Lahu language
| Lahu | |
|---|---|
| Ladhof | |
| Native to | Yunnan, China; Thailand; Laos; Myanmar |
| Ethnicity | Lahu |
|
Native speakers
|
600,000 (2007–2012) |
|
Sino-Tibetan
|
|
| Latin script | |
| Official status | |
|
Official language in
|
Lancang Lahu Autonomous County, Yunnan |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Variously: lhu – Lahu lhi – Lahu Shi lkc – Kucong |
| Glottolog | laho1234 |
Lahu (autonym: Ladhof [lɑ˥˧xo˩]) is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken by the Lahu people of China, Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos. It is widely used in China, both by Lahu people, and by other ethnic minorities in Yunnan, who use it as a lingua franca. However, the language is not widely used nor taught in any schools in Thailand, where many Lahu are in fact refugees and illegal immigrants, having crossed into Thailand from Myanmar.
A few dialects are noted, which are each known by a variety of names:
Phạm Huy (2013:13) lists the following 3 branches.
Yunnan (1998:280) lists 5 Lahu dialects.
Traditionally Lahu folk taxonomy splits the Lahu people into the two groups of Black Lahu and Yellow Lahu; Red Lahu and White Lahu are new dialect clusters originating in messianic movements within the past few centuries. Black Lahu is the standard dialect in China, as well as the lingua franca among different groups of Lahu in Thailand. However, it is intelligible to speakers of Yellow Lahu only with some difficulty.
Based on the numbers of shared lexical items, Bradley (1979) classifies the Lahu dialects as follows:
Lama (2012) gives the following tentative classification for what he calls Lahoid.
Jin Youjing (2007) classifies the Lahu dialects as follows.
Jin Youjing (1992) covers Lahu linguistic geography and dialectology in detail.
Lama (2012) lists the following sound changes from Proto-Loloish as Lahu innovations.
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