E language

For the computer programming language, see E (programming language).

E
Region	China
Native speakers	30,000  (1992)
Language family	mixed Zhuang–Pinghua
Language codes
ISO 639-3	eee

E (simplified Chinese: 诶话; traditional Chinese: 誒話; pinyin: Ē Huà) or Wuse (simplified Chinese: 五色话; traditional Chinese: 五色話; pinyin: Wŭsè Huà) is a Tai–Chinese mixed language. It is spoken by about 30,000 people, most of whom are classified as Zhuang by the Chinese government, living in the villages of Yongle and Sanfang Districts, Rongshui Miao Autonomous County, Guangxi. The speakers also refer to their language as Kjang E (Edmondson 1992:138).

The grammar is Tai, based on Northern Zhuang, Mulam, or Kam. The vocabulary is largely Chinese, based on Tuguai Pinghua and Guiliu Southwestern Mandarin. The Caolan language of Vietnam displays many similarities with E.

References

• Edmondson, Jerold A. 1992. "Fusion and diffusion in E, Guangxi Province, China". T. Dutton et al. (eds.) The language game: papers in memory of Donald C. Laycock (Pacific Linguistic Series, C-110). Department of Linguistics, Australian National University, Canberra, 135-144.