Native to China, Vietnam Glottolog zuoj1238 | ISO 639-3 zzj | |
Region Guangxi, Yunnan, Lạng Sơn Native speakers 1.8 million (2000 censuses) Language family Tai–Kadai
Tai
Zuojiang–Southwest
Zuojiang Zhuang | ||
Zuojiang Zhuang (Chinese: 左江壮语; pinyin: Zuǒjiāng Zhuàngyǔ) is the various Zhuang languages spoken along the Zuo River, including the counties of Tiandeng, Daxin, Chongzuo, Ningming, Longzhou, and Pingxiang in Guangxi, some villages in Funing in Yunnan, and Vietnam, and is a putative branch of Tai languages of China and Vietnam. Also known as Tho (a name shared with Tày and Cuoi of Vietnam).
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Languages
Zuojiang Zhuang is not a coherent group of languages. See Tai languages#Pittayaporn (2009) for a classified list.
Classification
In the 1950s as part of the classification of Zhuang languages, Zuojiang Zhuang was recognised as a dialect, or language, in Guangxi, China. In 2007, ISO 639-3 also included speakers Vietnam as the Zuojiang river goes into there. The classification of Phittiyaporn (2009) suggests Zuojiang is not a single language, but part of two main branches of the Tai language family (clades B, F, and H). See Tai languages for details.