The Lakkia language (), also spelled Lakkja, is a
Kra–Dai language spoken in
Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County
Jinxiu (; za, italic=yes, Ginhsiu) is a county of eastern Guangxi, China, located in an area of relatively high concentrations of the Yao people. It is administered as the Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County of Laibin City. Established in 1952, with the ...
,
Laibin
Laibin (, Zhuang: Laizbinh) is a prefecture-level city in the central part of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China.
History
Laibin is an ancient town with more than 2000 years of history. The area was settled in prehistoric times, more th ...
, East-Central
Guangxi,
China.
Lakkia speakers are thought to have migrated from further east, possibly from the
Biao-speaking areas of Northwestern
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...
Province (L.-Thongkum 1992). Today, they live mostly in the Dayaoshan () region of
Jinxiu County
Jinxiu (; za, italic=yes, Ginhsiu) is a county of eastern Guangxi, China, located in an area of relatively high concentrations of the Yao people. It is administered as the Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County of Laibin City. Established in 1952, with th ...
.
Names
Lakkia people are also known as the ''Cháshān Yáo'' 茶山瑶, meaning "Tea Mountain Yao", since they were traditionally considered by neighboring peoples to be ethnic
Yao people
The Yao people (its majority branch is also known as Mien; ; vi, người Dao) is a government classification for various minorities in China and Vietnam. They are one of the 55 officially recognised ethnic minorities in China and reside in ...
. The name ''Lakkia'' is an autonym (self-designated name) that means "
mountain people
Hill people, also referred to as mountain people, is a general term for people who live in the hills and mountains.
This includes all rugged land above and all land (including plateaus) above elevation.
The climate is generally harsh, with s ...
". All Lakkia dialects have 5
tones.
Classification
There is currently no consensus on the classification of Lakkia within the Kra–Dai family. Solnit (1988) and Hansell (1988) classify Lakkia as a