Kam–Sui languages

{{Infobox language family

| name = Kam–Sui

| altname = 侗水語支
Dong–Shui

| region = eastern Guizhou, western Hunan, and northern Guangxi

| familycolor = Tai-Kadai

| protoname = Proto-Kam–Sui

| fam2 = Kam–Tai ?

| glotto = kams1241

| glottorefname = Kam–Sui

}}

The Kam–Sui languages ({{zh|c=侗水語支|p=Dòng-Shǔi}}) are a branch of the Kra–Dai languages spoken by the Kam–Sui peoples. They are spoken mainly in eastern Guizhou, western Hunan, and northern Guangxi in southern China. Small pockets of Kam–Sui speakers are also found in northern Vietnam and Laos.{{Cite web |title=Map & Language Descriptions |url=http://ling.uta.edu/~jerry/research/map.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207074151/http://ling.uta.edu/~jerry/research/map.html |archive-date=2012-02-07 |access-date=2010-12-02 |website=Lesser Known Indigenous Languages of Northern Vietnam |language=en}}

Classification

The Kam–Sui branch includes about a dozen languages. Solnit (1988){{Cite book |last=Solnit |first=David B. |title=Comparative Kadai: Linguistic Studies Beyond Tai |date=1988 |publisher=Summer Institute of Linguistics and the University of Texas at Arlington |editor-last=Edmondson |editor-first=Jerold A. |series=Summer Institute of Linguistics Publications in Linguistics 86 |location=Dallas |pages=219–238 |language=en |chapter=The Position of Lakkia Within Kadai |editor-last2=Solnit |editor-first2=David B.}} considers Lakkia and Biao languages to be sister branches of Kam–Sui, rather than part of Kam–Sui itself.

The best known Kam–Sui languages are Dong (Kam), with over a million speakers, Mulam, Maonan, and Sui. Other Kam–Sui languages include Ai-Cham, Mak, and Tʻen, and Chadong, which is the most recently discovered Kam–Sui language. Yang (2000) considers Ai-Cham and Mak to be dialects of a single language.{{Cite book |last=Yang |first=Tongyin 杨通银 |title=Mò yǔ yánjiū |date=2000 |publisher=Zhongyang minzu daxue chubanshe |isbn=978-7-81056-427-4 |location=Beijing |language=zh |script-title=zh:莫语研究 |trans-title=A Study of Mak}}

=Thurgood (1988)=

Graham Thurgood (1988) presents the following tentative classification for the Kam–Sui branch.{{harvp|Thurgood|1988}} Chadong, a language that has been described only recently by Chinese linguist Jinfang Li, is also included below. It is most closely related to Maonan.{{Cite book |last=Li |first=Jinfang |title=The Tai–Kadai Languages |date=2008 |publisher=Routledge |editor-last=Diller |editor-first=Anthony |location=New York |pages=596–620 |language=en |chapter=Chadong, a Newly-Discovered Kam–Sui Language in Northern Guangxi |editor-last2=Edmondson |editor-first2=Jerold A. |editor-last3=Luo |editor-first3=Yongxian}} Cao Miao and Naxi Yao, which are closely related to Southern Dong, have also been added from Shi (2015).

{{clade

|label1=Kam–Sui

|1={{clade

|1=Mulam

|2=Kam (Dong), Cao Miao, Naxi Yao

}}

|2={{clade

|1=Then

|2={{clade

|1={{clade

|1=Maonan

|2=Chadong

}}

|2=Sui

|3={{clade

|1=Mak

|2=Ai-Cham{{Cite book |last1=Lin |first1=Shi |title=Comparative Kadai: Linguistic Studies Beyond Tai |last2=Cui |first2=Jianxin |date=1988 |publisher=Summer Institute of Linguistics and the University of Texas at Arlington |editor-last=Edmondson |editor-first=Jerold A. |series=Summer Institute of Linguistics Publications in Linguistics 86 |location=Dallas |pages=59–85 |language=en |chapter=An Investigation of the Ai-Cham Language |editor-last2=Solnit |editor-first2=David B.}}

}}

=Norquest (2021)=

Peter Norquest (2021:234) presents another classification for the Kam–Sui branch.{{cite book|last=Norquest|first=Peter|title=The Languages and Linguistics of Mainland Southeast Asia|chapter=Classification of (Tai-)Kadai/Kra-Dai languages|publisher=De Gruyter|date=2021|doi=10.1515/9783110558142-013|pages=225–246|isbn=9783110558142 |s2cid=238672319 }}

Kam-–ui
Mulam
Northern Kam–Sui
Kam
Macro-Sui
T'en
Greater Sui
Sui
Para-Sui
Chadong
Maonan
Ai-Cham/Mak
Ai-Cham
Mak

Demographics

Nearly all speakers of Kam–Sui languages originate in the Qiandongnan (Dong) and Qiannan (Sui, Then, Mak, Ai-Cham) Prefectures of Guizhou, as well as the prefecture-level cities of Hechi (Mulam and Maonan) and Guilin (Chadong) in northern Guangxi. Many Kam–Sui speakers have also migrated to farther urban areas such as Guangzhou.

Small groups of Kam and Sui speakers also reside in Tuyên Quang Province, Vietnam, in the villages of Đồng Mộc and Hồng Quang, respectively.

=By language=

File:Kam-Sui people.png

Mulam 佬 – Luocheng Mulao Autonomous County 罗城仫佬族自治县, Hechi, northern Guangxi; Qiandongnan Prefecture, southeastern Guizhou
Dong 侗 – Qiandongnan Prefecture, southeastern Guizhou
Then 佯僙/佯爷 – Pingtang County 平塘县, Qiannan Prefecture, southern Guizhou
Maonan 毛南 – Huanjiang Maonan Autonomous County 环江毛南族自治县, Hechi, northern Guangxi
Chadong 茶洞 – Chadong Township, Lingui County 临桂县, Guilin, northeastern Guangxi
Sui 水 – Sandu Shui Autonomous County 黔南布依族苗族自治州, Qiannan Prefecture, southern Guizhou
Mak (Mojia) 莫 – Libo County 荔波县, Qiannan Prefecture, southern Guizhou
Ai-Cham 锦 – Libo County 荔波县, Qiannan Prefecture, southern Guizhou

=By location=

(Listed counterclockwise: east to north to west to south)

Guizhou
Qiandongnan – Dong; 1,500,000 speakers
Qiannan
Sandu County – Sui; 300,000 speakers
Pingtang County – Then; 15,000 speakers
Libo County – Mak and Ai-Cham; 10,000 and 2,700 speakers
Guangxi
Hechi
Luocheng County – Mulam; 86,000 speakers
Huanjiang County – Maonan; 30,000 speakers
Guilin (Lingui County) – Chadong; 20,000 speakers

=By population=

There is a total of about 2 million Kam–Sui speakers.

The four largest Kam–Sui ethnic groups, the Dong, Shui, Mulao, and Maonan, are officially recognized by the Chinese government. Non-recognized Kam–Sui ethnic groups (Chadong, Then, Mak, Ai-Cham) who can still speak their own languages number less than 50,000.

Dong: about 1,500,000 speakers; 1.7 million in 1995
Sui: 300,000 speakers
Mulam: 86,000 speakers (ethnic population: 200,000)
Maonan: 30,000 speakers (ethnic population: 100,000)
Chadong: 20,000 speakers
Then: 15,000 speakers
Mak: 10,000 speakers
Ai-Cham: 2,700 speakers

Other languages

The following language varieties are closely related to, or part of, Southern Dong.

Mjuniang 谬娘 or Cao Miao 草苗 (ISO 639-3: [http://www.sil.org/iso639-3/documentation.asp?id=cov cov]): 60,000 (1991) in Liping, Tongdao, and Sanjiang; closely related to Dong.{{Cite web |title=Mjuniang |url=https://people-groups.asiaharvest.org/people-group-profiles/guizhou/mjuniang.pdf |access-date=2021-08-31 |language=en |via=Asia Harvest}} Speakers are classified as ethnic Miao.
Naxi Yao 那溪瑶 (autonym: mu2 ɲiu1) is spoken by 2,500 people in Naxi Township 那溪瑶族乡, Dongkou County, Hunan Province, China.{{Cite book |last=Shi |first=Lin 石林 |title=Xiāng-Qián-Guì biānqū de sān gè zúqún fāngyán dǎo |date=2015 |publisher=Zhongguo shehui kexue chubanshe |isbn=978-7-5161-6494-5 |location=Beijing |language=zh |script-title=zh:湘黔桂边区的三个族群方言岛 |trans-title=Three Language Varieties of the Hunan-Guizhou-Guangxi Border Region}}
Diao 调 (刁人): 2,000 (1999) in southeastern Guizhou around Liping and Congjiang; may speak Chinese or Dong.{{Cite web |title=Diao |url=https://people-groups.asiaharvest.org/people-group-profiles/guizhou/diao.pdf |access-date=2021-08-31 |language=en |via=Asia Harvest}} Speakers are classified as ethnic Dong. Diao (tjau13) is a Cao Miao subgroup according to Shi (2015:43).

The following peoples may also speak Kam–Sui languages.{{Cite web |title=China |url=http://asiaharvest.org/index.php/people-group-profiles/china/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130801062653/http://asiaharvest.org/index.php/people-group-profiles/china/ |archive-date=2013-08-01 |access-date=2013-07-19 |website=Asia Harvest |language=en}}

Xialusi 下路司: 3,000 (1999) in southeastern Guizhou; classified as Dong, but their linguistic affiliation is unknown (possibly Kam-Sui).{{Cite web |title=Xialusi |url=https://people-groups.asiaharvest.org/people-group-profiles/guizhou/xialusi.pdf |access-date=2021-08-31 |language=en |via=Asia Harvest}} Speakers are classified as ethnic Dong.
Shui of Yunnan: 6,800 (1990) in Huangnihe 黃泥河 and Gugan 古敢水族乡,{{Cite web |title=Fùyuán Xiàn Gǔgǎn Shuǐzú Xiāng Gǔgǎn Cūnwěihuì |script-title=zh:富源县古敢水族乡古敢村委会 |trans-title=Gugan Village Committee, Gugan Shui Ethnic Township, Fuyuan County |url=http://www.ynszxc.net/villagePage/vIndex.aspx?departmentid=69595 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230185827/http://www.ynszxc.net/villagePage/vIndex.aspx?departmentid=69595 |archive-date=2018-12-30 |access-date=2018-12-30 |website=ynszxc.net |language=zh}} Fuyuan County, Yunnan; 490 (1990) in Dahe and Long'an of Yiliang County.{{Cite web |title=Shui, Yunnan |url=https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/5ddddb20/files/uploaded/shui-yunnan.pdf |access-date=2021-08-31 |language=en |via=Asia Harvest}} In Gugan, there is a village cluster known as the "Five Shui Villages" 水五寨,http://file.lw23.com/5/54/542/5426d856-8bbb-4108-a310-96caa7bace36.pdf{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}} consisting of Buzhang 补掌,{{Cite web |title=Fùyuán Xiàn Gǔgǎn Shuǐzú Xiāng Bǔzhǎng Cūnwěihuì Bǔzhǎng Cūn |script-title=zh:富源县古敢水族乡补掌村委会补掌村 |trans-title=Buzhang Village, Buzhang Village Committee, Gugan Shui Ethnic Township, Fuyuan County |url=http://www.ynszxc.net/villagePage/vIndex.aspx?departmentid=69611 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230202049/http://www.ynszxc.net/villagePage/vIndex.aspx?departmentid=69611 |archive-date=2018-12-30 |access-date=2018-12-30 |website=ynszxc.net |language=zh}} Dongla 咚喇,{{Cite web |title=Fùyuán Xiàn Gǔgǎn Shuǐzú Xiāng Bǔzhǎng Cūnwěihuì Dōnglǎ Cūn |script-title=zh:富源县古敢水族乡补掌村委会咚喇村 |trans-title=Dongla Village, Buzhang Village Committee, Gugan Shui Ethnic Township, Fuyuan County |url=http://www.ynszxc.net/villagePage/vindex.aspx?departmentid=69619&classid=727513 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230184230/http://www.ynszxc.net/villagePage/vindex.aspx?departmentid=69619&classid=727513 |archive-date=2018-12-30 |access-date=2018-12-30 |website=ynszxc.net |language=zh}} Reshui 热水,{{Cite web |title=Fùyuán Xiàn Gǔgǎn Shuǐzú Xiāng Bǔzhǎng Cūnwěihuì Rèshuǐlǎozhài Cūn |script-title=zh:富源县古敢水族乡补掌村委会热水老寨村 |trans-title=Reshuilaozhai Village, Buzhang Village Committee, Gugan Shui Ethnic Township, Fuyuan County |url=http://www.ynszxc.net/villagePage/vIndex.aspx?departmentid=69618 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230202258/http://www.ynszxc.net/villagePage/vIndex.aspx?departmentid=69618 |archive-date=2018-12-30 |access-date=2018-12-30 |website=ynszxc.net |language=zh}} Dazhai 大寨,{{Cite web |title=Fùyuán Xiàn Gǔgǎn Shuǐzú Xiāng Bǔzhǎng Cūnwěihuì Dàzhài Cūn |script-title=zh:富源县古敢水族乡补掌村委会大寨村 |trans-title=Dazhai Village, Buzhang Village Committee, Gugan Shui Ethnic Township, Fuyuan County |url=http://www.ynszxc.net/villagePage/vIndex.aspx?departmentid=69621 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230191550/http://www.ynszxc.net/villagePage/vIndex.aspx?departmentid=69621 |archive-date=2018-12-30 |access-date=2018-12-30 |website=ynszxc.net |language=zh}} and Duzhang 都章.{{Cite web |title=Fùyuán Xiàn Gǔgǎn Shuǐzú Xiāng Bǔzhǎng Cūnwěihuì Dōuzhāng Cūn |script-title=zh:富源县古敢水族乡补掌村委会都章村 |trans-title=Duzhang Village, Buzhang Village Committee, Gugan Shui Ethnic Township, Fuyuan County |url=http://www.ynszxc.net/villagePage/vIndex.aspx?departmentid=69609 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230195336/http://www.ynszxc.net/villagePage/vIndex.aspx?departmentid=69609 |archive-date=2018-12-30 |access-date=2018-12-30 |website=ynszxc.net |language=zh}} It is still spoken in Xinbao Village 新堡村, Laochang Township 老厂乡, Fuyuan County, Yunnan.{{Cite journal |last=Hai |first=Zuoliang 海佐良 |date=2006 |title=Yúnnán shuǐzú yǔyán zuìhòu de yúyīn |script-title=zh:云南水族语言最后的余音 |url=http://wuxizazhi.cnki.net/Search/MCGZ200604008.html |journal=Jīnrì mínzú |language=zh |volume=2006 |issue=4 |pages=32–33 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304052359/http://wuxizazhi.cnki.net/Search/MCGZ200604008.html |archive-date=2016-03-04 |script-journal=zh:今日民族}}{{Cite web |title=Fùyuán Xiàn Lǎochǎng Xiāng Xīnbǎo Cūnwěihuì Lèé Cūn |script-title=zh:富源县老厂乡新堡村委会乐额村 |trans-title=Le'e Village, Xinbao Village Committee, Laochang Township, Fuyuan County |url=http://www.ynszxc.net/villagePage/vIndex.aspx?departmentid=92314 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230181324/http://www.ynszxc.net/villagePage/vIndex.aspx?departmentid=92314 |archive-date=2018-12-30 |access-date=2018-12-30 |website=ynszxc.net |language=zh}} Also in Dacunzi 大村子, Geyi Township 格宜镇, Xuanwei City.{{Cite web |title=Xuānwēi Shì Géyí Zhèn Dàpíng Cūnwěihuì Dàcūnzi Cūn |script-title=zh:宣威市格宜镇大坪村委会大村子村 |trans-title=Dacunzi Village, Daping Village Committee, Geyi Town, Xuanwei City |url=http://www.ynszxc.net/villagePage/vIndex.aspx?departmentid=34677 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230185925/http://www.ynszxc.net/villagePage/vIndex.aspx?departmentid=34677 |archive-date=2018-12-30 |access-date=2018-12-30 |website=ynszxc.net |language=zh}}{{Cite web |title=Qūjìng mínzú yuánliú gàishù |script-title=zh:曲靖民族源流概述 |url=http://wenku.baidu.com/view/69084e8ad0d233d4b14e699b.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830184501/https://wenku.baidu.com/view/69084e8ad0d233d4b14e699b.html |archive-date=2021-08-30 |access-date=2013-03-08 |language=zh |via=Baidu}} However, these are actually all Northern Tai languages (Bouyei) according to Hsiu (2013).{{Cite journal |last=Hsiu |first=Andrew |date=2013 |title="Shui" Varieties of Western Guizhou and Yunnan |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1133488 |doi=10.5281/zenodo.1133488}}

There are also some languages in southeastern Guizhou, northern Guangxi, and southwestern Hunan that have been influenced by Kam–Sui languages, such as Suantang 酸汤 and Tongdao Pinghua, a Pinghua lect spoken in Tongdao Dong Autonomous County, Hunan.{{Cite journal |last1=Peng |first1=Jianguo 彭建国 |last2=He |first2=Yuna 何妤娜 |date=2010 |title=Húnán Tōngdào dòngzú "Běndìhuà" de yǔyīn xìtǒng jí qí guīshǔ |script-title=zh:湖南通道侗族“本地话”的语音系统及其归属 |trans-title=The Phonetic System and Belongingness of "Bendihua" of Tongdao |url=http://wenku.baidu.com/view/4d6bdbf1856a561252d36f61.html |journal=Yúnmèng xué kān / Journal of Yunmeng |language=zh |volume=31 |issue=4 |pages=138–141 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830184501/https://wenku.baidu.com/view/4d6bdbf1856a561252d36f61.html |archive-date=2021-08-30 |via=Baidu}} Kam–Sui languages are also in contact with Suantang 酸汤, a Sinitic language spoken by about 80,000 ethnic Miao in Baibu 白布, Dihu 地湖, Dabaozi 大堡子, and Sanqiao 三锹 in Tianzhu, Huitong, and Jing counties (Chen Qiguang 2013:35).{{Cite book |last=Chen |first=Qiguang 陈其光 |title=Miáo Yáo yǔwén |date=2013 |publisher=Zhongyang minzu daxue chubanshe |location=Beijing |language=zh |script-title=zh:苗瑶语文 |trans-title=Miao and Yao Language}} Suantang is very similar to New Xiang (新湘语), but is unintelligible with Southwestern Mandarin.

Reconstruction

The Proto-Kam–Sui language is the reconstructed ancestor of the Kam–Sui languages.

References

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20170109113921/http://language.psy.auckland.ac.nz/austronesian/language.php?id=715 ABVD: Proto-Kam–Sui word list]