Derung language

Derung, Dulong (simplified Chinese: 独龙; traditional Chinese: 獨龍; pinyin: Dúlóng) or Trung is the Sino-Tibetan language of the Derung people of China. It is an unwritten language. It is thought that the Derung and the Nu people are of the same origin and speak somewhat the same language. They share the same kinship terminology as well as other cultural features.

Melam, Metu, Tamalu, and Tukiumu may be Derung dialects. However, they are not included in the speaker total of 14,000 people.

Dulongyu Jianzhi (1986) lists two main dialects of Dulong. This includes the Dulong River dialect. The Dulong River watershed, primarily in Dulongjiang Township 独龙江乡, Gongshan County, Yunnan, includes Villages 1 to 4, District 4; the dialect spoken in Village 4 is very different from the dialect spoken in villages 1,2, and 3 (4,700 speakers). Villages 1 to 4 are arrayed north to south, with Village 1 the northernmost, and Village 4 the southernmost. In other writings, these "villages" are called townships. The second dialect is the Nujiang dialect in Gongshan County, Yunnan (including in Bingzhongluo Township 丙中洛乡, District 1, Nujiang) and Chawalong Township, Zayü County, Tibet. There are 6,000 speakers.