This article is about the more inclusive political grouping of all languages spoken by the Hani nationality of China. For the Hani language proper, see Hani language.
The Hani languages are a group of closely related but distinct languages of the Loloish (Yi) branch of the Tibeto-Burman linguistic group. They are also referred to as the Hanoid languages by Lama (2012) and as the Akoid languages by Bradley (2007).
Approximately 1.5 million people speak these languages, mainly in China, Laos, Burma (Myanmar), and Vietnam; more than 90% of the speakers of these languages live in China. Various ethnicities that use Hani languages are grouped into a single class recognized nationality named Hani after the largest subgroup. In China, the languages of this group—which include Hani proper, Akha, and Hao-Bai (Honi and Baihong)—are considered dialects (Chinese: fangyan 方言). Western scholars, however, have traditionally classified them as separate languages.
In China, Akha and other related languages are considered to be derivatives of Hani. They are not mutually intelligible, which means that speakers of one language do not necessarily understand speakers of the other language. In 2007, according to Ethnologue, there were almost 1.5 million speakers of all Hani varieties. Slightly more than half (760,000) of these speakers can speak Hani properly (considering age etc.).
Lama (2012) groups the principal varieties of the Hani languages identified by Bradley (2007) as follows: Yunnan locations and speaker populations are from Haniyu Jianzhi 哈尼语简志 according to information from 1986.
Ha-Ya 哈雅 had 850,000 speakers in 1982. The representative dialect is Dazhai 大寨 and is spoken in Lüchun County.[1]
Hani 哈尼 (autonym: xa21ni21; orthography: "Haqniqdoq") has 520,000 speakers in south-central Yunnan, China and 12,500 speakers in Vietnam. In Yunnan is spoken in Honghe, Yuanyang, Lüchun, and Jinping counties.
Akha 阿卡 a.k.a. Yani 雅尼 (ritual autonym: za21ni21; orthography: "Aqkaqdoq") has 550,000 speakers: 250,000 in China, 220,000 in Burma, 35,000 in northern Thailand, and 35,000 in northern Laos. In Yunnan, China it is spoken in Sipsongpanna. Representative dialect is Gelanghe Township 格朗和哈尼族乡, Menghai County.
Muda 木达 has over 2,000 speakers in Nanlianshan township 南联山乡, Jinghong City, Yunnan, China (Xu 1991).[2]
Hao-Bai 豪白: 210,000 speakers in Mojiang, Yuanjiang, and Pu'er counties. Representative dialect: Shuigui 水癸, Mojiang County.[3]
Haoni 豪尼 a.k.a. Honi (autonym: xɒ21ni21) has 120,000 speakers.
Baihong 白宏 (autonym: pɤ31xɔ̃31) has 60,000 speakers.
David Bradley (2007)[4] considers the Hani-Akha (Ha-Ya) and Haoni-Baihong (Hao-Bai) languages to be part of an Akoid subgroup.
In China, all of the Bi-Ka languages (Chinese: 碧卡) are considered to form a single Hani dialect cluster (Chinese: 方言fangyan), and the speakers are officially classified as ethnic Hani (Haniyu Jianzhi 哈尼语简志 1986). Recognized dialects include Biyue 碧约 (autonym: bi31jɔ31), Kaduo 卡多, and Enu 峨努. In Yunnan, China, they are spoken in Mojiang, Jiangcheng, Jingdong, and other counties, with a total of 370,000 speakers. The representative dialect is that of Caiyuan 菜园, Mojiang County.[5][6]
The Yunnan Provincial Gazetteer (云南省志：少数民族语言文字志, p. 113) classifies the Hani languages as follows. Additional dialects and datapoints from Zhang (1998)[7] and Tang (2011) are also included.
Ha-Ya 哈雅方言, 680,000 people
Hani 哈尼次方言
Dazhai, Lüchun County dialect 绿春大寨哈尼土语 (Dazhai is the standard Hani 哈尼 dialect; also includes the datapoint of Dashuigou 大水沟[7])
Angluo 昂倮 ("Hhaqloldoq"):[7] Malizhai, Yuanyang County dialect 元阳麻栗寨哈尼土语[8] (also includes the datapoint of Guozong 果统[9][7])
Luobi 罗碧 ("Lolbiqdoq"):[7] Dazhai, Jinping County 金平大寨; Adebo, Jinping County 金平阿得博
Malutang, Jinping County dialect 金平马鹿塘哈尼土语[10] (also known as Loumei 楼梅)[11]
Lami 腊咪 ("Laqmildoq"):[7] Jiayin, Honghe County dialect 红河甲寅哈尼土语[12][13] (also includes the datapoint of Leyu 乐育[14][7])
Langza, Honghe County dialect 红河浪杂哈尼土语 (includes Yiche[15])
In China, Hani languages are spoken mostly in areas east of the Mekong River in the south-central Yunnan province, concentrated in the Pu'er and Honghe prefectures as well as in parts of other surrounding prefectures. Hani is also spoken in Lai Châu Province of northwestern Vietnam, northern Laos, and Shan State of northeastern Burma.
Edmondson (2002) reports that the Hani of Vietnam is distributed in 2 provinces of northwestern Vietnam. The earliest Hani pioneers to Vietnam probably numbered around 5 to 6 families, and arrived in Mường Tè District from Jinping County and Lüchun CountyinYunnan about 325 years ago. The Hani of Phong Thổ District and Bát Xát District arrived later, about 175 years ago from Yunnan. The Hani of Vietnam claim to be able to communicate in the Hani language with ethnic Hani from different areas of Vietnam despite significant geographical barriers. Edmondson (2002), however, reported different Hani speech varieties in various parts of northwestern Vietnam, which differ mostly lexically.
Tang Mingsheng (2011, ed.) contains word lists and ethnographies of Hani subgroups. There are 12 books in the Regional Culture Investigation of International Hani/Aka (国际哈尼/阿卡区域文化调查) series edited by Tang.
Tang Mingsheng 唐明生. 2011. 国际哈尼/阿卡区域文化调查: 中国元阳县马街哈尼族郭合人文化实录. Kunming: Yunnan People's Press 云南人民出版社. ISBN978-7-222-07409-5 (Guohe 郭合 people of Dengqu Village, Majie Township, Yuanjiang County 元阳县马街乡登去村[19])
Tang Mingsheng 唐明生. 2011. 国际哈尼/阿卡区域文化调查: 中国金平县哈尼田哈尼族罗比·罗们人文化实录. Kunming: Yunnan People's Press 云南人民出版社. ISBN978-7-222-08436-0 (Nuobi 罗比 and Nuomei 罗们 people of Hanitian 哈尼田, Jinhe Town 金河镇, Jinping County[25])
Tang Mingsheng 唐明生. 2011. 国际哈尼/阿卡区域文化调查: 中国金平县普角哈尼族果作人文化实录. Kunming: Yunnan People's Press 云南人民出版社. ISBN978-7-222-08435-3 (Guozuo 果作 people of Pujiao 普角, Jinshuihe Town 金水河镇, Jinping County[17])
Tang Mingsheng 唐明生. 2011. 国际哈尼/阿卡区域文化调查: 中国勐海县格朗和哈尼族阿卡人文化实录. Kunming: Yunnan People's Press 云南人民出版社. ISBN978-7-222-07410-1 (Akha 阿卡 people of Suhu Dazhai, Suhu Village, Gelanghe Township, Menghai County 勐海县格朗和乡苏湖村民委员会苏湖大寨自然村[26])
^Bradley, David. 2007. "East and Southeast Asia." In Moseley, Christopher (ed.), Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages, 349-424. London & New York: Routledge.
^ abcdefgZhang Peizhi [张佩芝]. 1998. Comparative vocabulary lists of the Ha-Ya dialects of the Hani language [哈尼语哈雅方言土语词汇对照]. Kunming: Yunnan Ethnic Publishing House [云南民族出版社].
Bradley, David. 2007. East and Southeast Asia. In Moseley, Christopher (ed.), Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages, 349-424. London & New York: Routledge.
Edmondson, Jerold A. 2002. "The Central and Southern Loloish Languages of Vietnam". Proceedings of the Twenty-Eighth Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society: Special Session on Tibeto-Burman and Southeast Asian Linguistics (2002), pp. 1–13.
Lewis, Paul W.; Bai, Bibo (1996). Haqniqdoq-yilyidoq, Doqlo-Soqdaoq [Hani-english/english-hani Dictionary]. London: Kegan Paul International in association with the International Institute for Asian Studies.
