Қытай мен Вьетнамдағы Гелао тілі

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages (2007), based on information from He (1983), groups Gelao into five subdivisions. Hakhi (哈给 Hagei, , Green Gelao): west central Guizhou, western Guangxi, southeastern Yunnan, northern Vietnam including Yangliu (杨柳) variety in Renhuai County; southwestern Gelao of Sanchong (三冲) and Qinglong (青龙). Hagei varieties are also spoken in Ma'ao (麻凹村), Guanling County (关岭县), Pomao (坡帽) in Zhenfeng County (贞丰县), and Pingzheng Gelao Village (平正仡佬族乡), Zunyi (遵义). Estimated by Jiashan He (1983) at 1,700 speakers. He (1983) also lists Anliang 安良 and Taiyang 太阳 of Renhuai 仁怀县, Huajiangzhen 花江镇 and Ma'ao 麻垇 of Zhenning 镇宁县, Dingying 顶营 of Guanling 关岭县, Maixiang 麦巷 near Qingzhen 清镇, and Liangshuiying 凉水营 of Qinglong 晴隆县 as Hagei speaking places. Tolo (多罗 Duoluo, , White Gelao): west central Guizhou, western Guangxi, southeastern Yunnan, northern Vietnam; all other southwestern Gelao varieties. The Niupo variety is also spoken in Machang village (马场镇), Puding County (普定县), Anshun, as well as Agong village (阿弓镇), Zhijin County (织金县), Bijie. The Datiezhai variety is spoken in Gaoshi (高石) of Shuicheng (水城) and Miluo (米箩) of Shuicheng (水城). Estimated by Jiashan He (1983) at 1,200 speakers. A uo (阿欧 A'ou/Ao, Red Gelao): west central Guizhou, western Guangxi, southeastern Yunnan, northern Vietnam including Banli (板栗湾) variety in Renhuai County; all northern Gelao varieties, as well as southwestern Gelao of Puding County (普定县) and Maocaozhai (茅草寨), Zhijin County (织金县). Estimated by Jiashan He (1983) at 1,500 speakers. He (1983) also lists Shawo 沙窝, Xinkaitian 新开田, Lannigou 滥泥沟 (all in Qianxi 黔西县) as A'ou speaking places. Aqao (稿 Gao): west central Guizhou; all central Gelao varieties. Estimated by Jiashan He (1983) at 2,000 speakers. He (1983) also listed Dongkou 洞口 of Shuicheng 水城县 and Niudong 牛洞 of Zhijin 织金县 as Gao speaking places. Qaw: Gulin County (古蔺县), Sichuan; mostly unattested. This dialect is spoken by the Yi (羿人), who are the least known Gelao subgroup. The most extensively studied varieties are the Wanzi and Zhenfeng dialects, while the most endangered one is Red Gelao.

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.

Gelao varieties are tonal. Tones can include level tones ( and ), rising tones ( and ), and falling tones ( and ).

Sound correspondences between the Liuzhi (六枝) and Zhenfeng (贞丰) varieties include: 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. but scholarship reveals it is certainly fake.