Zhaba, also known as Bazi, Bozi, Draba, nDrapa, Zaba, Zha (

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of v ...

: 扎坝语 or 扎巴语), is a

Qiangic language 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, including Sichua ...

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 ...

, China spoken by about 8,000 people in

Daofu County Dawu County (), also written Tawu County or Daofu County (), is a county of northwestern Sichuan Province, China. It is under the administration of the Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, and , had a population of 46,900 residing in an area ...

and

Yajiang County Nyagqu or Nyachukha County (, Nyagchukha, Nyagquka) or Yajiang County (), named after Nyagchukha in Tibetan, is a county of the traditional Kham Region of eastern Tibet. It is currently under the administration of the Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Pre ...

. The Zhaba, who are officially classified by the Chinese government as ethnic

Tibetan people The Tibetan people (; ) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Tibet. Their current population is estimated to be around 6.7 million. In addition to the majority living in Tibet Autonomous Region of China, significant numbers of Tibetans ...

, refer to themselves as ' and to the Zhaba language as '. Neighboring

Khams Tibetan Khams Tibetan () is the Tibetic language used by the majority of the people in Kham. Khams is one of the three branches of the traditional classification of Tibetic languages (the other two being Amdo Tibetan and Ü-Tsang). In terms of mutual in ...

speakers refer to the Zhaba people as '. Zhaba speakers live primarily in the Xianshui River 鲜水河 valley. Descriptions of Zhaba include Huang (1991) and Gong (2007).Gong Qunhu ��群虎 2007. ''Zhabayu yanjiu'' ��巴语研究 Beijing: Ethnic Publishing House ��族出版社 Huang & Dai (1992)Huang Bufan and Dai Qingxia, eds. 1992
Zangmianyuzu yuyan cihui
《藏緬語族語言詞匯》 Tibeto-Burman Lexicon Beijing: Central Institute of Minorities. document the Queyu dialect spoken in Zhatuo Village 扎拖村, Zhatuo Township 扎拖乡,

Phonology

* /f/ is found only in

loans. * /l/ and /ɬ/ contrast only in

Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken diale ...

loans. * /ʐ/ and /r/ may interchange word-initially; but they are contrastive when occurring in the second syllable of words.

Dialects

''Ethnologue'' (21st edition) lists two dialects of Zhaba: *Drate (Northern nDrapa) *Drame (Southern nDrapa, Zhami)

Distribution

A total of 8,319 Zhaba people are distributed in the following townships of Zhaba District 扎坝区 of

(Upper Zha 上扎 area), and Zhamai District 扎麦区 of

(Lower Zha 下扎 area) (Gong 2007:2-3). Zhaba people from the two districts speak the same mutually intelligible language. *Zhaba District 扎坝区,

(Upper Zha 上扎 area) **Yazhuo 亚卓乡 (Zhaba name: '): 1,501 Zhaba people **Hongding 红顶乡 (Zhaba name: '): 752 Zhaba people **Zhongni 仲尼乡 (Zhaba name: '): 970 Zhaba people **Zhatuo 扎拖乡 (Zhaba name: '): 1,114 Zhaba people **Xiatuo 下拖乡 (Zhaba name: '): 899 Zhaba people *Zhamai District 扎麦区,

(Lower Zha 下扎 area) **Waduo 瓦多乡 (Zhaba name: '): 1,536 Zhaba people **Murong 木绒乡 (Zhaba name: '): 1,547 Zhaba people

References

{{Languages of China Qiangic languages Languages of China