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Pumi language

{{Short description|Qiangic language spoken in Yunnan, China}}

{{Infobox language

| name = Pumi

| altname = Prinmi

| nativename = {{lang|pmj-latn|psshinv miv}} {{lang|pmj-tibt|ཕྷྷྲིནཀ་མིཀ་}}, {{lang|pmi-latn|prienv miv}} {{lang|pmi-tibt|ཕྲནཀ་མིཀ་}}, {{lang|pmi-latn|psshonv mef}} {{lang|pmi-tibt|ཕྷྷྲོནཀ་མེས་}}, {{lang|pmi-latn|prinv mev}} {{lang|pmi-tibt|ཕྲིནཀ་མེཀ་}}, {{lang|pmi-latn|chinv mif}} {{lang|pmi-tibt|ཁྲིནཀ་མིས་}}

| states = China

| region = Sichuan, Yunnan

| ethnicity = Pumi

| speakers = 54,000

| date = 1999

| ref = e18

| familycolor = Sino-Tibetan

| fam2 = Tibeto-Burman

| fam3 = Qiangic

| script = Tibetan script

| lc1 = pmi

| ld1 = Northern Pumi

| lc2 = pmj

| ld2 = Southern Pumi

| glotto = pumi1242

| glottorefname = Pumi

| map = Pumi language.jpg

}}

The Pumi language (also known as Prinmi{{Citation needed|reason=Source needed to support this claim|date=June 2019}}) is a Qiangic language used by the Pumi people, an ethnic group from Yunnan, China, as well as by the Tibetan people of Muli in Sichuan, China.{{Cite book |last=Ding |first=Picus S. |title=The Sino-Tibetan Languages |date=2003 |publisher=Routledge Press |editor-last=Thurgood |editor-first=Graham |location=London |pages=588–601 |language=en |chapter=Prinmi: A Sketch of Niuwozi |editor-last2=LaPolla |editor-first2=Randy}}{{harvnb|Lu|2001}} Most native speakers live in Lanping, Ninglang, Lijiang, Weixi and Muli.

The autonym of the Pumi is {{IPA|pʰʐə̃55 mi55}} in Western Prinmi, {{IPA|pʰɹĩ55 mi55}} in Central Prinmi, and {{IPA|pʰʐõ55 mə53}} in Northern Prinmi with variants such as {{IPA|pʰɹə̃55 mə55}} and {{IPA|tʂʰə̃55 mi53}}.{{harvnb|Ding|2014|loc=[https://web.archive.org/web/20150518203734/http://web.hku.hk/~picus/Chap1.pdf chapter 1]}}

In Muli Bonist priests read religious texts in Tibetan, which needs to be interpreted into Prinmi.{{Citation needed|reason=Source needed to support this claim|date=June 2019}} An attempt to teach Pumi children to write their language using the Tibetan script has been seen in Ninglang.{{Cite web |date=2011-10-07 |title=Shínián, xiāngcūn "hánguī" zǒujìn xiànxué "pǔmǐbān" |script-title=zh:十年，乡村“韩规”走进县学“普米班” |url=http://www.dzwww.com/2011/dqmjzgh/zxbd/201110/t20111007_6674362.htm |website=Dàzhòng wǎng |language=zh |script-website=zh:大众网}} A pinyin-based Roman script has been proposed, but is not commonly used.{{Cite book |last=Ding |first=Picus Sizhi |title=Working Together for Endangered Languages: Research Challenges and Social Impacts (Proceedings of FEL XI) |date=2007 |publisher=Foundation for Endangered Languages |editor-last=David |editor-first=Maya |location=Bath, England |pages=120–126 |language=en |chapter=Challenges in Language Modernization in China: The Case of Prinmi |editor-last2=Nicholas Ostler |editor-last3=Caesar Dealwis |chapter-url=http://web.hku.hk/~picus/LanguageModernization.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726082514/http://web.hku.hk/~picus/LanguageModernization.pdf |archive-date=2018-07-26}}

Dialects

Earlier works suggest there are two branches of Pumi (southern and northern), and they are not mutually intelligible. Ding (2014) proposes three major groups: Western Prinmi (spoken in Lanping), Central Prinmi (spoken in southwestern Ninglang, Lijiang, Yulong and Yongsheng) and Northern Prinmi (spoken in northern Ninglang and Sichuan).{{harvnb|Ding|2014|loc=[https://web.archive.org/web/20150518203734/http://web.hku.hk/~picus/Chap1.pdf chapter 1]}}

=Lu (2001)=

Dialects of Pumi include the following (Lu 2001).

;Southern (22,000 speakers)

;Northern (55,000 speakers)

=Sim (2017)=

Sims (2017){{Cite conference |last=Sims |first=Nathaniel |date=2017 |title=The Suprasegmental Phonology of Proto-Rma (Qiang) in Comparative Perspective |conference=Presented at the 50th International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages and Linguistics, Beijing, China |language=en}} lists the following dialects of Pumi.

  • Northern
  • Sanyanlong 三岩龙 [Jiulong County] (B. Huang & Dai 1992){{Cite book |title=Zàng-Miǎn yǔzú yǔyán cíhuì |date=1992 |publisher=Zhongyang minzu xueyuan chubanshe |editor-last=Huang |editor-first=Bufan 黄布凡 |location=Beijing |language=zh |script-title=zh:藏緬語族語言詞匯 |trans-title=A Tibeto-Burman Lexicon |editor-last2=Dai |editor-first2=Qingxia 戴庆厦}}
  • Taoba 桃巴 [Muli County] (Sun 1991){{Cite book |last=Sun |first=Hongkai 孙宏开 |title=Zàng-Miǎnyǔ yǔyīn hé cíhuì |date=1991 |publisher=Zhongguo shehui kexue chubanshe |location=Beijing |language=zh |script-title=zh:藏缅语语音和词汇 |trans-title=Tibeto-Burman Phonology and Lexicon |display-authors=etal}}
  • Shuiluo 水洛 [Muli County] (Jacques 2011){{harvnb|Jacques|2011b}}
  • Central
  • Wadu 瓦都{{Cite web |title=Nínglàng Yízú Zìzhìxiàn Yǒngníng Xiāng Yǒngníng Cūnwěihuì Zhōngwǎ Zìráncūn |script-title=zh:宁蒗彝族自治县永宁乡永宁村委会中瓦自然村 |trans-title=Zhongwa Natural Village, Yongning Village Committee, Yongning Township, Ninglang Yi Autonomous County |url=http://www.ynszxc.net/villagePage/vIndex.aspx?departmentid=230994 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190122152048/http://www.ynszxc.net/villagePage/vIndex.aspx?departmentid=230994 |archive-date=2019-01-22 |website=ynszxc.net |language=zh}} [Ninglang County] (Daudey 2014){{harvnb|Daudey|2014}}
  • Niuwozi 牛窝子{{Cite web |title=Nínglàng Yízú Zìzhìxiàn Xīnyíngpán Xiāng Xīnyíngpán Cūnwěihuì Niúwōzǐ Zìráncūn |script-title=zh:宁蒗彝族自治县新营盘乡新营盘村委会牛窝子自然村 |trans-title=Niuwozi Natural Village, Xinyingpan Village Committee, Xinyingpan Township, Ninglang Yi Autonomous County |url=http://www.ynszxc.net/villagePage/vIndex.aspx?departmentid=223332 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190122152105/http://www.ynszxc.net/villagePage/vIndex.aspx?departmentid=223332 |archive-date=2019-01-22 |website=ynszxc.net |language=zh}} [Ninglang County] (Ding 2001, etc.){{Cite journal |last=Ding |first=Picus Shizhi |date=2001 |title=The Pitch-Accent System of Niuwozi Prinmi |url=http://sealang.net/sala/archives/pdf8/ding2001pitch.pdf |journal=Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area |language=en |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=57–83}}
  • Southern
  • Dayang [Lanping County] (Matisoff 1997){{Cite journal |last=Matisoff |first=James A. |date=1997 |title=Dàyáng Pumi Phonology and Adumbrations of Comparative Qiangic |url=http://sealang.net/sala/archives/pdf8/matisoff1997dayang.pdf |journal=Mon-Khmer Studies |language=en |volume=27 |pages=171–213}}
  • Qinghua 箐花 [Lanping County] (Sun 1991; B. Huang & Dai 1992)

Sims (2017) reconstructs high tones and low tones for Proto-Prinmi.

Documentation

Transcribed, translated and annotated audio documents in the Pumi language are available from the Pangloss Collection.{{Cite web |title=Pumi corpus |url=http://lacito.vjf.cnrs.fr/pangloss/corpus/list_rsc_en.php?lg=Pumi |website=The Pangloss Collection}} They concern Northern dialects of Pumi.

Phonology

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|+Pumi Consonants

! colspan="2" |

!Labial

!Dental

!Retroflex

!Palatal

!Velar

rowspan="2" |Nasal

!voiceless

|{{IPAblink|m̥}}

|{{IPAblink|n̥}}

|

|

|{{IPAblink|ŋ̥}}

voiced

|{{IPAblink|m}}

|{{IPAblink|n}}

|

|

||{{IPAblink|ŋ}}

rowspan="3" |Plosive

!voiceless

|{{IPAblink|p}}

|{{IPAblink|t}}

|{{IPAblink|ʈ}}

|

|{{IPAblink|k}}

aspirated

|{{IPAblink|pʰ}}

|{{IPAblink|tʰ}}

|{{IPAblink|ʈʰ}}

|

|{{IPAblink|kʰ}}

voiced

|{{IPAblink|b}}

|{{IPAblink|d}}

|{{IPAblink|ɖ}}

|

|{{IPAblink|ɡ}}

rowspan="3" |Affricate

!voiceless

|

|{{IPAblink|ts}}

|{{IPAblink|ʈʂ}}

|{{IPAblink|tɕ}}

|

aspirated

|

|{{IPAblink|tsʰ}}

|{{IPAblink|ʈʂʰ}}

|{{IPAblink|tɕʰ}}

|

voiced

|

|{{IPAblink|dz}}

|{{IPAblink|ɖʐ}}

|{{IPAblink|dʑ}}

|

rowspan="2" |Fricative

!voiceless

|

|{{IPAblink|s}}

|{{IPAblink|ʂ}}

|{{IPAblink|ɕ}}

|{{IPAblink|x}}

voiced

|

|{{IPAblink|z}}

|{{IPAblink|ʐ}}

|{{IPAblink|ʑ}}

|{{IPAblink|ɣ}}

rowspan="2" |Lateral

!voiceless

|

|{{IPAblink|ɬ}}

|

|

|

voiced

|

|{{IPAblink|l}}

|

|

|

rowspan="2" |Approximant

!voiceless

|

|{{IPAblink|ɹ̥}}

|

|

|

voiced

|{{IPAblink|w}}

|{{IPAblink|ɹ}}

|

|{{IPAblink|j}}

|

class="wikitable"

|+Oral Vowels of Pumi

!

!Front

! colspan="2" |Central

! colspan="2" |Back

Close

|[{{IPA link|i}}/{{IPA|iᵊ}}]

|{{IPAblink|ɨ}}

|{{IPAblink|ʉ}}

| colspan="2" |{{IPAblink|u}}

Close-Mid

|{{IPAblink|e}}

| colspan="2" |

|{{IPAblink|ɤ}}

|{{IPAblink|o}}

Mid

|

| colspan="2" |{{IPAblink|ə}}

| colspan="2" |

Open-Mid

|{{IPAblink|ɛ}}

| colspan="2" |{{IPAblink|ɜ}}

| colspan="2" |

Near-Open

|

| colspan="2" |{{IPAblink|ɐ}}

| colspan="2" |

Open

|{{IPAblink|a}}

| colspan="2" |

| colspan="2" |{{IPAblink|ɑ}}

class="wikitable"

|+Nasal Vowels of Pumi

!

!Front

!Central

!Back

Close

|{{IPAblink|ĩ}}

|

|

Close-Mid

|

|

|{{IPAblink|õ}}

Mid

|

|{{IPAblink|ə̃}}

|

Open-Mid

|{{IPAblink|ɛ̃}}

|

|

Near-Open

|

|{{IPAblink|ɐ̃}}

|

Orthography

The pinyin-based Roman script for Pumi has been proposed, but yet to be promoted.

class="wikitable"

|+ Initials:

LetterIPALetterIPALetterIPALetterIPALetterIPA
b{{IPAblink|p}}p{{IPAblink|pʰ}}bb{{IPAblink|b}}m{{IPAblink|m}}hm{{IPAblink|m̥}}
d{{IPAblink|t}}t{{IPAblink|tʰ}}dd{{IPAblink|d}}n{{IPAblink|n}}hn{{IPAblink|n̥}}
g{{IPAblink|k}}k{{IPAblink|kʰ}}gg{{IPAblink|ɡ}}h{{IPAblink|x}}hh{{IPAblink|ɣ}}
j{{IPAblink|tɕ}}q{{IPAblink|tɕʰ}}jj{{IPAblink|dʑ}}x{{IPAblink|ɕ}}xx{{IPAblink|ʑ}}
z{{IPAblink|ts}}c{{IPAblink|tsʰ}}zz{{IPAblink|dz}}s{{IPAblink|s}}ss{{IPAblink|z}}
zh{{IPAblink|ʈʂ}}ch{{IPAblink|ʈʂʰ}}zzh{{IPAblink|ɖʐ}}sh{{IPAblink|ʂ}}ssh{{IPAblink|ʐ}}
zr{{IPAblink|ʈ}}, [{{IPAlink|ʈʂ}}/{{IPA|kʴ}}]cr{{IPAblink|ʈʰ}}, [{{IPAlink|ʈʂʰ}}/{{IPA|kʴʰ}}]zzr{{IPAblink|ɖ}}, [{{IPAlink|ɖʐ}}/{{IPA|ɡʴ}}]l{{IPAblink|l}}lh{{IPAblink|ɬ}}
br{{IPA|pʴ}}pr{{IPA|pʴʰ}}bbr{{IPA|bʴ}}r{{IPAblink|ɹ}}hr{{IPAblink|ɹ̥}}
ng{{IPAblink|ŋ}}hng{{IPAblink|ŋ̥}}w{{IPAblink|w}}y{{IPAblink|j}}

class="wikitable"

|+ Rimes:

LetterIPALetterIPALetterIPALetterIPA
i{{IPA|[i/iᵊ]}}u{{IPAblink|u}}ui{{IPA|[ɥi/wi]}}e{{IPAblink|ə}}
{{Not a typo|ie}}{{IPA|[jɛ/e]}}iu{{IPA|[ju]}}uee{{IPA|[ɥe/we]}}
ii{{IPA|[ɨ/ə]}}uu{{IPA|[uə/ʉ]}}ue{{IPA|[ɥɛ/wɛ/wə]}}üa{{IPA|[ɥɐ]}}
in{{IPA|[ĩ/ə̃]}}ien{{IPA|[(j)ɛ̃/ĩ]}}uen{{IPA|[ɥɛ̃/wɛ̃/wĩ]}}uin{{IPA|[ɥĩ]}}
o{{IPA|[o/ɤ]}}io{{IPA|[(j)ɐw/ɨɤ]}}on{{IPAblink|õ}}ion{{IPA|[jõ]}}
a{{IPAblink|ɑ}}ia{{IPA|[jɐ/jɜ]}}ua{{IPA|[wɑ/wɜ]}}uan{{IPA|[wɐ̃/wɜ̃]}}
aa{{IPAblink|a}}uaa{{IPA|[wa]}}an{{IPAblink|ɐ̃}}
ea{{IPA|[ɜ/ɛ]}}ai{{IPA|[ɜj]}}uai{{IPA|[wɜj]}}

Tones:

  • Monosyllabic words
  • f – falling tone
  • v – high tone
  • none – rising tone
  • Polysyllable words
  • f – nonspreading of the high tone
  • v – spreading of the high tone to the next syllable
  • r – rising tone
  • none – default low tone

Grammar

A reference grammar of the Wadu dialect of Pumi is [https://www.sil.org/system/files/reapdata/69/27/67/69276721657901706692127480944602004968/A_Grammar_of_Wadu_Pumi_libre.pdf available online].{{harvnb|Daudey|2014}} A grammar of Central Pumi is also available.{{harvnb|Ding|2014}}

Example

{{Commons category|Pumi writing}}

border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0"
---

! Pumi

English
--- valign="top"

| Tèr gwéjè dzwán thèr phxèungphxàr sì.
Timitae llìnggwe zreungzrun stìng.

| He has broken several hammers.
This man is crying and shouting all the time.

References

{{Reflist}}

= Bibliography =

{{refbegin}}

  • {{Cite thesis |last=Ding |first=Sizhi |title=Fundamentals of Prinmi (Pumi): A Tibeto-Burman Language of Northwestern Yunnan, China |date=1998 |degree=Ph.D. |publisher=Australian National University |doi=10.25911/5D77885FBC7F9 |doi-access=free |language=en |hdl=1885/109290 |hdl-access=free}}
  • {{Cite thesis |last=Daudey |first=Henriëtte |title=A Grammar of Wadu Pumi |date=2014 |degree=Ph.D. |publisher=La Trobe University |url=https://www.sil.org/resources/archives/59836 |language=en |hdl=1959.9/517239 |hdl-access=free}}
  • {{Cite book |last=Ding |first=Picus |url=https://brill.com/view/title/24856 |title=A Grammar of Prinmi: Based on the Central Dialect of Northwest Yunnan, China |publisher=Brill |year=2014 |isbn=9789004279773 |series=Languages of the Greater Himalayan Region 14 |location=Leiden |language=en}}
  • {{Cite journal |last=Jacques |first=Guillaume |date=2011a |title=A Panchronic Study of Aspirated Fricatives with New Evidence from Pumi |url=https://www.academia.edu/968778 |journal=Lingua |language=en |volume=121 |issue=9 |pages=1518–1538 |doi=10.1016/j.lingua.2011.04.003|s2cid=56166344 }}
  • {{Cite journal |last=Jacques |first=Guillaume |date=2011b |title=Tonal Alternations in the Pumi Verbal System |url=http://www.ling.sinica.edu.tw/Files/LL/Docments/Journals/12.2/j2011_2_03_9209.pdf |journal=Language and Linguistics |language=en |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=359–392}}
  • {{Cite book |last=Lu |first=Shaozun 陆绍尊 |title=Pŭmĭyŭ fāngyán yánjiū |date=2001 |publisher=Minzu chubanshe |location=Beijing |language=zh |script-title=zh:普米语方言硏究 |trans-title=A Dialectal Study of the Pŭmĭ Language}}

{{refend}}

{{Sino-Tibetan languages}}

{{Na-Qiangic languages}}

{{Languages of China}}

Category:Qiangic languages

Category:Languages of Yunnan

Category:Pumi people

Category:Languages of Sichuan