethnic Corridor in Western Sichuan
("
Archive
. ''

Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area ''Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area'' is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal covering research on the Sino-Tibetan languages and other mainland Southeast Asian languages. It was established in 1974 and was closely associated with the Si ...

'', 13(1), 1-31. English translation by

Jackson T.-S. Sun Jackson T.-S. Sun, also known as Jackson Tianshin Sun (), is a Taiwanese linguist working on languages of the Sino-Tibetan and Austroasiatic families. He is best known for his pioneering documentation and historical-comparative work in Tani, Rgya ...

(

University of California Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

and

Academia Sinica Academia Sinica (AS, la, 1=Academia Sinica, 3=Chinese Academy; ), headquartered in Nangang, Taipei, is the national academy of Taiwan. Founded in Nanking, the academy supports research activities in a wide variety of disciplines, ranging from ...

). *Sun Hongkai 孙宏开. 2016. ''Zangmian yuzu Qiang yuzhi yanjiu'' 藏缅语族羌语支研究. Beijing: China Social Sciences Academy Press 中国社会科学出版社.

External links

The Qiang Language and Culture Web Site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qiangic Languages Languages of China