Bai language
| Bai | |
|---|---|
| 白语 Báiyǔ | |
| Baip‧ngvp‧zix | |
| Native to | Yunnan, China |
| Ethnicity | Bai |
|
Native speakers
|
1.3 million (2003) |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Variously: bca – Central Bai, Jianchuan dialect bfs – Southern Bai, Dali dialect bfc – Northern Bai, Bijiang dialect (Panyi Bai) lay – Lama Bai? |
| ISO 639-6 | bicr |
| Glottolog | baic1239 |
The Bai language (Bai: Baip‧ngvp‧zix; simplified Chinese: 白语; traditional Chinese: 白語; pinyin: Báiyǔ) is a language spoken in China, primarily in Yunnan province, by the Bai people. The language has over a million speakers and is divided into three main dialects. It is a tonal language with eight tones and a rather rich set of vowels. As is common among Southeast Asian languages, the vowels of Bai have a phonemic opposition between tense vowels and lax vowels (creaky voice vs. normal voice). There exists a small amount of traditional literature written with Chinese characters, Bowen (僰文), as well as a number of recent publications printed with a recently standardized system of romanisation using the Latin alphabet.
Within the core Bai area, three dialects are recognized, which may actually be distinct languages: Jianchuan (Central), Dali (Southern), and Bijiang (Northern). Jianchuan and Dali are close, and speakers are reported to be able to understand one another after living together for a month. Bijiang is more divergent, and may itself be two languages, Panyi and Lama, the latter mixed with Nung.
The Laemae (lɛ˨˩mɛ˨˩, Leimai, Leimo), a clan numbering about 50,000 people who are submerged within the Lisu, are reported to speak a "Bai group language" (Bradley 2007:363). Bradley (2007) estimates that there are about 15,000 speakers of Laemae in Fugong County, Yunnan. Lisu and Northern Bai are also spoken in the region.
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