Hlai language
| Hlai | |
|---|---|
| Li | |
| Native to | China |
| Region | Hainan |
| Ethnicity | Li people |
|
Native speakers
|
(700,000 cited 1987–1999) |
|
Tai–Kadai
|
|
|
Early forms
|
Proto-Hlai (reconstructed)
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Either: lic – Hlai cuq – Cun |
| Glottolog | nucl1241 |
The Hlai languages (Chinese: 黎语; pinyin: Lí yǔ) are a primary branch of the Tai–Kadai language family spoken in the mountains of central and south-central Hainan in China. They include Cun, whose speakers are ethnically distinct. A quarter of Hlai speakers are monolingual. None of the Hlai languages had a writing system until the 1950s, when the Latin script was adopted for Ha.
Norquest (2007) classifies the Hlai languages as follows. Individual languages are highlighted in bold. There are some 750,000 Hlai speakers.
The Fuma 府玛 dialect is spoken in 1 village north of Changcheng 昌城, Hainan. It had by 800 speakers in 1994.
Jiamao 加茂 (52,000), although ethnically Hlai, is not a Hlai language. It is currently unclassified.
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