Cai–Long | |
---|---|
Ta–Li | |
(tentative) | |
Geographic distribution | western Guizhou, China |
Linguistic classification | Sino-Tibetan |
Subdivisions | |
Glottolog | tali1265 |
The Cai–Long ( Chinese: 蔡龙语支) or Ta–Li languages are a group of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in western Guizhou, China. Only Caijia is still spoken, while Longjia and Luren are extinct. [1] The branch was first recognized by Chinese researchers in the 1980s, with the term Cai–Long ( Chinese: 蔡龙语支) first mentioned in Guizhou (1982: 43). [2]
The languages are unclassified within Sino-Tibetan, and could be Sinitic [1] or Macro-Bai. [3]
The Cai–Long languages are: [1]
In addition, the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, through their Glottolog database, proposes that Longjia and Luren form a Longjia–Luren branch within Cai–Long. [4]
Hölzl (2021) proposes the name Ta–Li as a portmanteau of the two lexical innovations ‘two’ and ‘pig’, respectively.
Language | ‘two’ | ‘pig’ |
---|---|---|
Caijia ( Hezhang) | ta55 | li21 |
Luren ( Qianxi) | ta31 | li31 |
Longjia (Pojiao/Huaxi) | ta31 | lɛ55 |