Language Contexts

Longjia (China) - Language Contexts 

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Abstract

Longjia 龙家 is a probably extinct Sino-Tibetan language related to Lu(ren) 卢人 and Caijia 蔡家. Caijia is still spoken but the speakers of Longjia and Luren have undergone language shift to Southwestern Mandarin (xinan guanhua 西南官话). The classification of the three languages within Sino-Tibetan is still unresolved. The self-designation of the Longjia is suŋ55ȵi55mpau31. Some consider themselves ‘Nanjing people’ (南京人) that are said to have been assimilated by the Longjia during Ming dynasty. Most of the Longjia, now classified as Bai minority, are located in Bijie and Anshun in western Guizhou. The language has no written form. The available materials are by and large restricted to data recorded during the 1980s from the variety of Longjia spoken in Pojiao 坡脚 (Dafang, Bijie) with very few materials being available from Huaxi 花溪 (Qianxi, Bijie), Jiangyi 讲义 (Puding, Anshun), and Caiguan 蔡官 (Xixiu, Anshun). 

Keywords: China, Sino-Tibetan, Guizhou, Nanjing

How to Cite:

Hölzl, A., (2021) “Longjia (China) - Language Contexts ”, Language Documentation and Description 20, 13-34. doi: https://doi.org/10.25894/ldd29