Xibe language
| Xibe | |
|---|---|
| ᠰᡞᠪᡝ ᡤᡞᠰᡠᠨ sibe gisun | |
| Pronunciation | [ɕivə kisun] |
| Native to | China |
| Region | Xinjiang |
| Ethnicity | 190,000 Xibe people (2000) |
|
Native speakers
|
30,000 (2000) |
|
Tungusic
|
|
| Xibe script | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | xibe1242 |
The Xibe language (ᠰᡞᠪᡝ ᡤᡞᠰᡠᠨ sibe gisun, also Sibo, Sibe, Xibo language) is the most widely spoken of the Tungusic languages spoken by members of the ethnic group in Xinjiang, in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.
Xibe is conventionally viewed as a separate language within the southern group of Tungusic languages, alongside the more well-known Manchu language, having undergone more than 200 years of development separated from the Tungusic-speaking heartland since Xibe troops were dispatched to the Xinjiang frontiers in 1764. Some researchers such as Jerry Norman hold that Xibe is a dialect of Manchu, whereas other Xibologists, such as An Jun, argue that Xibe should be considered the "successor" to Manchu. Ethnohistorically, the Xibe people are not considered Manchu people, because they were excluded from chieftain Nurhaci's 17th-century tribal confederation to which the name "Manchu" was later applied.
Xibe is mutually intelligible with Manchu, although unlike Manchu, Xibe is reported to have eight vowel distinctions as opposed to the six found in Manchu, as well as differences in morphology, and a more complex system of vowel harmony.
Xibe has 7 case morphemes, 3 of which are used quite differently from modern Manchu. The categorization of morphemes as case markers in spoken Xibe is partially controversial due to the status of numerous suffixes in the language. Despite the general controversy about the categorization of case markers versus postpositions in Tungusic languages, 4 case markers in Xibe are shared with literary Manchu (Nominative, Genitive, Dative-Locative and Accusative). Xibe's 3 innovated cases, the ablative, lative and instrumental-sociative share their meanings with similar case forms in neighboring Uyghur, Kazakh and Oiryat Mongolian.
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