Rrmea

Northern Qiang

Sino-Tibetan

FamilySino-Tibetan Speakers~57K (~52K Mao County + ~5K dispersed) ScriptLatin CountriesChina Official inNo (Standard Chinese is the national language; minority languages are protected under Article 4 of the Constitution) Vitalityvulnerable ISO 639-3cng

Northern Qiang (autonymously Rrmea) is a Qiangic Tibeto-Burman language of the Aba Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan, China. The Qiangic family (Northern Qiang cng, Southern Qiang qxs, Pumi pmj, rGyalrongic varieties — ~10 languages, total ~250K speakers) is sister to the Bodish-Tibetic branch within Sino-Tibetan, occupying the eastern Tibetan Plateau and Sichuan highlands. Northern Qiang is famous in linguistic literature for its complex stop-fricative system, voiceless sonorants, and unusual tonal contrasts. The 2008 Sichuan earthquake devastated Mao County, the Qiang heartland, displacing many speakers; revitalization through Qiang Pinyin literacy programs continues.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Northern Qiang

Water

cu

tsu

Fire

mi

mi

Sun

mu

mu

Moon

tʃhə ʂa

tʃʰə ʂa

Star

ʁʐə

ʁʐə

Night

asha

aʃa

Rain

meʴ

meʴ

Snow

pe

pe

Wind

mu ʁu

mu ʁu

Earth

zəp

zəp

Stone

ʁlu pi

ʁlu pi

Mountain

qhsəp

qʰsəp

Mother

ama

ama

Father

apa

apa

Daughter

tsi

tsi

I

qa

qɑ

You

ʔũ

ʔũ

We

tɕile

tɕile

Name

mi

mi

Person

nə

nə

Head

qə patʂ

qə patʂ

Eye

mil

mil

Ear

nəku

nəku

Nose

stɤq

stɤq

Mouth

ʂqu

ʂqu

Tooth

shə

ʂə

Tongue

zəq

zəq

Hand

ki

ki

Foot

dʒɑqu

dʒɑqu

Heart

shulm

ʃulm

Bone

ʐeke

ʐeke

Blood

sɑ

sɑ

Poop

χʂə

χʂə

Love

halia

halia

Tree

səf

səf

Dog

kuel

kʷel

Cat

miu

miu

Fish

χdzə

χdzə

Bird

wə

wə

Butterfly

khɕam tɕhi

kʰɕam tɕʰi

Egg

wəs

wəs

Bear

ti

ti

Horse

ɹu

ɹu

House

stuapa

stuapa

Milk

cəp

tsəp

Honey

bəχʂ

bəχʂ

Salt

tshə

tsʰə

Rice

qhəʴ

qʰəʴ

Iron

suʴ mu

suʴ mu

Silk

ku xtʃan

ku xtʃan

Book

zət phi

zət pʰi

Eat

ndzu

ndzu

Drink

ndhu

ndʱu

Sleep

nɤ

nɤ

One

lhe

ɬe

Two

ɣnə

ʁnə

Three

khsi

kʰsi

Four

gʐə

ɡʐə

Five

ʁua

ʁua

Hundred

khiʴ

kʰiʴ

Hello

nia ja

nia dʒa

Thank you

—

—

Good

stsuq

stsuq

New

khsə

kʰsə

Red

ɕizi

ɕizi

White

phi

pʰi

Black

nyiq

ɲiq

Green

ʐɑn ku

ʐɑn ku

Blue

phiɑʴwa

pʰiɑʴwa

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Sino-Tibetan

Meaning Northern QiangSouthern QiangSitu rGyalrongErsuMongghulMeiteiLiturgical Classical Tibetan
Water cu /tsu/ tsuə /tsuə˧˧/ tə-tɕi /tətɕi/ dʒo /dʒo/ szu /ʂdzu/ ꯏꯁꯤꯡ /isiŋ/ ཆུ /tɕʰu/
Fire mi /mi/ mi /mi˧˧/ tə-mtɕək /təmtɕək/ mɛ /mɛ/ ghal /ɢal/ ꯃꯩ /mə́i/ མེ /me/
Sun mu /mu/ masɿ /ma˧˧sɿ˥˥/ kə-jam /kəjam/ ȵoma /ɲoma/ nara /nara/ ꯅꯨꯃꯤꯠ /numit/ ཉི་མ /ɲimə/
Moon tʃhə ʂa /tʃʰə ʂa/ ɕyɕya /ɕy˧˧ɕya˥˥/ tsə la /tsəla/ ɬapʰɛ /ɬapʰɛ/ sara /sara/ ꯊꯥ /tʰaː/ ཟླ་བ /tawa/
Star ʁʐə /ʁʐə/ χdʐepe /χdʐe˧˧pe˥˥/ tsəu ri /tsəuri/ tʂɿ /tʂɿ/ foodi /foodə/ ꯊꯋꯥꯟꯃꯤꯆꯥꯛ /tʰəwanmitʃak/ སྐར་མ /kaːma/
Night asha /aʃa/ mudʑo /mu˧˧dʑo˨˦˩/ tə-mor /təmor/ nkhua /nkʰua˥˥/ soni /sonə/ ꯑꯍꯤꯡ /əhiŋ/ མཚན་མོ /tsʰɛ̃mo/
Rain meʴ /meʴ/ maʐi /ma˧˩ʐi˥˥/ tə-mu /təmu/ guɑ /ɡuɑ˧˧/ huraa /xuraa/ ꯅꯣꯡ /noŋ/ ཆར་པ /tɕʰaːpa/
Snow pe /pe/ məpɑ /mə˧˩pɑ˥˥/ ta-jpa /tajpa/ zɿ /zɿ/ qasi /ʨasə/ ꯎꯟ /un/ ཁ་བ /kʰawa/
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