Nasu language

The Nasu language, also known as the Eastern Yi language or Naisu, Luquan Yi, Wuding Yi, Guizhou Yi, Weining Yi, Guangxi Yi or Longlin Yi, is a Loloish language spoken by the Yi people of China. Nasu and Wusa are two of six Yi languages recognized by the Government of China. There are also some speakers in Vietnam. Unlike most written Yi languages, Nasu uses the Pollard script. A distinct form of the Yi script was traditionally used for Wusa, though few can still read it.

Nasu
Eastern Yi
Native toChina
EthnicityNasu (Yi)
Native speakers
1.0 million (2007)[1]
Pollard script, Yi script
Language codes
ISO 639-3Variously:
ywq – Nasu (Wulu)
ygp – Gepo (Köpu)
yig – Wusa Nasu
ywu – Wumeng Nasu
Glottologwudi1238  Wuding-Luquan Yi = Wulu
gepo1234  Gepo
nesu1235  Nesu = Wusa–Wumeng

The Nasu language is also known as the Black Yi language, but this name is no longer used.

Names

According to the Guizhou Ethnic Gazetteer (2002),[2] Yi autonyms include Nasu 哪苏,[3] Tusu 兔苏,[4] Lagou 腊勾,[5] Guo 果,[6] and so forth.

Most of Yi people of the Luquan area do not have the autonym Luoluo and Nasu (transliterated into Chinese as 纳苏) means "black", hence the Black Yi (黑彝 Hei Yi),[7] though Black Yi is an aristocratic caste distinction among the Yi People, and Black Yi Script (Heiyiwen) was a Latin script for Yi introduced by missionaries.[8]

Classification

Chen (1985)

Chen, et al. (1985:108) recognizes 3 major varieties of Eastern Yi (i.e., Nasu) that are spoken in Yunnan and Guizhou provinces, namely Dianqian 滇黔 (Yunnan-Guizhou), Pan 盘县 (Pan County of Guizhou), and Diandongbei 滇东北 (Northeastern Yunnan).[9] Autonyms include no55su55 (alternatively nɤ55su13), na33su33 pʰo55 (including na33so33 pʰo55, nɤ55su33 pʰu55, and ni55su33 pʰu55), nɒ55 pʰo55, and ko33 pʰo55.

Huang (1993)

In his description of the Yi script (not the spoken language), Huáng Jiànmíng (1993) holds that the Nasu variety of the Yi script is used by the groups speaking languages of the Nasu language cluster of Northern Yi in south-eastern Sìchuān, eastern Yúnnán, Gùizhōu, as well as in Guǎngxī.[10] He distinguishes two sub-groups. Nasu proper used in Wuding, Luquan, and the suburbs of Kunming, and Wusa used in Guizhou and the bordering areas of Eastern Yunnan.

Bradley (1997)

David Bradley (1997) distinguishes three main dialects of Nasu:

  • Southeastern (Panxian): 150,000 speakers in southwestern Guizhou
  • Northeastern (Nesu): 300,000 speakers, comprising most of the other Nasu speakers of Guizhou, and some in extreme northeastern Yunnan and southeastern Sichuan
    • Shuixi subdialect 水西土语
    • Wusa subdialect 乌撒土语
    • Mangbu subdialect 芒部土语
    • Wumeng subdialect 乌蒙土语
  • Western (Nasu proper): 250,000 speakers all in north-central Yunnan; Black (more numerous) and Red subdialects

Lama (2012)

Lama (2012) determined that Nasu (Western) is more closely related to Gepo than it is to the others:

  • Nesu
    • Panxian (Nasepho, na33 su33 pʰo55): North and South dialects
    • Shuixi Nesu (Dafang Nesu)
    • Nesu proper
      • Wumeng
      • Mangbu
      • Wusa (Wusa Nasu)
  • Nasu
    • Nasu proper
    • Gepo (ko33 pʰu44): 100,000 speakers

Chen (2010)
Main article: Northern Loloish languages § Chen (2010)

Phonology

Consonants
Labial Alveolar (Alveolo-)
palatal		 Retroflex Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ȵ ɳ ŋ
Stop voiceless p t ʈ k
aspirated pʰ tʰ ʈʰ kʰ
voiced b d ɖ ɡ
prenasal/asp. ᵐbʱ ⁿdʱ ᶯɖʱ ᵑɡʱ
Affricate voiceless t͡s t͡ɕ t͡ʂ
aspirated t͡sʰ t͡ɕʰ t͡ʂʰ
voiced d͡z d͡ʑ d͡ʐ
prenasal/asp. ⁿd͡zʱ ⁿd͡ʑʱ ᶯd͡ʐʱ
Fricative voiceless f s ɕ ʂ x h
voiced v z ʑ ʐ ɣ
lateral ɬ
Lateral l
  • The phonetic sound of /h/ is mainly heard as [ɦh].

Vowels

There is distinction between tight-throat vowels and lax-throat (plain) vowels.

Front Central Back
unrd. tight unrd. tight unrd. rnd. tight
Close i i ɯ u
Mid e e ə˞ ə˞ ɤ o, õ ɤ o
Open-mid ɔ
Open a a
  • Sounds /i, i/ are heard as syllabic consonants [z̩, z̩] when following alveolar sounds /t͡s, t͡sʰ, d͡z, ⁿd͡zʱ, s, z/, and as syllabic retroflex [ʐ̩, ʐ̩] when following retroflex sounds /t͡ʂ, t͡ʂʰ, d͡ʐ, ᶯd͡ʐʱ, ʂ, ʐ/.
  • The phonetic sounds of the rhoticized vowels /ə˞, ə˞/ are mainly heard as more back [ʌ˞, ʌ˞].[11]

Tones

3 tones occur as follows:

Name Pitch Symbol
High 55 ˦
Mid 33 ˧
Low (falling) 21 ˨˩

See also

References
  1. Nasu (Wulu) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Gepo (Köpu) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Wusa Nasu at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Wumeng Nasu at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Guizhou Province Gazetteer: Ethnic Gazetteer [贵州省志. 民族志] (2002). Guiyang: Guizhou Ethnic Publishing House [貴州民族出版社].
  3. http://asiaharvest.org/wp-content/themes/asia/docs/people-groups/China/chinaPeoples/N/NasuWusa.pdf
  4. http://asiaharvest.org/wp-content/themes/asia/docs/people-groups/China/chinaPeoples/T/Tushu.pdf
  5. http://asiaharvest.org/wp-content/themes/asia/docs/people-groups/China/chinaPeoples/L/Lagou.pdf
  6. http://asiaharvest.org/wp-content/themes/asia/docs/people-groups/China/chinaPeoples/G/Guopu.pdf
  7. Anthology of Yi Cultural Research [彝族文化研究文集]. Kunming: Yunnan Nationalities Publishing House (1988). p. 100. "西一带的彝族,仍有自称为'罗罗'。同时，男人自称'罗颇'，女人自称'罗摩'。前述流行《四方八虎"图的滇东北武定、禄劝一带大多数彝族，虽己没有"罗罗》之自称,而从彝族尚黑祟虎的传统中，咯虎取黑以自称'纳苏'为'黑人'或'黑族' (彝语'纳"义为黑、大、深 ...”
  8. Huang Xinxian [黃新宪] Christian Education and Chinese Social Change [基督敎敎育与中国社会变迁] Fujian Education Publishing [福建教育出版社] (1996). ISBN 9787533422738. p. 173 "... 这对民族区域的社会变迁具有十分积极的意义。首先，提高了少数民族地区的总体文化水平。据 1951 年对滇北武定区的调查表明，聚居于各县山谷中的苗族 9 / 10 能看能写外国传教士用拉丁字母拼写的苗文；分布在山谷中的黑彝和傈傈族，凡参加基甘教者都懂传教士用拉丁字母拼写的黑彝文和栗栗文。”
  9. Chen Shilin [陈士林], et al. 1985. Yiyu jianzhi [彝语简志]. Beijing: Ethnic Publishing House [民族出版社].
  10. Nathan Hill Medieval Tibeto-Burman Languages IV 2012- Page 450 "The Nasu variety is used by the groups speaking languages of the Nasu language cluster of Northern Yi in the south-eastern part of Sìchuān, the eastern part of Yúnnán, Gùizhōu, as well as in Guǎngxī. Huáng Jiànmíng (1993: 152)"
  11. Chén, Kāng (2010). Yí yŭ fāng yán yán jiū [彝语方言研究]. Beijing: Central University for Nationalities Press [中央民族大学出版社].

Bibliography
  • Bradley, David (1997). "Tibeto-Burman languages and classification". In Tibeto-Burman languages of the Himalayas, Papers in South East Asian linguistics. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
  • Chen Kang [陈康]. 2010. A study of Yi dialects [彝语方言研究]. Beijing: China Minzu University Press.
  • Lama, Ziwo Qiu-Fuyuan (2012), Subgrouping of Nisoic (Yi) Languages, thesis, University of Texas at Arlington.
  • Lu Lin 卢琳. 2017. Yiyu Shuicheng Zhichanghua yanjiu 彝语水城纸厂话研究. In Guizhou Minzu Yanjiu 贵州民族研究. doi:10.13965/j.cnki.gzmzyj10026959.2017.11.048
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