Macro-Bai languages

Greater Bai
Greater Bai
Macro-Bai
Geographic; distribution	Guizhou, China
Linguistic classification	Sino-Tibetan Sinitic? Greater Bai; ;
Subdivisions	Bai; Caijia; Longjia; Luren; Waxiang?;
Glottolog	macr1275

Greater Bai (Chinese: 白语支) is a group of Sino-Tibetan languages proposed by Zhengzhang (2010), who argued that Bai and Caijia are sister languages.^[1] Sagart (2011)^[2] also considers Waxiang to form a branch with Caijia. Additionally, Longjia and Luren are two extinct languages of western Guizhou closely related to Caijia (Guizhou 1984).^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

Languages

The languages are:

Bai^[1]
Caijia-Waxiang^[2]
- Waxiang
- Caijia, Longjia, Luren^[4]

Bai has over a million speakers, but Longjia and Luren may both be extinct, while Caijia is highly endangered with approximately 1,000 speakers. The Qixingmin people of Weining County, Guizhou may have also spoken a Greater Bai language, but currently speak Luoji.

Waxiang

As noted by Laurent Sagart (2011)^[2] and others,^[7]^[8]^[9] Waxiang, spoken in northwestern Hunan province, China, appears to share some words with Caijia. Noting that Caijia is clearly connected to Waxiang, Sagart (2011) considers Caijia to be a sister of Waxiang, and that the two languages were the first to split off from Old Chinese. Currently, Waxiang is classified as a divergent Chinese variety rather than as a non-Sinitic language.^[10]^[11] Similarities among Old Chinese, Waxiang, Caijia, and Bai have also been pointed out by Wu & Shen (2010).^[12]

Sagart (2011) lists the following innovations shared by Caijia and Waxiang.

OC *lˤ- and *lr- > Caijia and Waxiang l-, as in Caijia len³¹, Waxiang lɛ¹³ 'field' (田)
OC *r- > Caijia ɣ- and Waxiang z-, as in Caijia ɣɯ³¹, Waxiang zɛ¹³ 'to come' (來)
'two': Caijia ta⁵⁵, Waxiang tso⁵³ (再)
'milk': Caijia mi⁵⁵, Waxiang mi⁵⁵, which Sagart (2011) suggests is a non-Sinitic word

References

^ ^a ^b Zhèngzhāng Shàngfāng [郑张尚芳]. 2010. Càijiāhuà Báiyǔ guānxì jí cígēn bǐjiào [蔡家话白语关系及词根比较]. In Pān Wǔyún and Shěn Zhōngwěi [潘悟云、沈钟伟] (eds.). Yánjūzhī Lè, The Joy of Research [研究之乐-庆祝王士元先生七十五寿辰学术论文集], II, 389–400. Shanghai: Shanghai Educational Publishing House.
^ ^a ^b ^c Sagart, Laurent. 2011. Classifying Chinese dialects/Sinitic languages on shared innovations. Talk given at Centre de recherches linguistiques sur l’Asie orientale, Norgent sur Marne.
^ Guizhou provincial ethnic classification commission, linguistic division [贵州省民族识别工作队语言组]. 1982. The language of the Caijia [Caijia de yuyan 蔡家的语言]. m.s.
^ ^a ^b Guizhou provincial ethnic classification commission [贵州省民族识别工作队]. 1984. Report on ethnic classification issues of the Nanlong people (Nanjing-Longjia) [南龙人（南京-龙家）族别问题调查报告]. m.s.
^ Guizhou Province Gazetteer: Ethnic Gazetteer [贵州省志. 民族志] (2002). Guiyang: Guizhou Ethnic Publishing House [貴州民族出版社].
^ "白族家园-讲义寨". 222.210.17.136. 2011-01-28. Archived from the original on 2014-10-17. Retrieved 2013-11-27. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^ de Sousa, Hilário. 2015. The Far Southern Sinitic Languages as part of Mainland Southeast Asia. In Enfield, N.J. & Comrie, Bernard (eds.), Languages of Mainland Southeast Asia: The state of the art (Pacific Linguistics 649), 356–439. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. doi:10.1515/9781501501685-009.
^ 湘西瓦乡话“吃饭”【柔摸】读音来历考
^ 沅陵乡话（船溪）与白语蔡家话个别读音对比
^ Baxter, William; Sagart, Laurent (2014). Old Chinese: A New Reconstruction. Oxford University Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-19-994537-5.
^ Kurpaska, Maria (2010). Chinese Language(s): A Look Through the Prism of "The Great Dictionary of Modern Chinese Dialects". Walter de Gruyter. p. 73. ISBN 978-3-11-021914-2.
^ Wu Yunji, Shen Ruiqing [伍云姬、沈瑞清]. 2010. An Investigative Report of Waxianghua of Guzhang County, Xiangxi Prefecture [湘西古丈瓦乡话调查报告]. Shanghai Educational Press [上海教育出版社].

[Zhengzhang2010-1] Zhèngzhāng Shàngfāng [郑张尚芳]. 2010. Càijiāhuà Báiyǔ guānxì jí cígēn bǐjiào [蔡家话白语关系及词根比较]. In Pān Wǔyún and Shěn Zhōngwěi [潘悟云、沈钟伟] (eds.). Yánjūzhī Lè, The Joy of Research [研究之乐-庆祝王士元先生七十五寿辰学术论文集], II, 389–400. Shanghai: Shanghai Educational Publishing House.

[Sagart2011-2] Sagart, Laurent. 2011. Classifying Chinese dialects/Sinitic languages on shared innovations. Talk given at Centre de recherches linguistiques sur l’Asie orientale, Norgent sur Marne.

[3] Guizhou provincial ethnic classification commission, linguistic division [贵州省民族识别工作队语言组]. 1982. The language of the Caijia [Caijia de yuyan 蔡家的语言]. m.s.

[Guizhou1984-4] Guizhou provincial ethnic classification commission [贵州省民族识别工作队]. 1984. Report on ethnic classification issues of the Nanlong people (Nanjing-Longjia) [南龙人（南京-龙家）族别问题调查报告]. m.s.

[Gazetteer-5] Guizhou Province Gazetteer: Ethnic Gazetteer [贵州省志. 民族志] (2002). Guiyang: Guizhou Ethnic Publishing House [貴州民族出版社].

[6] "白族家园-讲义寨". 222.210.17.136. 2011-01-28. Archived from the original on 2014-10-17. Retrieved 2013-11-27. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

[deSousa2015-7] Sousa, Hilário. 2015. The Far Southern Sinitic Languages as part of Mainland Southeast Asia. In Enfield, N.J. & Comrie, Bernard (eds.), Languages of Mainland Southeast Asia: The state of the art (Pacific Linguistics 649), 356–439. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. doi:10.1515/9781501501685-009.

[8] 湘西瓦乡话“吃饭”【柔摸】读音来历考

[9] 沅陵乡话（船溪）与白语蔡家话个别读音对比

[10] Baxter, William; Sagart, Laurent (2014). Old Chinese: A New Reconstruction. Oxford University Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-19-994537-5.

[11] Kurpaska, Maria (2010). Chinese Language(s): A Look Through the Prism of "The Great Dictionary of Modern Chinese Dialects". Walter de Gruyter. p. 73. ISBN 978-3-11-021914-2.

[12] Wu Yunji, Shen Ruiqing [伍云姬、沈瑞清]. 2010. An Investigative Report of Waxianghua of Guzhang County, Xiangxi Prefecture [湘西古丈瓦乡话调查报告]. Shanghai Educational Press [上海教育出版社].

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Languages

Waxiang

See also

References