Qau language
| Qau | |
|---|---|
| Native to | China |
| Region | Anshun City and Pingba County, Guizhou |
Native speakers | 2,000 (2011)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | gqu |
| Glottolog | qaua1234 |
| ELP | Gao Gelao |
Qau, Central Gelao, or Sinicized Gelao (Chinese: 汉仡佬; pinyin: Hàn Gēlǎo) is a Gelao language spoken in Guizhou, China.[2][3]
Dialects[edit]
The dialects of Qau that are still spoken are:[4]
- Dagouchang 大狗场 (in Pingba County)
- Wanzi 湾子 (in Anshun City)
Phonology[edit]
Consonants[edit]
| Labial | Alveolar | (Alveolo-) palatal |
Velar | Uvular | Glottal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | lat. | plain | lat. | ||||||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ̟ | ŋ | |||||
| Stop | voiceless | p | pˡ | t | k | kˡ | q | (ʔ) | |
| aspirated | pʰ | tʰ | kʰ | qʰ | |||||
| prenasal | ᵐp | ᵐpˡ | ⁿt | ᵑk | ᵑkˡ | ||||
| Affricate | voiceless | ts | tɕ | ||||||
| aspirated | tsʰ | tɕʰ | |||||||
| prenasal | ⁿts | ᶮtɕ | |||||||
| Fricative | voiceless | f | s | ɕ | x | h | |||
| voiced | v | vˡ | z | ʑ | |||||
| Approximant | l | (w) | |||||||
- [ʔ] is heard in syllable-initial position before vowels.
- [w] is heard as an initial consonant of Chinese loanwords.
Vowels[edit]
| Front | Central | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | (ɯ) | u | |
| Mid | e | ə ə˞ | o | |
| Open | a | ɒ | ||
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | iu, ie, iɒ, io | ue, ua, uɒ | |
| Mid | ei | əu, əɯ | |
| Open | ai, au | ||
| Triphthong | iau | uei, uai |
| Front | Central | Back | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | in | un | uŋ | ||
| Mid | en | ||||
| Open | an | aŋ | |||
| Triphthong | ian | uan | uaŋ | ||
- /i/ is heard as a syllabic [ɹ̩] when after sounds /s, ts/
- [ɯ] is only heard in the diphthong /əɯ/.
- Vowels with a word-final /n/ can also be heard as nasalized [Ṽ].[5]
Pronouns[edit]
The following are pronouns from Pingba Gelao.[2]
| Gloss | Pingba Gelao |
|---|---|
| I | (su33) i42 |
| you | (su33) mu21 |
| he, she, it | (su33) u42 |
| we | (su33) ta33 |
| you all | (su33) sa33 |
| they | pə42 nu42 |
| my household | qa33/a33 qei42 |
| your household | qa33/a33 mu21 |
| his/her household | qa33/a55 qu42 |
Numerals[edit]
Pingba Gelao numerals are given below.
- si33
- su33
- ta33
- pu33
- mpu33
- naŋ33
- ɕi13
- zua55
- sə13
- pan13
References[edit]
- ^ Qau at Ethnologue (24th ed., 2021)
- ^ a b Zhang, Jimin 张済民 (1993). Gēlǎoyǔ yánjiū 仡佬语研究 [A Study of Gelao] (in Chinese). Guiyang: Guizhou minzu chubanshe.
- ^ Zhou, Guoyan 周国炎 (2004). Gēlǎozú mǔyǔ shēngtài yánjiū 仡佬族母語生态硏究 [Studies on the Linguistic Ecology of the Gelao People] (in Chinese). Beijing: Minzu chubanshe.
- ^ Li, Jinfang 李锦芳 (2006). Xīnán dìqū bīnwēi yǔyán diàochá yánjiū 西南地区濒危语言调查研究 [Studies on Endangered Languages in the Southwest China] (in Chinese). Beijing: Zhongyang minzu daxue chubanshe.
- ^ He, Jiashan [贺嘉善] (1983). Gēlǎo yǔ jiǎn zhì [仡佬语简志] (A sketch of Gelao). Beijing: Ethnic Publishing House [民族出版社].
