Kra language of China and Vietnam
Gelao (autonym: Kláo, Chinese: 仡佬 Gēlǎo, Vietnamese: Cờ Lao) is a Kra language in the Kra–Dai language family. It is spoken by the Gelao people in southern China and northern Vietnam. Despite an ethnic population of 580,000 (2000 census of China), only a few thousand still speak Gelao in China. Estimates run from 3,000 in China by Li in 1999, of which 500 are monolinguals, to 7,900 by Edmondson in 2008. Edmondson (2002) estimates that the three Gelao varieties of Vietnam have only about 350 speakers altogether.
External relationships.
Like Buyang, another Kra language, Gelao contains many words which are likely to be Austronesian cognates. ("See Austro-Tai languages".)
As noted by Li and Zhou (1999), Gelao shares much vocabulary with the Hlai and Ong Be languages, suggesting contact with Pre-Hlai speakers before their migration to Hainan.
Demographics.
China.
Zhang Jimin estimated a total of over 10,000 Gelao speakers in the early 1990s, while Li Jinfang places this number at 3,000 in 1999. Jerold A. Edmondson's 2008 estimate is 7,900 speakers. This number is rapidly declining, as the Gelao are intermarrying with the neighboring Han, Bouyei, and Miao. Many Gelao speakers can also speak Bouyei, Zhuang, or Miao, and nearly all can speak local varieties of Chinese. Among Gelao-speaking families, most middle-age Gelao have very limited speaking abilities for Gelao, while much of the younger generation cannot even understand the most simple words and phrases.
A divergent variety of Gelao known as Shuicheng Gelao 水城仡佬语 (also known as Datie Gelao 打铁仡佬语; autonym: "") is spoken in Dongkou 洞口村, Houchang Township 猴场乡 and Datiezhai 打铁寨, Miluo Township 米箩乡, both located in Shuicheng County, Guizhou Province, China (Li &amp; Yang 2016: 71). The Gelao of Datiezhai reported that they had migrated from Dongkou 4 generations ago. Li &amp; Yang (2016) report that there are only 3 speakers of Shuicheng Gelao left.
The Mulao number 28,000 people, and are distributed in Majiang, Kaili, Huangping, Duyun, Weng'an, Fuquan, and other counties of southeastern Guizhou. The Mulao of Xuanwei and Jidong villages refer to themselves as the "Mu", and in Longli village 龙里寨 they call themselves '. The Mulao speak a variety of Gelao, not the Mulam language of Guangxi, which is also called Mulao. Luo (1997) describes the two Mulao varieties of ' (') in Majiang County and ' in Kaili City. One dialect is represented by the datapoints of Bamaozhai 巴茅寨 and Madizhai 马碲寨 of Xuanwei District 宣威区, Majiang County (Luo 1997:105, 115), and the other by Bailazhai 白腊寨, Lushan Town 炉山镇, Kaili City (Luo 1997:189); the latter is also spoken in Dafengdong 大风洞, Pingliang 平良, and Chong'anjiang 重安江. Mulao data from Majiang and Kaili are also given in Guizhou (1985).
The extinct (土蛮语) of Sinan County, Guizhou was a variety of Gelao.
Hsiu (2017) reports a Wai Gelao (Chinese: 歪仡佬语, "Crooked Gelao") language variety from Dingjiapo 丁家坡, Mugang Village 木杠村, Muyang Town 木央镇, Funing County, Yunnan. One 83-year-old woman remembered a few kinship terms.
In Qingzhen City, A'ou Gelao is spoken in the following villages (Qingzhen 2004:25-30).
Zhou (2004) reports that there are no more than 6,000 Gelao speakers, making up only 1.2% of the total number of ethnic Gelao people. The following table, based on Zhou (2004:150–151), shows the number of Gelao speakers in each county as of the 1990s. All counties are in Guizhou province unless specified otherwise.
The Gelao people in the following counties do not speak any form of the Gelao language whatsoever, and have shifted entirely to Southwestern Mandarin.
Vietnam.
The most endangered variety, Red Gelao of Vietnam, is spoken by only about 50 people. Many speakers have shifted to Southwestern Mandarin or Hmong. The Red Gelao people, who call themselves the ', send brides back and forth among the villages of Na Khê and Bạch Đích (or Bìch Đich) in Yên Minh District, Hà Giang Province, Vietnam and another village in Fanpo, Malipo County, Yunnan, China (autonym: ') in order to ensure the continual survival of their ethnic group. Edmondson (1998) reports that there are also Red Gelao people in Cán Tí, Quản Bạ District and Túng Sán, Hoàng Su Phì District who no longer speak any Gelao, and speak Hmong, Tay, or Vietnamese instead. Hoang (2013:12) reports that there also some Red Gelao in Vĩnh Hảo commune, Bắc Quang District who had moved from Túng Sán commune. However, the White Gelao of Phố La Village and Sính Lủng Village of Dồng Văn District still speak the White Gelao language.
Varieties.
Gelao is not well documented, having only been studied by a few scholars such as Li Jinfang, Jerold A. Edmondson, Weera Ostapirat, and Zhang Jimin. The three varieties in Vietnam are not mutually intelligible, and three varieties in China may be distinct languages as well. "Ethnologue" classifies Gelao as four languages, perhaps as closely related to the two Lachi languages as they are to each other.
Ostapirat (2000), Edmondson (2008).
Ostapirat (2000) proposed three major subdivisions for Gelao, with a total of 17 varieties. The Central and Southwestern branches shares various phonological innovations, suggesting an initial split with the Northern branch. Some varieties cited are also from Jerold A. Edmondson (2008). Edmondson also proposes that Red Gelao of the China-Vietnam border may in fact constitute a separate primary branch of Gelao.
Central (Gao)
Northern (Red Gelao)
Southwestern (White and Green Gelao)
Zhang (1993).
Zhang Jimin (1993) recognizes the following subdivisions of Gelao.
Bradley (2007), He (1983).
The "Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages" (2007), based on information from He (1983), groups Gelao into five subdivisions.
The most extensively studied varieties are the Wanzi and Zhenfeng dialects, while the most endangered one is Red Gelao.
Zhou (2004).
Zhou (2004) lists four dialects of Gelao.
Wei (2008).
Wei Mingying (2008:45) classifies the Gelao dialects as follows.
Wei (2008: 39-40) classifies the A'ou (Red Gelao) dialects as follows.
Wei (2008: 39) considers Houzitian 猴子田 Red Gelao to be most closely related to the Gelao variety of Longjiazhai 龙家寨, northern Zhijin County. There are only about 10 ethnic Gelao households in Houzitian. The Gelao speakers of "Donie" "" village, Aga Township 阿嘎乡, Shuicheng County 水城县 originally migrated from Houzitian several decades ago; there are only a few elderly rememberers of that variety left.
Hsiu (2013, 2019).
Hsiu (2019) classifies the Gelao language dialects as follows.
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An earlier classification by Hsiu (2013) classifies the Gelao dialects as follows.
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Phonology.
Many Gelao varieties, such as Telue and Vandu, have many uvular and prenasalized consonants. Many varieties also preserve consonant clusters that have been lost in most other related languages. These consonant clusters, such as , correspond regularly with consonants in Lachi, Mulao, Qabiao (Pubiao), Buyang, and various Kam–Tai languages. Gelao also shares many phonological features with Bouyei and other neighboring non-Kra languages.
Tones.
Gelao varieties are tonal. Tones can include level tones (' and '), rising tones (' and '), and falling tones (' and ').
Comparisons.
Sound correspondences between the Liuzhi (六枝) and Zhenfeng (贞丰) varieties include:
Grammar.
Like all of its surrounding languages, Gelao is a head-first, SVO language. Like Buyang, one unusual feature of Gelao is that negatives usually come at the end of a sentence. Reduplication is very common and is used for diminutive or repetitive purposes. Other common features include the use of serial verb constructions and compound nouns. Although numerals and classifiers precede nouns, adjectives (including demonstratives) always follow the noun. Function words, such as prepositions and auxiliary words, are often derived from verbs.
Like Buyang and Dong, Gelao retains many prefixes that have been lost in most other Kra–Dai languages. Zhang (1993:300) notes that the Moji (磨基) Longlin dialect of White Gelao makes especially extensive use of prefixing syllables before nouns, verbs, and adjectives. These prefixes are especially important for reconstruction purposes.
Many words in Gelao are derived from vernacular Southwest Mandarin Chinese. These loanwords are often used interchangeably with native Gelao words. There is also a highly rich system of classifiers.
Gelao also has a rich set of pronouns not attested in other Kra–Dai languages. There are also pronouns referring to one's household in particular.
Manuscripts.
In Guizhou, there are several manuscripts that have word lists of Gelao varieties written using Chinese characters.
In 2009, a book allegedly written in a native Gelao script was found in Guizhou, China, but scholarship reveals it is certainly fake.
References.
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External links.
Word lists