The Achang language (Achang: Ngachang; Chinese: 阿昌, Burmese: အာချန်) is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken by the Achang (also known as Maingtha and Ngochang) in Yunnan, China, and northern Myanmar.[1]
| Achang | |
|---|---|
| Ngachang အာချန် / ငါချန် | |
| Pronunciation | [ŋa˨˩tʂhaŋ˨˩] |
| Native to | China, Myanmar |
| Ethnicity | Achang |
Native speakers | (60,000 cited 1990–2007)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | acn |
| Glottolog | acha1252 |
| ELP | Xiandao |
Distribution edit
Achang is spoken in the following locations:
- Longchuan County, Dehong Prefecture
- Husa 户撒
- Lianghe County, Dehong Prefecture
- Zhedao 遮岛
- Xiangsong 襄宋
- Dachang 大厂
- Luxi City, Dehong Prefecture
- Jiangdong 江东
- Longling County, Baoshan
The three main dialects of Achang in China are:[2]
- Longchuan 陇川方言
- Lianghe 梁河方言
- Mangshi 芒市方言 (formerly known as Luxi 潞西方言)
The Xiandao dialect (100 speakers; autonym: Chintaw /kʰan³¹tau³¹/) is spoken in the following two locations in Yingjiang County, Dehong Prefecture (Xiandaoyu Yanjiu).
Phonology edit
Consonants edit
| Labial | Alveolar | Post-Alv. | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | sibilant | |||||||
| Stop | aspirated | pʰ | tʰ | tsʰ | tʃʰ | cʰ | kʰ | ʔ |
| voiced | b | d | dz | dʒ | ɟ | ɡ | ||
| Fricative | s | ʃ | ç | h | ||||
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | |||||
| Approximant | w | l | j | |||||
Voiced sounds /b, d, dz, dʒ, ɟ, ɡ/ can also be heard as voiceless [p, t, ts, tʃ, c, k] in free variation among speakers.
Vowels edit
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | ɯ | u |
| Mid | ɛ | ɔ | |
| Open | aˑ a | ||
| Syllabic | ŋ̩ |
/i, ɛ, aˑ/ can also have tense vowel counterparts as [ɪ, æ, ʔaˑ].[5]
Syntax edit
Achang word order is subject–object–verb. There is no dominant order for nouns and their adjective modifiers.[6]
References edit
- ^ a b Achang at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- ^ Yang, Lu 杨露 (2020). Achangyu yuyin de fangyan dilixue yanjiu 阿昌语语音的方言地理学研究. Beijing: Chinese Social Sciences Press 中国社会科学出版社. OCLC 1232141802.
- ^ "Yíngjiāng Xiàn Nòngzhāng Zhèn Mángmiǎn Cūn Xiāndǎo Zìráncūn" 盈江县弄璋镇芒缅村仙岛自然村 [Xiandao Natural Village, Mangmian Village, Nongzhang Town, Yingjiang County]. ynszxc.gov.cn (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2016-03-05.
- ^ "Yíngjiāng Xiàn Nòngzhāng Zhèn Mángxiàn Cūn Měngé Zìráncūn" 盈江县弄璋镇芒线村勐俄自然村 [Meng'e Natural Village, Mangxian Village, Nongzhang Town, Yingjiang County]. ynszxc.gov.cn (in Chinese). 2016-03-09. Archived from the original on 2016-03-09. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
- ^ a b c Inglis & Inglis (2003)
- ^ "Language Achang". The World Atlas of Language Structures Online. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
Further reading edit
- Inglis, Douglas; Inglis, Connie (2003), A Preliminary Phonology of Ngochang – via Academia.edu
- Nasaw Sampu; Wilai Jaseng; Thocha Jana; Douglas Inglis (2005), A Preliminary Ngochang – Kachin – English Lexicon (PDF) – via SIL.org
- Yabu, Shirō 藪 司郎 (1990). "The Achang Language of Burma". In Sakiyama, Osamu 崎山 理 (ed.). Ajia no shogengo to ippan gengogaku アジアの諸言語と一般言語学 [Asian Languages and General Linguistics]. Tokyo: Sanseidō. pp. 124–141.
- Xie, Hongmei 谢红梅 (2019). Achangyu fangyan cihuiji 阿昌语方言词汇集. Kunming: Yunnan Ethnic Publishing House 云南民族出版社. ISBN 978-7-5367-7568-8. (3,023-item comparative word list of the Longchuan, Lianghe, and Mangshi dialects)
- Yang, Lu 杨露 (2020). Achangyu yuyin de fangyan dilixue yanjiu 阿昌语语音的方言地理学研究. Beijing: Chinese Social Sciences Press 中国社会科学出版社. OCLC 1232141802.
External links edit
- Dryer, Matthew S.; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Achang language". World Atlas of Language Structures Online. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
- Bible in Achang
- Listen to a sample of Achang from Global Recordings Network