Geographic
distribution: Myanmar Glottolog: burm1266 | Subdivisions: Burmic
Maruic | |
 | ||
Linguistic classification: Sino-Tibetan
Burmo-Qiangic?
Lolo-Burmese
Burmish | ||
The Burmish languages are Burmese, including Standard Burmese, Arakanese and other Burmese dialects such as the Tavoyan dialects as well as non-literary languages spoken across Myanmar and South China such as Achang, Lhao Vo, Lashi, and Zaiwa.
Contents
Names
Many Burmish names are known by various names in different languages (Bradley 1997).
In China, the Zaiwa 载瓦 (local Chinese exonym: 小山), Lhao Vo 浪速 (local Chinese exonym: Lang'e 浪峨), Lashi 勒期 (local Chinese exonym: Chashan 茶山), and Pela 波拉 are officially classified as Jingpo people (Bolayu Yanjiu). The local Chinese exonym for the Jingpho proper is Dashan 大山.
Dai Qingxia (2005:3) lists the following autonyms and exonyms for the various Burmish groups, with both Chinese character and IPA transcriptions (given in square brackets).
Autonyms are:
The Chashan refer to themselves as ŋɔ˧˩tʃʰaŋ˥ (Echang 峨昌), the Jingpho as phuk˥, the Lashi as tsai˧wu˧˩ (tsai˧wu˥˩), the Lhao Vo as lă˧˩laŋ˧˩, the Lisu as lji˧səu˧˩, and the Han Chinese as la˧˩xɛ˧˩ (Dai 2010:153).
Lama (2012)
Based on innovations in their tonal systems, Lama (2012: 177–179) classifies the languages as follows:
Chashan, a recently discovered Burmish language, is closely related to Lashi.
Nishi (1999)
Based on distinct treatment of the pre-glottalized initials of proto-Burmish, Nishi (1999: 68-70) divides the Burmish languages into two branches, Burmic and Maruic. The Burmic languages changed voiceless preglottalized stops into voiceless aspirate stops and preglottalized voiced sonorants into voiceless sonorants. The Maruic languages in contrast reflect voiceless preglottalized and affricate consonants as voiceless unaspirated and affricates with largyngealized vowels, and voiced preglottalized sonorants as voiced sonorants with laryngealized vowels. The Burmic Languages include Burmese, Achang, and Xiandao. The Maruic languages include Atsi (Zaiwa), Lashi (Leqi), Maru (Langsu), and Bola. Nishi does not classify Hpon and Nusu.
The Arakanese language retains r- separate from y-, whereas the two fall together in most Burmese dialects and indeed most Burmish languages. Tavoyan has kept kl- distinct. No dialect has kept ry- distinct from r-, but this may be an independent innovation in the various dialects. Merguiese is apparently the least well studied Burmese dialect.
Mann (1998)
Mann (1998: 16, 137) in contrast groups together Achang, Bela (by which he probably means Bola), Lashi, Maru, and Atsi together as North Burmic.
Bradley (1997)
David Bradley places aberrant Ugong with Burmish rather than with Loloish: