Mulao (), also known as Ayo, is a possibly extinct Kra language spoken in Guizhou, China. Spoken in Longli County and Majiang County in Guizhou, it is estimated that the language may be extinct or have only have a few living speakers. As of 2011, there are no newspapers, radio programs, or television broadcasts in the language, and it is not recognized by the government, nor taught in schools. Mulao speakers are classified as Gelao people by the government of China, but Mulao speakers do not understand the Gelao languages. It is closely related to A'ou.Li Jinfang [李锦芳]. 2006. Studies on endangered languages in the Southwest China [西南地区濒危语言调查研究]. Beijing: Minzu University [中央民族大学出版社].Zhou Guoyan 周国炎. 2004. Gelaozu muyu shengtai yanjiu 仡佬族母語生态硏究 (Studies on the linguistic ecology of the Gelao people). Beijing: Ethnic Publishing House 民族出版社.
Demographics 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, and in Longli village () they call themselves . Luo (1997) describes the two Mulao varieties of () in Majiang County and in Kaili City. One dialect is represented by the datapoints of Bamaozhai () and Madizhai () of Xuanwei District (), Majiang County (Luo 1997:105, 115), and the other by Bailazhai (), (), Kaili City (Luo 1997:189); the latter is also spoken in Dafengdong (), Pingliang (), and Chong'anjiang ().
The last speaker in Longli County was recorded by Bo Wenze (2003).
Documentation Monographs of Mulao include Bo (2003)Bo, Wenze 薄文泽. 2003. Mulaoyu yanjiu (A Study of Mulao) [木佬语硏究]. Beijing: Central University for Nationalities Publishing House [中央民族大学出版社]. and Luo (1997).Luo, Shiqing [罗世庆]. 1997. The ethnic Mulao of Guizhou [贵州仫佬族]. Guiyang: Guizhou People's Press [贵州民族出版社]. A word list is also given in Zhang (1993).Zhang, Jimin 张済民. 1993. Gelaoyu yanjiu 仡佬语研究 (A study of Gelao). Guiyang, China: Guizhou People's Press 贵州民族出版社.
Mulao data from Majiang and Kaili is also given in Guizhou (1985).Guizhou provincial ethnic classification commission [贵州省民委民族识别办公室编]. 1985. Guizhou ethnic classification materials, no. 5: Ethnic classification of the Mulao people [贵州民族识别资料集, 第5集: 木佬人族识别问题调查资料专辑]. m.s.
Phonology Consonants LabialAlveolar(Alveolo-)palatalVelarUvularGlottalplainlateralNasalStopvoicelessaspiratedAffricatevoicelessaspiratedFricativevoicelessvoicedApproximant()()
/h/ only occurs rarely. Sounds /v, ʑ/ may occasionally be heard as semivowels [w, j] in intervocalic positions.
Vowels FrontCentralBackCloseMidOpen
/n/ can be heard as a final [-n] in the diphthong /en/. /ŋ/ can be heard as a final [-ŋ] in the diphthongs /iŋ, eŋ, aŋ, əŋ, uŋ/.
Tones Mulao is a Tonal language with 5 tones.Ni 1990, p. 231.
Tone Value ExampleTaken from Ni 1990, pp. 229-231. Meaning 1 55 not 2 33 Water 3 24 nine 4 53 ten 5 31 mountain
References
External links
Basic Mulao vocabulary database compiled by the University of Auckland Mulao numerals compiled by the Max Planck Society