Western Hmongic
| West Hmongic | |
|---|---|
| Chuanqiandian Miao | |
| Geographic distribution: |
China |
| Linguistic classification: |
Hmong–Mien
|
| Subdivisions: | |
| Glottolog: | west2803 |
The West Hmongic languages, also known as Chuanqiandian Miao (川黔滇方言: Sichuan–Guizhou–Yunnan Miao) and Western Miao, is the major branch of the Hmongic languages of China and Southeast Asia.
The name Chuanqiandian is used both for West Hmongic as a whole, as for one of its branches, the Chuanqiandian cluster AKA Hmong.
The Miao languages were traditionally written with various adaptations of Chinese characters. Around 1905, Samuel Pollard introduced a Romanized script, the Pollard script, for the A-Hmao language, and this came to be used for Hmong Daw (Chuanqiandian) as well. In the United States, the Romanized Popular Alphabet is often used for White and Green Hmong (also Chuanqiandian). In China, pinyin-based Latin alphabets have been devised for Chuanqiandian (variety of Dananshan 大南山, Yanzikou 燕子口镇, Bijie) and A-Hmao. Wu and Yang (2010) report attempts at writing Mashan in 1985 and an improvement by them; they recommend that standards should be developed for each of the six other primary varieties of West Hmongic.
Autonyms include (Miaoyu Jianzhi 苗语简志 1985):
West Hmongic is the most diverse branch of the Hmong (Miao) language family. There are nine primary branches in Chinese sources, though the unity of these are not accepted in all Western sources. Items marked "§" have been split into individual languages (and not kept together) by either Matisoff or Strecker; all of these are branches of Miao listed with subbranches in Chinese sources. The other three (A-Hmao, A-Hmyo, Gejia) are not so divided in either Chinese or Western sources.
The three divisions of the Chuanqiandian cluster are only as divergent as the divisions of the other branches marked "§", but are listed separately due to the internal complexity of Hmong.
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Wikipedia