The Hmongic languages, also known as Miao languages (), include the various languages spoken by the Miao people (such as Hmong, Hmu, and Xong). Hmongic languages also include various languages spoken by non-Mienic-speaking Yao people, such as Pa-Hng, Bunu, Jiongnai, Younuo, and others, while She is spoken by ethnic She people.
Names Miao () is the Chinese name and the one used by Miao in China. However, Hmong is more familiar in the West, due to Hmong emigration. Hmong is the biggest subgroup within the Hmongic peoples. Many overseas Hmong prefer the name Hmong, and claim that Meo (a Southeast Asian language change from Miao) is both inaccurate and pejorative, though it is generally considered neutral by the Miao community in China.
Of the core Hmongic languages spoken by ethnic Miao, there are a number of overlapping names. The three branches are as follows, as named by Purnell (in English and Chinese), Ratliff, and scholars in China, as well as the descriptive names based on the patterns and colors of traditional dress:
GlottologNative nameEndonymPurnellChinese name (geographical)Chinese name (general)RatliffDress-color name Hmong lol Hmongb Sichuan–Guizhou–Yunnan Miao Western Miao West HmongicWhite, Blue/Green, etc. Ahmao ad Hmaob lul Northeast Yunnan Miao Western Miao West Hmongic Flowery Miao (大花苗) Xong dut Xongb Western Hunan Miao Eastern Miao North Hmongic Red Miao Hmu hveb Hmub Eastern Guizhou Miao Central Miao East Hmongic Black Miao
The Hunan Province Gazetteer (1997) gives the following autonyms for various peoples in Hunan classified by the Chinese government as Miao. Xiangxi Prefecture: (), (), ( ) [ceremonial] Luxi County and Guzhang County: (), () Jingzhou County, Huaihua: (), ( ) Chengbu County, Shaoyang: Hmao ()
Classification Hmongic is one of the primary branches of the Hmong–Mien language family, with the other being Mienic. Hmongic is a diverse group of perhaps twenty languages, based on mutual intelligibility, but several of these are dialectically quite diverse in phonology and vocabulary, and are not considered to be single languages by their speakers. There are probably over thirty languages taking this into account. Four classifications are outlined below, though the details of the West Hmongic branch are left for that article.
Mo Piu, first documented in 2009, was reported by Geneviève Caelen-Haumont (2011) to be a divergent Hmongic language, and was later determined to be a dialect of Guiyang Miao. Similarly, Ná-Meo is not addressed in the classifications below, but is believed by Nguyễn (2007) to be closest to Hmu (Qiandong Miao).
Purnell (1970) Purnell (1970) divided the Miao languages into Eastern, Northern, Central, and Western subgroups.Purnell, Herbert C., Jr. 1970. Toward a reconstruction of Proto-Miao-Yao. PhD dissertation, Cornell University.
Miao Eastern Jung-chiang (Rongjiang, in Gaotongzhai) East A Cheng-feng (Zhenfeng) Tʻai-chiang (Taijiang, in Taigongzhai) Lu-shan (Lushan, in Kaitang) Kʻai-li (Kaili, in Yanghao 养蒿 / 養蒿) Tai-kung (Daigong, in Shidongkou 石洞口) Northern Hua-yuan (Huayuan, in Jiwei 吉卫 / 吉衛) Central Kwei-chu Lung-li (Longli, in Shuiwei) Western Wei-ning (Weining, in Shimenkan) = A Hmao Kwang-shun (Guangshun, in Ke-cheng-chai) West A Hua-chieh (Bijie, in Dananshan 大南山) Su-yung (Xuyong) Tak Petchabun
Strecker (1987) Strecker's classification is as follows:
Hmongic (Miao) West Hunan = Xong = Xiangxi (Northern Hmongic) East Guizhou = Mhu = Qiandong (Eastern Hmongic) Pa Hng Hm Nai = Wunai Kiong Nai = Jiongnai Yu Nuo = Younuo Sichuan–Guizhou–Yunnan = Chuanqiangdian (Western Hmongic, including Bu–Nao) (See)
In a follow-up to that paper in the same publication, Strecker tentatively removed Pa-Hng, Wunai, Jiongnai, and Yunuo, positing that they may be independent branches of Miao–Yao, with the possibility that Yao was the first of these to branch off. Effectively, this means that Miao/Hmongic would consist of six branches: She (Ho-Nte), Pa-Hng, Wunai, Jiongnai, Yunuo, and everything else. In addition, the 'everything else' would include nine distinct but unclassified branches, which were not addressed by either Matisoff or Ratliff (see West Hmongic#Strecker).
Matisoff (2001) Matisoff followed the basic outline of Strecker (1987), apart from consolidating the Bunu languages and leaving She unclassified:
Hmongic (Miao) Bunu Younuo Wunai Bu–Nao: Pu No, Nao Klao, Nu Mhou, Nunu, Tung Nu Jiongnai Chuanqiangdian Miao (See) Pa-Hng Qiandong Miao (Hmu, 3 languages) Xiangxi Miao (Xong, 2 languages)
Wang & Deng (2003) Wang & Deng (2003) is one of the few Chinese sources which integrate the Bunu languages into Hmongic on purely linguistic grounds. They find the following pattern in the statistics of core Swadesh vocabulary:王士元、邓晓华，《苗瑶语族语言亲缘关系的计量研究——词源统计分析方法》，《中国语文》，2003（294）。
She (main branch) (Hunan–Guangxi) Jiongnai (other) Western Hunan (Northern Hmongic / Xong) Younuo–Pa-Hng (Guizhou–Yunnan) Eastern Guizhou (Eastern Hmongic / Hmu) (Western) Bu–Nao Western Hmongic A-Hmao Hmong
Matisoff (2006) Matisoff (2006) outlined the following. Not all varieties are listed.Matisoff, 2006. "Genetic versus Contact Relationship". In Aikhenvald & Dixon, Areal diffusion and genetic inheritance.
Northern Hmong = West Hunan (Xong) Western Hmong (See) Central Hmong Longli Miao Guizhu Eastern Guizhou (Hmu) Daigong Kaili (= Northern) Lushan Taijiang (= Northern) Zhenfeng (= Northern) Phö Rongjiang (= Southern) Patengic Pateng Yongcong
Matisoff also indicates Hmongic influence on Gelao in his outline.
Ratliff (2010) The Hmongic classification below is from Martha Ratliff (2010:3).Ratliff, Martha. 2010. Hmong–Mien language history. Canberra, Australia: Pacific Linguistics.
Hmongic (Miao) Pa-Hng – 32,000 speakers Main branch Kiong Nai – 1,100 speakers She – 910 speakers Core Hmongic West Hmongic (Chuanqiandian) Hmong – 3,712,000 speakers Gha-Mu - 84,000 speakers A-Hmao – 300,000 speakers in Guizhou and Yunnan Bu–Nao – 390,000 speakers in Guangxi Gejia - 60,000 speakers A-Hmyo - 61,000 speakers Mashan - 140,000 speakers Guiyang - 190,000 speakers Huishui - 180,000 speakers Pingtang - 24,000 speakers Xong – 900,000 speakers mostly in Hunan Hmu – 2,100,000 speakers mostly in Guizhou
Ratliff (2010) notes that Pa-Hng, Jiongnai, and Xong (North Hmongic) are phonologically conservative, as they retain many Proto-Hmongic features that have been lost in most other daughter languages. For instance, both Pa-Hng and Xong have vowel quality distinctions (and also tone distinctions in Xong) depending on whether or not the Proto-Hmong-Mien rime was open or closed. Both also retain the second part of Proto-Hmong-Mien diphthongs, which is lost in most other Hmongic languages, since they tend to preserve only the first part of Proto-Hmong-Mien diphthongs. Ratliff notes that the position of Xong (North Hmongic) is still quite uncertain. Since Xong preserves many archaic features not found in most other Hmongic languages, any future attempts at classifying the Hmong-Mien languages must also address the position of Xong.
Taguchi (2012) Yoshihisa Taguchi's (2012, 2013) computational phylogenetic study classifies the Hmongic languages as follows.Yoshihisa Taguchi [田口善久] (2012). On the Phylogeny of the Hmong-Mien languages . Conference in Evolutionary Linguistics 2012.Yoshihisa, Taguchi [田口善久] (2013). On the phylogeny of Hmongic languages . Presented at the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society (SEALS 23), Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok.
Hmongic Pahngic Pa Hng Northern Xong Core Hmongic Central Hmu Western Hmong–Hmyo Hmong Hmyo Pu Nu – Nao Klao Pu Nu Nao Klao Eastern Kiong Nai Ho Ne – Pana Ho Ne Pana
Hsiu (2015, 2018) Hsiu's (2015, 2018)Hsiu, Andrew. 2015. The classification of Na Meo, a Hmong-Mien language of Vietnam. Paper presented at SEALS 25, Chiang Mai, Thailand.Hsiu, Andrew. 2018. Preliminary classification of Hmongic languages. computational phylogenetic study classifies the Hmongic languages as follows, based primarily on lexical data from Chen (2013).Chen Qiguang [陈其光] (2013). Miao and Yao language [苗瑶语文]. Beijing: Ethnic Publishing House [民族出版社].
Hmongic Pahengic Pa Hng Hm Nai Xiongic Western (Xiong) Eastern (Suang) Sheic She–Jiongnai Younuo Pana Hmuic North-East West (Raojia) South West Hmongic Bu–Nao Bunu Nao Klao Numao Hmong (Chuanqiandian) (various)
Comparison Numerals in Hmongic Languages Language One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Proto-Hmong-Mien Pa-Hng (Gundong) Wunai (Longhui) Younuo Jiongnai She (Chenhu) Western Xong (Layiping) Eastern Xong (Xiaozhang) Northern Qiandong Miao (Yanghao) Southern Qiandong Miao (Yaogao) Pu No (Du'an) Nao Klao (Nandan) Nu Mhou (Libo) Nunu (Linyun) Tung Nu (Qibainong) Pa Na Hmong Shuat (Funing) Hmong Dleub (Guangnan) Hmong Nzhuab (Maguan) Northeastern Dian Miao (Shimenkan) ɿ is commonly used by Sinologists to mean . Raojia Xijia Miao (Shibanzhai) Gejia
Writing
The Hmongic languages have been written with at least a dozen different scripts, none of which has been universally accepted among Hmong people as standard. Tradition has it that the ancestors of the Hmong, the Nanman, had a written language with a few pieces of significant literature. When the Han-era Chinese began to expand southward into the land of the Hmong, whom they considered barbarians, the script of the Hmong was lost, according to many stories. Allegedly, the script was preserved in the clothing. Attempts at revival were made by the creation of a script in the Qing Dynasty, but this was also brutally suppressed and no remnant literature has been found. Adaptations of Chinese characters have been found in Hunan, recently. However, this evidence and mythological understanding is disputed. For example, according to linguist S. Robert Ramsey, there was no writing system among the Miao until the missionaries created them. It is currently unknown for certain whether or not the Hmong had a script historically.
Around 1905, Samuel Pollard introduced the Pollard script, for the A-Hmao language, an abugida inspired by Canadian Aboriginal syllabics, by his own admission.Tanya Storch Religions and missionaries around the Pacific, 1500-1900 2006 p293 Several other syllabic alphabets were designed as well, the most notable being Shong Lue Yang's Pahawh Hmong script, which originated in Laos for the purpose of writing Hmong Daw, Hmong Njua, and other dialects of the standard Hmong language.
In the 1950s, pinyin-based Latin alphabets were devised by the Chinese government for three varieties of Miao: Xong, Hmu, and Chuangqiandian (Hmong), as well as a Latin alphabet for A-Hmao to replace the Pollard script (now known as "Old Miao"), though Pollard remains popular. This meant that each of the branches of Miao in the classification of the time had a separate written standard.苗文创制与苗语方言划分的历史回顾 Other branches had been left unclassified. Wu and Yang (2010) believe that standards should be developed for each of the six other primary varieties of Chuangqiandian as well, although the position of romanization in the scope of Hmong language preservation remains a debate. Romanization remains common in China and the United States, while versions of the Lao and Thai scripts remain common in Thailand and Laos.
Nyiakeng Puachue Hmong script was created by Reverend Chervang Kong Vang to be able to capture Hmong vocabulary clearly and also to remedy redundancies in the language as well as address semantic confusions that was lacking in other scripts. This was created in the 1980s and was mainly used by United Christians Liberty Evangelical Church, a church also founded by Vang. The script bears strong resemblance to the Lao alphabet in structure and form and characters inspired from the Hebrew alphabets, although the characters themselves are different.
Mixed languages