Gelao language


Gelao is a dialect cluster of Kra languages in the Kra–Dai language family. It is spoken by the Gelao people in southern China and northern Vietnam. Despite an ethnic population of 580,000, only a few thousand still speak Gelao. Estimates run from 3,000 in China by Li in 1999, of which 500 are monolinguals, to 7,900 by Edmondson in 2008. Edmondson estimates that the three Gelao varieties of Vietnam have only about 350 speakers altogether.
In 2009, a book allegedly written in a native Gelao script was found in Guizhou, China, but scholarship reveals it is certainly fake.

External relationships

Like Buyang, another Kra language, Gelao contains many words which are likely to be Austronesian cognates.
As noted by Li and Zhou, Gelao shares much vocabulary with the Hlai and Ong Be languages, suggesting contact with Pre-Hlai speakers before their migration to Hainan.

Demographics

China

Zhang Jimin estimated a total of over 10,000 Gelao speakers in the early 1990s, while Li Jinfang places this number at 3,000 in 1999. Jerold A. Edmondson's 2008 estimate is 7,900 speakers. This number is rapidly declining, as the Gelao are intermarrying with the neighboring Han, Bouyei, and Miao. Many Gelao speakers can also speak Bouyei, Zhuang, or Miao, and nearly all can speak local varieties of Chinese. Among Gelao-speaking families, most middle-age Gelao have very limited speaking abilities for Gelao, while much of the younger generation cannot even understand the most simple words and phrases.
A divergent variety of Gelao known as Shuicheng Gelao 水城仡佬语 is spoken in Dongkou 洞口村, Houchang Townshp 猴场乡 and Datiezhai 打铁寨, Miluo Township 米箩乡, both located in Shuicheng County, Guizhou Province, China. The Gelao of Datiezhai reported that they had migrated from Dongkou 4 generations ago. Li & Yang report that there are only 3 speakers of Shuicheng Gelao left.
The Mulao number 28,000 people, and are distributed in Majiang, Kaili, Huangping, Duyun, Weng'an, Fuquan, and other counties of southeastern Guizhou. The Mulao of Xuanwei and Jidong villages refer to themselves as the Mu, in Longli village 龙里寨 they call themselves '. The Mulao speak a variety of Gelao, and not the Mulam language of Guangxi, which is also called Mulao. Luo describes the two Mulao varieties of ' in Majiang County and in Kaili City. One dialect is represented by the datapoints of Bamaozhai 巴茅寨 and Madizhai 马碲寨 of Xuanwei District 宣威区, Majiang County, and the other by Bailazhai 白腊寨, Lushan Town 炉山镇, Kaili City ; the latter is also spoken in Dafengdong 大风洞, Pingliang 平良, and Chong'anjiang 重安江. Mulao data from Majiang and Kaili are also given in Guizhou. also
The extinct :zh:土蛮语|Tuman language of Sinan County, Guizhou was a variety of Gelao.
In Qingzhen City, Gelao is spoken in the following villages.
Zhou reports that there are no more than 6,000 Gelao speakers, making up only 1.2% of the total number of ethnic Gelao people. The following table, based on Zhou, shows the number of Gelao speakers in each county as of the 1990s. All counties are in Guizhou province unless specified otherwise.
CountyEthnic Gelao populationNumber of Gelao speakersLocations of ethnic Gelao
Renhuai City4,347Very few elderly speakers remainingTownships of Maoba 茅坝, Changgang 长岗, Yun'an 云安, Zhongshu 中枢, Luban 鲁班, Wuma 五马
Zunyi County2,922Few speakers in Pingzheng Township 平正乡Mostly in Pingzheng 平正乡, a few in Panshui 泮水乡
Jinsha County1,584Few elderly speakers in Hongzi Township 红梓乡
Dafang County4,000+50+ speakers in Pudi Township 普底乡
Qianxi County7,000+50+ speakers in Shajing Township 沙井乡Also in Huashi 化石 and Yang'er 羊耳
Zhijin County6,250Only a few elderly speakers
Puding County3,770300Townships of Maodong 猫洞, Machang 马场, Mengzhou 猛舟: 10+ villages
Anshun City2,559300Villages of Dagelao 大仡佬, Heizhai 黑寨, Wanzi 湾子寨, Heqiao 河桥, Amian 阿棉寨, etc.
Pingba County2,311500
Qingzhen City3,679Only a few elderly speakers
Guanling Buyei and Miao Autonomous County6,40550020+ villages in 10+ townships: Hagei speakers in Ma'ao 麻垇, Huoshitian 火石田, Longtan 龙潭, Shaxin 沙心, etc.
Zhenning Buyei and Miao Autonomous County1,555300Townships of Dingqi 丁旗, Liuma 六马, etc.
Qinglong County501300
Zhenfeng County1,024300
Shuicheng County1,862Only a few elderly speakersTownships of Yingpan 营盘, Houchang 猴场, Miluo 米箩, Panlong 蟠龙, etc.
Liuzhi Special District8,2181,000+Mostly in the township of Qingkou 箐口
Longlin Various Nationalities Autonomous County, Guangxi-200+
Malipo County, Yunnan-100+Also in Funing, Guangnan, and Maguan Counties.

The Gelao people in the following counties do not speak any form of the Gelao language whatsoever, and have shifted entirely to Southwestern Mandarin.
CountyEthnic Gelao population
Wuchuan Gelao and Miao Autonomous County145,989
Daozhen Gelao and Miao Autonomous County112,025
Zheng'an County31,706
Fenggang County5,982
Yuqing County4,347
Zunyi City2,158
Shiqian County97,500
Songtao County-
Sinan County-
Funing County, Yunnan60

Vietnam

The most endangered variety, Red Gelao of Vietnam, is spoken by only about 50 people. Many speakers have shifted to Southwestern Mandarin or Hmong. The Red Gelao people, who call themselves the , send brides back and forth among the villages of Na Khê and Bạch Đích in Yên Minh District, Hà Giang Province, Vietnam and another village in Fanpo, Malipo County, Yunnan, China in order to ensure the continual survival of their ethnic group. Edmondson reports that there are also Red Gelao people in Cán Tí, Quản Bạ District and Túng Sán, Hoàng Su Phì District who no longer speak any Gelao, and speak Hmong, Tay, or Vietnamese instead. Hoang reports that there also some Red Gelao in Vĩnh Hảo commune, Bắc Quang District who had moved from Túng Sán commune. However, the White Gelao of Phố La Village and Sính Lủng Village of Dồng Văn District still speak the White Gelao language.

Varieties

Gelao is not well documented, having only been studied by a few scholars such as Li Jinfang, Jerold A. Edmondson, Weera Ostapirat, and Zhang Jimin. The three varieties in Vietnam are not mutually intelligible, and three varieties in China may be distinct languages as well. Ethnologue classifies Gelao as four languages, perhaps as closely related to the two Lachi languages as they are to each other.

Ostapirat (2000), Edmondson (2008)

Ostapirat proposed three major subdivisions for Gelao, with a total of 17 varieties. The Central and Southwestern branches shares various phonological innovations, suggesting an initial split with the Northern branch. Some varieties cited are also from Jerold A. Edmondson. Edmondson also proposes that Red Gelao of the China-Vietnam border may in fact constitute a separate primary branch of Gelao.
Central
Northern
Southwestern
Zhang Jimin recognizes the following subdivisions of Gelao.
The Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages, based on information from He, groups Gelao into five subdivisions.
The most extensively studied varieties are the Wanzi and Zhenfeng dialects, while the most endangered one is Red Gelao.

Zhou (2004)

Zhou lists four dialects of Gelao.
Wei Mingying classifies the Gelao dialects as follows.
Wei classifies the A'ou dialects as follows.
;A'ou 阿欧方言
Wei considers Houzitian 猴子田 Red Gelao to be most closely related to the Gelao variety of Longjiazhai 龙家寨, northern Zhijin County. There are only about 10 ethnic Gelao households in Houzitian. The Gelao speakers of "Donie" village, Aga Township 阿嘎乡, Shuicheng County 水城县 originally migrated from Houzitian several decades ago; there are only a few elderly rememberers of that variety left.

Hsiu (2013)

Andrew Hsiu classifies the Gelao dialects as follows.
Gelao has many uvular and prenasalized consonants. Many varieties also preserve consonant clusters that have been lost in most other related languages. These consonant clusters, such as, correspond regularly with consonants in Lachi, Mulao, Qabiao, Buyang, and various Kam–Tai languages. Gelao also shares many phonological features with Bouyei and other neighboring non-Kra languages.
Many Gelao varieties have a total of six tones, including two level tones, two rising tones, and two falling tones.
Sound correspondences between the Liuzhi and Zhenfeng varieties include:
Like all of its surrounding languages, Gelao is a head-first, SVO language. Like Buyang, one unusual feature of Gelao is that negatives usually come at the end of a sentence. Reduplication is very common and is used for diminutive or repetitive purposes. Other common features include the use of serial verb constructions and compound nouns. Although numerals and classifiers precede nouns, adjectives always follow the noun. Function words, such as prepositions and auxiliary words, are often derived from verbs.
Like Buyang and Dong, Gelao retains many prefixes that have been lost in most other Kra–Dai languages. Zhang notes that the Moji Longlin variant makes especially extensive use of prefixing syllables before nouns, verbs, and adjectives. These prefixes are especially important for reconstruction purposes.
Many words in Gelao are derived from vernacular Southwest Mandarin Chinese. These loanwords are often used interchangeably with native Gelao words. There is also a highly rich system of classifiers.
Gelao also has a rich set of pronouns not attested in other Kra–Dai languages. There are also pronouns referring to one's household in particular. The following are pronouns from Pingba Gelao.
Pingba Gelao numerals are given below. Note the similarities with the Austronesian numeral system.