Pa-Hng language

Pa-Hng
Pa-Hng
Pateng
Pronunciation	[pa31 ŋ̊ŋ35]
Native to	China, Vietnam
Native speakers	(34,000 cited 1995–2009)
Language family	Hmong–Mien Hmongic Bahengic Pa-Hng; ; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	pha
Glottolog	pahn1237
	Pa-Hng is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Pa-Hng (also spelled Pa-Hung; 巴哼语 Bāhēng yǔ) is a divergent Hmongic (Miao) language spoken in Guizhou, Guangxi, and Hunan in southern China as well as northern Vietnam.

Classification

Pa-Hng has long been recognized as divergent. Benedict (1986) argued that one of its dialects constituted a separate branch of the Miao–Yao family. Ratliff found it to be the most divergent Hmongic (Miao) language that she analyzed.^[2] This Bahengic branch also includes Younuo (Yuno) and Wunai (Hm Nai).^[3]

Names

Pa-Hng speakers are called by the following names:^[3]

pa31 ŋ̥ŋ35 (巴哼)
m̥m35 nai33 (唔奈)
Red Yao (红瑶)
Flowery Yao (花瑶)
Eight Surname Yao (八姓瑶)

In Liping County, Guizhou, the Dong people call the Pa-Hng ka31 jiu33 (嘎优), while the Miao people call them ta55 tia52 ju33 (大达优).^[4] In Tongdao County, Hunan, the Pa-Hng (xeŋ33) are also known as the Seven Surname Yao 七姓瑶, since they have the seven surnames of Shen 沈, Lan 兰, Dai 戴, Deng 邓, Ding 丁, Pu 蒲, and Feng 奉.^[5]

In China, Pa-Hng speakers are classified as Yao, even though their language is Hmongic rather than Mienic.

Varieties

Mao & Li (1997) splits Pa-Hng into the following subdivisions, and most closely related to Hm Nai:

Pa-Hng proper (巴哼 pa31 ŋ̥ŋ35)
- Northern
- Southern
Hm Nai (唔奈 m̥m35 nai33)

Vocabulary word lists for these three Pa-Hng varieties can be found in Mao & Li (1997). An additional dialect is found in Vietnam.

Northern Pa-Hng: Gundong 滚董, Liping County 黎平, Guizhou
Southern Pa-Hng: Wenjie 文界, Sanjiang County 三江, Guangxi
Hm Nai: Huxingshan 虎形山, Longhui County 隆回, Hunan

The Na-e dialect (also known by the Vietnamese rendition of Pa-Hng, Pà Then [Pateng]), is a geographic outlier. Paul Benedict (1986) argued that it is not actually Pa-Hng, or even Hmongic, but a separate branch of the Miao–Yao language family.^[6] However, Strecker (1987) responded that it does appear to be a Pa-Hng dialect, though it has some peculiarities, and that Pa-Hng as a whole is divergent.^[7]

Jerold A. Edmondson has reported Pa-Hng dialects in Bac Quang District and Hong Quang Village of Chiem Hoa District in northern Vietnam, and found that they were most closely related to the Pa-Hng dialect spoken in Gaoji Township 高基, Sanjiang County, Guangxi.^[8]

Distribution

China

Pa-Hng speakers are distributed in the following counties in China. Most of the counties have 1,000 - 6,000 Pa-Hng speakers (Mao & Li 1997).

Hunan
- Longhui County, Shaoyang (Hm-Nai speakers)
  - Hm-Nai: Huxingshan 虎形山乡, Xiaoshajiang 小沙江乡, Motang 磨塘乡, Dashuitian 大水田乡
- Dongkou County, Shaoyang (Hm-Nai speakers)
- Chenxi County, Huaihua (Hm-Nai speakers)
- Xupu County, Huaihua (Hm-Nai speakers)
- Tongdao County, Huaihua (Hm-Nai speakers): 1,779 people (2000), in Chuansu Township 传素瑶族乡 and Linkou Township 临口镇 (in Shangdong 上洞村 and Xiadong 下洞村 villages).^[5] Highly endangered status.^[9]
- Chengbu Miao Autonomous County, Shaoyang
- Xinning County, Shaoyang
- Suining County, Shaoyang (100+ speakers)
Guizhou
- Liping County
  - Northern Pa-Hng: Gundong 滚董乡, Shunhua 顺化乡
- Congjiang County
  - Southern Pa-Hng: Gaomang 高忙乡
Guangxi
- Rongshui County (12,000+ speakers)
  - Northern Pa-Hng: Dalang 大浪乡, Danian 大年乡, Antai 安太乡, Dongtou 洞头乡, Gunbei 滚贝乡, Wangdong 汪洞乡, Gandong 杆洞乡; Huaibao 怀宝镇^[9]
  - Southern Pa-Hng: Baiyun 白云乡, Dalang 大浪乡, Anchui 安陲乡, Xiangfen 香粉乡
- Sanjiang County
  - Northern Pa-Hng: Tongle 同乐乡, Laobao 老堡乡
  - Southern Pa-Hng: Wenjie 文界乡, Liangkou 良口乡
- Longsheng County
  - Southern Pa-Hng: Sanmen 三门乡, Pingdeng 平等乡
- Lingui County
- (13 other counties)

Vietnam

Pa-Hng is also spoken in small pockets of northern Vietnam. In Vietnam, the Pa-Hng are an officially recognized ethnic group numbering around a few thousand people, where they are called Pà Thẻn. Na-e as reported by Bonifacy (1905) is also found in northern Vietnam.

Tân Trịnh, Quang Bình District, Hà Giang Province, Vietnam^[10]^[11]
Bắc Quang District, Hà Giang Province, Vietnam^[8]^[12]
- Minh Thương Village, Tân Lập Township
- Tân Thịnh Township
Hồng Quang Village, Chiêm Hoá District, Tuyên Quang Province (62 km northwest of Chiêm Hoá City), where the speakers are known as Mèo Hoa (Flowery Miao)^[12]

According to Vu,^[13] the ancestors of the Pà Thẻn had first migrated from Guangxi to Hải Ninh (now Quảng Ninh Province), and then from Hải Ninh to the Thái Nguyên area. The Pà Thẻn then split off to settle in three main areas.

Linh Phú (Chiêm Hoá District, Tuyên Quang) and Trung Sơn (Yên Sơn District, Tuyên Quang)
Lăng Can (Na Hang District, Tuyên Quang), Hồng Quang (Chiêm Hoá District, Tuyên Quang), and Hữu Sản (Bắc Quang District, Hà Giang)
From Xuân Minh (Quang Bình District, Hà Giang), the Pà Thẻn migrated to the communes of Yên Bình, Yên Thành, Tân Trịnh, Tân Nam (all in Quang Bình District, Hà Giang) and Tân Lập (Bắc Quang District, Hà Giang).

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial		Alveolar		(Alveolo-) palatal	Velar		Uvular		Glottal
		plain	pal.	plain	pal.	(Alveolo-) palatal	plain	lab.	plain	lab.	Glottal
Nasal	voiced	m	mʲ	n		ȵ	ŋ
	voiceless	m̥	m̥ʲ	n̥		ȵ̊	ŋ̊
	breathy	mʱ	mʲʱ	nʱ		ȵʱ	ŋʱ
Stop/ Affricate	voiceless	p	pʲ	t		tɕ	k	kʷ	q	qʷ	ʔ
	aspirated	pʰ	pʲʰ	tʰ		tɕʰ	kʰ	kʷʰ	qʰ	qʷʰ
	breathy	pʱ	pʲʱ	tʱ		tɕʱ	kʱ	kʷʱ	qʱ
	prenasal	ᵐp	ᵐpʲ	ⁿt		ᶮtɕ	ᵑk		ᶰq
	prn. breathy	ᵐpʱ	ᵐpʲʱ	ⁿtʱ		ᶮtɕʱ	ᵑkʱ		ᶰqʱ
Fricative		f		s		ɕ	x				h
Approximant	voiceless			l̥	l̥ʲ
	voiced	ʋ		l	lʲ	j		w
	breathy	ʋʱ		lʱ	lʱʲ	jʱ

Alveolar sounds /t, tʰ, n, n̥, nʱ/ are heard as retroflex [ʈ, ʈʰ, ɳ, ɳ̊, ɳʱ] in the Laobao dialect.

Vowels

	Front		Central		Back
	oral	nasal	oral	nasal	oral		nasal
Close	i	ĩ	(ɨ)		u		ũ
Near-close	ɪ	ɪ̃
Close-mid	e	ẽ			ɤ	o	õ
Open-mid	ɛ	ɛ̃			ɔ		ɔ̃
Open			a	ã	ɑ		ɑ̃
Syllabic	m̩		n̩		ŋ̍

/i/ can also be centralized to [ɨ] or [ʉ] when following initial sounds.^[14]^[10]^[3]

Tones

Pa-Hng is a Tonal language. It has 8 tones.^[15]

Tone	Value	Example^[16]
1	35	mei³⁵
2	33	mei³³
3	31	m̥ei³¹
4	11	tau¹¹
5	55	ɫ̥a⁵⁵
6	44	kwhi44
7	53	tjhei⁵³
8	42	nei42

References

^ Pa-Hng at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
^ Ratliff, Martha (2010). Hmong–Mien language history. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, Australian National University. hdl:1885/146760. ISBN 978-0-85883-615-0.
^ ^a ^b ^c 毛, 宗武 [Máo Zōngwǔ]; 李, 云兵 [Lǐ Yúnbīng] (1997). Bā hēng yǔ yánjiū 巴哼语研究 [A Study of Baheng [Pa-Hng]]. Shanghai: 上海远东出版社/Shànghǎi yuǎndōng chūbǎn shè.
^ Guizhou Province Gazetteer: Ethnic Gazetteer [贵州省志. 民族志] (2002). Guiyang: Guizhou Ethnic Publishing House [貴州民族出版社].
^ ^a ^b Tongdao Dong Autonomous County Ethnic Gazetteer 通道侗族自治县民族志 (2004).
^ Benedict, Paul (1986). "Miao–Yao Enigma: The Na-e language". Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area. 9 (1): 89–90.
^
- Strecker, David (Fall 1987). "Some Comments on Benedict's 'Miao–Yao Enigma: The Na-e language'" (PDF). Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area. 10 (2): 22–42.
- Strecker, David (Fall 1987). "Some Comments on Benedict's 'Miao–Yao Enigma: The Na-e language': Addendum" (PDF). Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area. 10 (2): 43–53.
^ ^a ^b "Map & Language Descriptions | Borderlands: Lesser Known Indigenous Languages of Northern Vietnam". Archived from the original on 2012-02-07. Retrieved 2012-05-09.
^ ^a ^b 毛宗武 / Mao Zongwu. 优诺语研究 / Younuo yu yan jiu (A Study of Younuo). Beijing: 民族出版社 / Min zu chu ban she, 2007.
^ ^a ^b Niederer, Barbara (1997). "Notes comparatives sur le pa-hng". Cahiers de Linguistique Asie Orientale. 26 (1): 71–130. doi:10.3406/clao.1997.1506.
^ Niederer, Barbara (2004). "Pa-hng and the classification of the Hmong-Mien languages". In Tapp, N.; Michaud, J.; Culas, C.; Lee, G. Yai (eds.). Hmong/Miao in Asia. Bangkok: Silkworm Books. pp. 129–146.
^ ^a ^b Edmondson, J. A.; Gregerson, K. J. (2001). Adams, K. L.; Hudak, T. J. (eds.). "Four Languages of the Vietnam-China Borderlands". Papers from the Sixth Annual Meeting of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society. Tempe: Arizona State University, Program for Southeast Asian Studies: 101–133.
^ Vũ, Quốc Khánh (2013). Người Pà Thẻn ở Việt Nam [The Pa Then in Vietnam]. Hà Nội: Nhà xuất bản thông tấn. pp. 12–15.
^ Edmondson, Jerold A. (1992). "Pa-hng development and diversity". In Ratliff, M.; Schiller, E. (eds.). Papers from the First Annual Meeting of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society (PDF). Arizona State University, Program for Southeast Asian Studies. pp. 159–186.
^ Chen, 1996, p.68.
^ Examples from Chen, 1996, p.67-68.

External links

[e18-1] Pa-Hng at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)

[Ratliff2010-2] Ratliff, Martha (2010). Hmong–Mien language history. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, Australian National University. hdl:1885/146760. ISBN 978-0-85883-615-0.

[:0-3] 毛, 宗武 [Máo Zōngwǔ]; 李, 云兵 [Lǐ Yúnbīng] (1997). Bā hēng yǔ yánjiū 巴哼语研究 [A Study of Baheng [Pa-Hng]]. Shanghai: 上海远东出版社/Shànghǎi yuǎndōng chūbǎn shè.

[4] Guizhou Province Gazetteer: Ethnic Gazetteer [贵州省志. 民族志] (2002). Guiyang: Guizhou Ethnic Publishing House [貴州民族出版社].

[Tongdao-5] Tongdao Dong Autonomous County Ethnic Gazetteer 通道侗族自治县民族志 (2004).

[6] Benedict, Paul (1986). "Miao–Yao Enigma: The Na-e language". Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area. 9 (1): 89–90.

[7] 
Strecker, David (Fall 1987). "Some Comments on Benedict's 'Miao–Yao Enigma: The Na-e language'" (PDF). Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area. 10 (2): 22–42.
Strecker, David (Fall 1987). "Some Comments on Benedict's 'Miao–Yao Enigma: The Na-e language': Addendum" (PDF). Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area. 10 (2): 43–53.

[8] Strecker, David (Fall 1987). "Some Comments on Benedict's 'Miao–Yao Enigma: The Na-e language'" (PDF). Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area. 10 (2): 22–42.

[9] Strecker, David (Fall 1987). "Some Comments on Benedict's 'Miao–Yao Enigma: The Na-e language': Addendum" (PDF). Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area. 10 (2): 43–53.

[ling.uta.edu-8] "Map & Language Descriptions | Borderlands: Lesser Known Indigenous Languages of Northern Vietnam". Archived from the original on 2012-02-07. Retrieved 2012-05-09.

[Mao2007-9] 毛宗武 / Mao Zongwu. 优诺语研究 / Younuo yu yan jiu (A Study of Younuo). Beijing: 民族出版社 / Min zu chu ban she, 2007.

[Niederer1997-10] Niederer, Barbara (1997). "Notes comparatives sur le pa-hng". Cahiers de Linguistique Asie Orientale. 26 (1): 71–130. doi:10.3406/clao.1997.1506.

[11] Niederer, Barbara (2004). "Pa-hng and the classification of the Hmong-Mien languages". In Tapp, N.; Michaud, J.; Culas, C.; Lee, G. Yai (eds.). Hmong/Miao in Asia. Bangkok: Silkworm Books. pp. 129–146.

[Edmondson2001-12] Edmondson, J. A.; Gregerson, K. J. (2001). Adams, K. L.; Hudak, T. J. (eds.). "Four Languages of the Vietnam-China Borderlands". Papers from the Sixth Annual Meeting of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society. Tempe: Arizona State University, Program for Southeast Asian Studies: 101–133.

[Vu2013-13] Vũ, Quốc Khánh (2013). Người Pà Thẻn ở Việt Nam [The Pa Then in Vietnam]. Hà Nội: Nhà xuất bản thông tấn. pp. 12–15.

[14] Edmondson, Jerold A. (1992). "Pa-hng development and diversity". In Ratliff, M.; Schiller, E. (eds.). Papers from the First Annual Meeting of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society (PDF). Arizona State University, Program for Southeast Asian Studies. pp. 159–186.

[15] Chen, 1996, p.68.

[16] Examples from Chen, 1996, p.67-68.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

Pa-Hng language

Hub talks

Pa-Hng language

Pa-Hng language

Pa-Hng language

Hub overview

Add your contribution

Inside this hub

Media Collections

Timelines

Articles

Notes collections

Notes

Days in Chronicle

Root Wikipedia Article

Pa-Hng language

Classification

Names

Varieties

Distribution

China

Vietnam

Phonology

Consonants

Vowels

Tones

See also

References

External links

Add your contribution

Related Hubs