Huishui Miao language
{{Short description|Miao language of Guizhou, China}}
{{Infobox language
|name=Huishui Miao
|nativename=Mhong
|altname=
|states=China
|region=Guizhou
|ethnicity=
|speakers=180,000
|date=1995
|ref=e18
|familycolor=Hmong-Mien
|fam2=Hmongic
|fam3=West Hmongic
|fam4=
|lc1=hmc|ld1=Central
|lc2=hme|ld2=Eastern
|lc3=hmi|ld3=Northern
|lc4=hmh|ld4=Southwestern
|glotto=huis1239
|glottorefname=Huishui
}}
Huishui Miao, a.k.a. Huishui Hmong, is a Miao language of China. It is named after Huishui County, Guizhou, though not all varieties are spoken there. The endonym is Mhong, though it shares this with Gejia and it is simply a variant spelling of Hmong.
Huishui was given as a subgroup of Western Hmongic in Strecker (1987). Matisoff (2001) split it into four separate languages, and, conservatively, did not retain it as a group.
Demographics
Below is a list of Miao dialects and their respective speaker populations and distributions from Li (2018),{{cite book |last=Li |first=Yunbing 李云兵 |date=2018 |title=Miao Yao yu bijiao yanjiu 苗瑶语比较研究 (A comparative study of Hmong-Mien languages) |location=Beijing |publisher=The Commercial Press |oclc=1112270585 |isbn=9787100165068}} along with representative datapoints from Wang (1985).Wang Fushi 王辅世. 1985. Miaoyu jianzhi 苗语简志. Beijing: Minzu chubanshe 民族出版社.
| class="wikitable"
! Dialect !! Speakers !! Counties !! Representative datapoint (Wang 1985) | |||
| North | 60,000 | Guiyang (including in Huaxi Gaopo 花溪区高坡乡), Longli, Guiding, Huishui | Jiading 甲定寨, Gaopo Township 高坡苗族乡, Guiyang City |
| Central | 40,000+ | Huishui, Changshun | Baijin Township 摆金乡, Huishui County |
| East | 10,000+ | Huishui, Pingtang | Xiguan Township 西关乡, Pingtang County |
| West | 50,000 | Huishui, Changshun | Yarong Township 鸭绒乡, Huishui County |
According to Sun (2017), the northern dialect of Huishui Miao is spoken in the following townships by a total of approximately 50,000 speakers.{{cite book|isbn=9787105142385 |editor-last=Sun|editor-first=Hongkai 孙宏开|editor-last2=Ting|editor-first2=Pang-hsin 丁邦新|publisher=Minzu chubanshe 民族出版社|year=2017|url=http://www.kaom.net/mzy_hzyyyhch.php|title=Hanzangyu yuyin he cihui 汉藏语语音和词汇|location=Beijing|page=40}}
- Guiyang City: Gaopo 高坡
- Huishui County: Yangchang 羊场
- Guiding County: Tangbao 塘堡, Pingfa 平伐, etc.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Hmong-Mien languages}}
{{Languages of China}}
Category:West Hmongic languages
{{hm-lang-stub}}