Wa (Va) is an Austroasiatic language spoken by the Wa people of Myanmar and China. There are three distinct varieties, sometimes considered separate languages; their names in Ethnologue are Parauk, the majority and standard form; Vo (Zhenkang Wa, 40,000 speakers) and Awa (100,000 speakers), though all may be called Wa, Awa, Va, Vo. David Bradley (1994) estimates there are total of 820,000 Wa speakers.
Wa | |
---|---|
Va, Vo, Awa | |
Region | China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand |
Ethnicity | Wa |
Native speakers | 900,000 (2000–2008)[1] |
Latin script Formerly: Chinese characters, Shan script | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | Variously:prk – Paraukwbm – Vovwa – Awa |
Glottolog | waaa1245 |
ELP | Wa |
Phalok[2] | |
Wa is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger |
It is Recognized as a State Language by the government of Wa State
Distribution and variants
editGerard Diffloth refers to the Wa geographic region as the "Wa corridor", which lies between the Salween and Mekong Rivers. According to Diffloth, variants include South Wa, "Bible Wa" and Kawa (Chinese Wa).
Christian Wa are more likely to support the use of Standard Wa, since their Bible is based on a standard version of Wa, which is in turn based on the variant spoken in Bang Wai, 150 miles north of Kengtung (Watkins 2002). Bang Wai is located in Northern Shan State, Burma, close to the Chinese border where Cangyuan County is located.
Certain dialects of Wa preserve a final -/s/. They include the variants spoken in Meung Yang and Ximeng County (such as a variety spoken in Zhongke
Burma
editDavid Bradley (1994) estimates that there is a total of about 500,000 Wa speakers in Burma.
A small number of Wa speakers also reside in Taunggyi, Mandalay and Yangon.
China
editThe PRC writing system for Wa is based on the Wa variant in Aishuai, Cangyuan County, Yunnan.
David Bradley (1994) estimates that there are 322,000 Wa speakers in China. In China, the Wa people live in (Watkins 2002):
- Ximeng County (83% of total)
- Cangyuan County (71% of total)
- Menglian County (over 25% of total; other ethnic groups include the Dai and Lahu)
- Gengma County
- Shuangjiang County
- Lancang County
A small number of Wa speakers also reside in Kunming and throughout various parts of Yunnan.
The three dialects of Wa (and their respective subdialects) according to Zhou et al. (2004) are:[3]
- 1. Baraoke
巴 饶克: ~ 250,000 speakers; autonym: pa̠ rauk, pa̠ ɣaɯk- Aishi
艾 师 subdialect: 218,000 speakers- Cangyuan County: Yanshi
岩 师, Tuanjie 团结, Mengsheng 勐省, Nuoliang糯 良 , Danjia 单甲, Mengjiao 勐角, Menglai 勐来, Yonghe永和 - Shuangjiang County: Shahe
沙 河 , Mengmeng 勐勐, Nanlang南 榔 - Gengma County: Sipaishan
四 排 山 , Gengyi 耿宜, Hepai 贺派, Mengjian 勐简, Mengding孟 定 , Furong付 荣 - Lancang County: Donghe 东河, Wendong
文 东, Shangyun上 允 , Xuelin雪 林
- Cangyuan County: Yanshi
- Banhong
班 洪 subdialect: 35,000 speakers- Cangyuan County: Banhong
班 洪 , Banlao班 老 , most of Nanla南 腊
- Cangyuan County: Banhong
- Dazhai
大 寨 subdialect: 3,000 speakers- Gengma County: Mengjian 勐简, Dazhai
大 寨
- Gengma County: Mengjian 勐简, Dazhai
- Aishi
- 2. Awa (Ava)
阿 佤: ~ 100,000 speakers; autonym: ʔa vɤʔ- Masan 马散 subdialect: 60,000 speakers
- Ximeng County: Mowo 莫窝, Xinchang
新 厂, Zhongke中 课, Mengsuo 勐梭, Yuesong岳 宋 , Wenggake翁 戛科, parts of Lisuo力 所
- Ximeng County: Mowo 莫窝, Xinchang
- Awalai
阿 佤来 subdialect: 3,000 speakers- Ximeng County: Awalai
阿 佤来 in Lisuo力 所
- Ximeng County: Awalai
- Damangnuo
大 芒 糯 subdialect: 30,000 speakers- Menglian County: Fuyan
富 岩 , Gongxin公 信 , Lalei 腊垒, Nanya南 雅 - Ximeng County: parts of Wengjiake
翁 戛科
- Menglian County: Fuyan
- Xiyun 细允 subdialect: 5,000 speakers
- Lancang County: Xiyun 细允[4] in Donghui 东回
- Menglian County: Shuangbo
双 柏 in Mengman 勐满
- Masan 马散 subdialect: 60,000 speakers
- 3. Wa 佤: ~ 40,000 speakers; autonym: vaʔ
- Yongde County: Dedang
德 党 , Menggong孟 汞, Minglang明朗 , Mengban 勐板, Yongkang永 康 , Dashan大山 - Zhenkang County: Mangbing
忙 丙 , Muchang木 厂 - Cangyuan County: parts of Nanla
南 腊
- Yongde County: Dedang
Jackson Sun (2018a)[5] lists the Awa dialects and their alternate names as follows.
- Masan
馬 散 (Lavïa; Ravia; Avë; Avo; etc.). Sun (2018b)[6] documents the Lavïa [la-vɨɒʔ] variety of Banzhe班 哲 (pa-cʰək) Village, Mengka 勐卡 (məŋkʰa) Town in Ximeng County, Yunnan Province. Lavïa of Banzhe is non-tonal and sesquisyllabic. - Awalai
阿 佤來 (Avëloy) - Damangnuo
大 芒 糯 (Vo) - Xiyun
細 允 (Va [vàʔ]). Sun (2018a)[5] documents the Va variety of Yingla英 臘 (zoŋráʔ) Village, Wenggake翁 嘎科 Township, Ximeng西 盟 County, Pu'er普 洱 City, Yunnan Province. Va of Yingla is monosyllabic has 3 tones, which are high, mid and low. Sun (2018a) notes that the Va varieties of Yingla and neighboring villages in Wenggake翁 戛科 Township of Ximeng County belong to the same dialect as varieties spoken farther away in Donghui 东回 and Nuofu糯 福 Townships, Lancang County.
The Dai exonym for the Wa of Yongde, Zhenkang and Nanla
Yan and Zhou (2012:138)[7] list the following names for Wa in various counties.
- pa̠ rauk, pa̠ɣaɯk (
巴 饶克): in Lancang, Gengma, Shuangjiang, Lancang counties; exonyms: Small Kawa小 卡瓦, Kawa 卡瓦, Cooked Ka熟 卡, Lajia 腊家 - vaʔ (佤): in Zhenkang and Yongde counties; exonyms: Benren
本人 - vɔʔ (斡), ʔa vɤʔ (
阿 卫), rɤ viaʔ (日 佤): in Ximeng and Menglian counties; exonyms: Big Kawa大 卡瓦, Raw Ka生 卡, Wild Ka野 卡 - xa³¹va⁵³lɒi⁵³ (卡瓦
来 ): in Cangyuan and Gengma counties; also called va⁵³ (瓦 )
A language known as Bujiao 补角 (autonym: Puga 仆嘎) in Mengla County was mentioned in Yunnan (1960)[8] The Bujiao were classified as ethnic Bulang and had a population of 212 in 1960.
The Kela
Thailand
editWa have also migrated to Thailand in the past several decades, mainly from Burma. There are about 10,000 Wa speakers in Thailand. Wa villages can be found in (Watkins 2002:6):
- Mae Sai District, Chiang Rai Province, close to the Burmese border
- Mae Yao subdistrict near Chiang Rai City
- Wiang Pa Pao District, in southern Chiang Rai Province
- Chiang Dao District, Chiang Mai Province
Phonology
editStandard Wa is a non-tonal language. However, tone has developed in some of the dialects. There is correspondence between tones in tonal dialects and tenseness in non-tonal dialects.[10]
In Wa, there are 44 phonemes;[11] 35 consonants[12] and 9 vowels. All of these vowels can be tense or lax. Tenseness is a phonemic feature in syllables with unaspirated initials.[10]
Vowels
editFront | Back | ||
---|---|---|---|
unrounded | rounded | ||
Close | i | ɯ | u |
Close-mid | e | ɤ | o |
Open-mid | ɛ | ɔ | |
Open | a |
There are 15 diphthongs: /iu, ɯi, ui, ia, ɤi, ua, ei, ou, oi~ɔi, ai, aɯ, au/ and 2 triphthongs: /iau, uai/. The general syllabic structure of Wa is C(C)(V)V(V)(C). Only a few words have zero-initials.[10]
Consonants
editLabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | plain | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ||
aspirated | mʱ | nʱ | ɲʱ | ŋʱ | |||
Stop | voiceless | plain | p | t | c | k | ʔ |
aspirated | pʰ | tʰ | cʰ | kʰ | |||
prenasalized | voiced | ᵐb | ⁿd | ᶮɟ | ᵑɡ | ||
aspirated | ᵐbʱ | ⁿdʱ | ᶮɟʱ | ᵑɡʱ | |||
Fricative | plain | v | s | ||||
aspirated | vʱ | h | |||||
Approximant | plain | l | j | ||||
aspirated | lʱ | jʱ | |||||
Trill | plain | r | |||||
aspirated | rʱ |
Script
editThe Wa language formerly had no script and some of the few Wa that were literate used Chinese characters, while others used the Shan language and its script. Christian missionary work among the Wa began at the beginning of the 20th century first in the Burmese and later in the Chinese areas of the Wa territory. It was led by William Marcus Young, from Nebraska. The first transcription of the Wa language was devised by Young and Sara Yaw Shu Chin (Joshua) in 1931 with the purpose of translating the Bible. This first Wa alphabet was based on the Latin script and the very first publication was a compilation of Wa hymns in 1933,[13] the Wa New Testament being completed in 1938. This transcription, known as Bible orthography, is known as lǎowǎwén
In 1956, a transcription adapted to the new pinyin romanization, known as new Wa orthography, "PRC orthography" or "Chinese orthography", was developed for the Wa people in China. However, its publications, mainly propagated through the Yunnan administration, are yet to reach a wider public beyond academics. This transcription, which originally included even a couple of letters of the Cyrillic script, has also since been revised. Despite the revisions, both the Chinese and the Bible orthography are still marred by inconsistencies.[15]
Recently,[when?] a revised Bible orthography adopting some features from the Chinese orthography has been adopted as Wa State Wa orthography or "official Wa spelling" by the central authorities of the Wa State in Pangkham which have published a series of primers in order to improve the literacy of the United Wa State Army troops. Also, after 2000 Wa people in social networks such as Facebook, as well as Wa songwriters in karaoke lyrics of Wa songs, use this Myanmar (revised Bible) orthography in its main variations.[16] The Wa Women's Association promotes the use of the script.[17]
WBO | IPA | WBO | IPA | WBO | IPA | WBO | IPA | WBO | IPA | WBO | IPA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
p | [p] | bh | [ᵐbʱ] | nh | [nʰ] | rh | [rʰ] | o | [o] | e | [ei] |
ph | [pʰ] | d | [ⁿd] | ny | [ɲ] | y | [j] | ie | [ɛ] | o | [ou] |
t | [t] | dh | [ⁿdʱ] | nyh | [ɲʰ] | yh | [jʰ] | aw | [ɔ] | oi, oe, we | [oi~ɔi] |
th | [tʰ] | j | [ᶮɟ] | ng | [ŋ] | l | [l] | a | [a] | ai | [ai] |
c | [c] | jh | [ᶮɟʱ] | ngh | [ŋʰ] | lh | [lʰ] | iu | [iu] | au | [aɯ] |
ch | [cʰ] | g | [ᵑg] | s | [s] | i | [i] | eei, ui | [ɯi] | au, ao | [au] |
k | [k] | gh | [ᵑgʱ] | h | [h] | ee | [ɯ] | ui, wi | [ui] | iao | [iau] |
kh | [kʰ] | m | [m] | v | [v] | u | [u] | ia | [ia] | oe | [uai] |
x | [ʔ] | mh | [mʰ] | vh, f | [vʱ] | e | [e] | eue | [ɤi] | ||
b | [ᵐb] | n | [n] | r | [r] | eu | [ɤ] | ua, wa | [ua] |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Parauk at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Vo at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Awa at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required) - ^ Endangered Languages Project data for Phalok.
- ^ Zhou, Zhizhi
周 植 志 ; Yan, Qixiang 颜其香 ; Chen, Guoqing 陈国庆 (2004). Wǎyǔ fāngyán yánjiū 佤语方言 硏究 [A Study of Wa Dialects] (in Chinese). Beijing: Minzu chubanshe. - ^ "Láncāng Lāhùzú Zìzhìxiàn Dōnghuí Zhèn Dōnggǎng Cūn Xìyǔn" 澜沧
拉 祜族自治 县东回 镇东岗村细允 [Xiyun, Donggang Village, Donghui Town, Lancang Lahu Autonomous County]. ynszxc.gov.cn (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2017-12-22. - ^ a b Sun, Jackson T.-S. "New Contributions to Waic Phonological Studies: Va" – via Academia.edu.
- ^ Sun, Jackson T.-S. "New Contributions to Palaungic Phonological Studies: Lavïa" – via Academia.edu.
- ^ Yan, Qixiang 颜其
香 ; Zhou, Zhizhi周 植 志 (2012). Zhōngguó Mèng-Gāomián yǔzú yǔyán yǔ Nányǎ yǔxì中国 孟 高 棉 语族语言与 南 亚语系 [Mon-Khmer Languages of China and the Austroasiatic Family] (in Chinese). Beijing: Shehui kexue wenxian chuban she. - ^ a b Yunnan minzu shibie zonghe diaocha zubian
云 南 民族 识别综合调查组编 (1960). Yúnnán mínzú shìbié zònghé diàochá bàogào云 南 民族 识别综合调查报告 [Comprehensive Investigation Report on Ethnic Identification in Yunnan] (Report) (in Chinese). Kunming: Yunnan minzu shibie zonghe diaochazu. - ^ You, Weiqiong
尤 伟琼 (2013). Yúnnán mínzú shìbié yánjiū云 南 民族 识别研究 [Classifying Ethnic Groups of Yunnan] (in Chinese). Beijing: Minzu chubanshe. - ^ a b c Wang, Jingliu
王 敬 骝, ed. (1994). Wǎyǔ yánjiū 佤语研究 [Wa Language Research] (in Chinese). Kunming shi: Yunnan minzu chubanshe. - ^ a b Ma Seng Mai (2012)
- ^ Parker, Steve, ed. (2012). The Sonority Controversy. De Gruyter Mouton. ISBN 9783110261523 – via Google Books.
- ^ "The Young Family's Work with the Wa People". humancomp.org.
- ^ "A Bibliography of Materials in or About Wa Language and Culture". humancomp.org.
- ^ "Writing of the Wa Language". Wa Dictionary Project.
- ^ Watkins, Justin (2013). Wa Dictionary, 2 vols. Introduction
- ^ Steinmüller, Hans (2021). "Para-nationalism: Sovereignty and authenticity in the Wa State of Myanmar". Nations and Nationalism. 27 (3): 880–894. doi:10.1111/nana.12709. ISSN 1354-5078.
Further reading
edit- Bradley, David (1994). "East and Southeast Asia". In Moseley, Christopher; Asher, R. E. (eds.). Atlas of the World's Languages. London: Routledge.
- Ma Seng Mai (2012). A Descriptive Grammar of Wa (PDF) (Master's thesis). Payap University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-05-17.
- Schiller, Eric (1985). An (Initially) Surprising Wa language and Mon-Khmer Word Order. University of Chicago Working Papers in Linguistics (UCWIPL) 1.104–119.
- Watkins, Justin (2013). "A Themed Selection of Wa Proverbs and Sayings". Journal of Burma Studies. 17 (1): 29–60. doi:10.1353/jbs.2013.0001. S2CID 162762127.
- Watkins, Justin (2013). Dictionary of Wa (2 vols). Leiden: Brill.
- Watkins, Justin (2013). "Grammatical Aesthetics in Wa". In Williams, Jeffrey P. (ed.). The Aesthetics of Grammar: Sound and Meaning in the Languages of Mainland Southeast Asia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 99–117.
- Watkins, Justin (2010). Topicalisation, Focus-Clefts and Stranded Prepositions in Wa. 20th Meeting of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society, 10-11 June 2010, University of Zurich.
- Watkins, Justin (2002). The Phonetics of Wa: Experimental Phonetics, Phonology, Orthography and Sociolinguistics. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. doi:10.15144/PL-531. hdl:1885/146152. ISBN 978-0-85883-486-6.
External links
edit- Some links to Wa-related Internet sites
- A Dictionary of the Wa Language with Burmese (Myanmar), Chinese, and English Glosses and Internet Database for Minority Languages of Burma (Myanmar)
- ワ
語 の発音 と表記 (Pronunciation and spelling of Wa; in Japanese) - RWAAI | Projects RWAAI (Repository and Workspace for Austroasiatic Intangible Heritage)
- http://hdl.handle.net/10050/00-0000-0000-0003-7BBF-9@view Parauk in RWAAI Digital Archive
- Consonant Ear Training Tape
- The XG1 collection in Kaipuleohone includes Awa language open access materials.
- WA (PARAOG / BA RĀOG) - BURMESE-CHINESE-ENGLISH DICTIONARY