Puneet Varma (Editor)

Kathu language

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Native to
  
China

Ethnicity
  
Yi

ISO 639-3
  
ykt

Region
  
Guangnan County

Native speakers
  
5,000 (2007)

Language family
  
Sino-Tibetan Lolo-Burmese Mondzish Kathu

Kathu (Thou; Chinese: 嘎苏话) is a Lolo-Burmese language of Balong (坝聋), Nanping Township (南屏镇), Guangnan County, Yunnan, China. The Kathu are locally known as the White Yi (白彝). Wu Zili (2004) estimates that Kathu has a total of more than 7,000 speakers in Guangnan County (including in Dayashao 大牙少), as well as in Jinping County, Yunnan.

Kathu is notable for having initial consonant clusters, which within the Lolo-Burmese branch are also found in Written Burmese (Old Burmese) and Jinuo (Hsiu 2014:66). Wu (2004) lists the onset clusters pl, pʰl, bl, ml, kl, kʰl, gl, ql, qʰl, ɢl, ŋl.

Varieties

Hsiu (2014:65) identifies two varieties, both spoken in Nanping Township (南屏镇).

  • Kathu (autonym: ka˧θu˧), spoken in Anwang village 安王村
  • Thou (autonym: θou̯˥˧), spoken in Balong village 坝聋村

    • References

    Kathu language Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA