Trisha Shetty (Editor)

Lahu language

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Ethnicity
  
Lahu

Writing system
  
Latin script

Native speakers
  
600,000 (2007–2012)

Native to
  
Yunnan, China; Thailand; Laos; Myanmar

Language family
  
Sino-Tibetan (Tibeto-Burman) Lolo–Burmese Loloish (Lahoish) Lahu

Official language in
  
Lancang Lahu Autonomous County, Yunnan

Lahu (autonym: Ladhof [lɑ˥˧xo˩]) is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken by the Lahu people of China, Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos. It is widely used in China, both by Lahu people, and by other ethnic minorities in Yunnan, who use it as a lingua franca. However, the language is not widely used nor taught in any schools in Thailand, where many Lahu are in fact refugees and illegal immigrants, having crossed into Thailand from Myanmar.

Contents

Matisoff (2006)

A few dialects are noted, which are each known by a variety of names:

  • Lahu Na (Black Lahu, Musser Dam, Northern Lahu, Loheirn)
  • Lahu Shi (Yellow Lahu, Kutsung); the divergent la53 xu31 sɯ33 dialect is spoken in Nanduan 南段村 (Lahu: na31 tɔ35) Village, Nuofu Township 糯福乡, Lancang County, China
  • Lahu Nyi (Red Lahu, Southern Lahu, Musseh Daeng, Luhishi, Luhushi), Shehleh
  • Lahu Shehleh

    • Pham (2013)

    Phạm Huy (2013:13) lists the following 3 branches.

  • La Hủ Phu (White Lahu): only found in Lüchun County, Yunnan, China
  • La Hủ Năk (Black Lahu)
  • La Hủ Nê Thu

    • Yunnan (1998)

    Yunnan (1998:280) lists 5 Lahu dialects.

  • Lancang (standard) dialect 澜沧标准音区片 (in most of Lancang, Ximeng, Menglian, Cangyuan, and Shuangjiang counties)
  • Nanmei dialect 南美土语群片 (in Nanmei Township 南美乡, Lincang County; Gengma County, and other nearby areas)
  • Mojiang dialect 墨江土语群片 (in Pu'er, Simao, Mojiang, Xinping counties, etc.; Lahu Shi)
  • Menghai dialect 勐海土语群片 (in Menghai, Jinghong, Mengla, Lancang counties (in Jiujing 酒井, Yakou 雅口, Qianliu 谦六 townships, etc.); Lahu Shi)
  • Jinping-Lvchun dialect 金绿土语群片 (in Jinping and Lvchun counties)

    • Traditionally Lahu folk taxonomy splits the Lahu people into the two groups of Black Lahu and Yellow Lahu; Red Lahu and White Lahu are new dialect clusters originating in messianic movements within the past few centuries. Black Lahu is the standard dialect in China, as well as the lingua franca among different groups of Lahu in Thailand. However, it is intelligible to speakers of Yellow Lahu only with some difficulty.

    Bradley (1979)

    Based on the numbers of shared lexical items, Bradley (1979) classifies the Lahu dialects as follows:

    Common Lahu
  • Black Lahu
  • Shehleh
  • (Core)
  • Black Lahu proper
  • Red Lahu
  • Yellow Lahu
  • Bakeo
  • Banlan

    • Lama (2012)

    Lama (2012) gives the following tentative classification for what he calls Lahoid.

    Lahoid
  • Lahu-Xi (Yellow Lahu)
  • (Black Lahu cluster)
  • Lahu-Na (Black Lahu)
  • Lahu-Ni (Red Lahu)
  • Lahu-Pu (White Lahu)
  • Lahu-Shehleh

    • Jin (2007)

    Jin Youjing (2007) classifies the Lahu dialects as follows.

  • Lahu Na 拉祜纳 (Black Lahu 黑拉祜): about 80% of all Lahu
  • Xiananxian 下南现 (Nanling Township 南岭乡) dialect
  • Dongkahe 东卡河 (Laba Township 拉巴乡) dialect
  • Lahu Xi 拉祜西 (Yellow Lahu 黄拉祜): about 20% of all Lahu
  • Northern dialect: Donghe 东河, Xincheng 新城, Qianliu 谦六, Wendong 文东, Fudong 富东, and Dashan 大山 townships
  • Central dialect: Yakou 雅口, Qianmai 谦迈, and Yingpan 营盘 townships
  • Southern dialect: Southern Nuofu 糯福(南), Northern Nuofu 糯福(北), and Huimin 惠民 townships
  • Lahu Alai 拉祜阿莱: located in Alai Dazhai 阿莱大寨, Fubang Township 富邦乡, Lancang County and a few other nearby villages
  • Kucong 苦聪: located in Jinping, Lvchun, Zhenyuan, and other counties

    • Jin Youjing (1992) covers Lahu linguistic geography and dialectology in detail.

    Sound changes

    Lama (2012) lists the following sound changes from Proto-Loloish as Lahu innovations.

  • *s-l- > x-
  • *z- > ʣ-
  • *ŋ- > x-

    • References

    Lahu language Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA