Limi (

autonym Autonym may refer to: * Autonym, the name used by a person to refer to themselves or their language; see Exonym and endonym * Autonym (botany), an automatically created infrageneric or infraspecific name See also * Nominotypical subspecies, in zo ...

: ') is a

Loloish The Loloish languages, also known as Yi in China and occasionally Ngwi or Nisoic, are a family of fifty to a hundred Sino-Tibetan languages spoken primarily in the Yunnan province of China. They are most closely related to Burmese and its relat ...

language spoken in Yongde, Fengqing, and Yun counties of western

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...

province, China.

Distribution

Limi is spoken in the following locations. *

Yongde County Yongde County () is a county in the west of Yunnan province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Lincang Lincang () is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Yunnan province, People's Republic of ...

(Wumulong 乌木龙彝族乡 and Yalian 亚练乡 Townships) *Southern Guodazhai Township 郭大寨彝族白族乡,

Fengqing County Fengqing County () is located in Lincang Lincang () is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Yunnan province, People's Republic of China. History Lincang was previously called Baihuai during the Shang dynasty. On December 26, ...

(pop. 4,000) *Southeastern Yingpan Township 营盘镇,

* Yun County (pop. 1,000) Yang (2017) reports that Limi is spoken by about 20,000 people in Yongde, Fengqing, and Yun counties. Limi speakers make up 70% of the 26,000 people living in Wumulong Township (乌木龙乡),

, Yunnan. About 2,600 members of a nearby ethnic group called "Luo" (倮族) (likely Lolopo) also live in and around Wumulong.

Classification

Limi is likely most closely related to Lolopo, but also has many Lalo loanwords.

History

Limi speakers likely migrated from

Jingdong County Jingdong Yi Autonomous County () is an autonomous county in the west-central part of Yunnan Province, China. It is the northernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Pu'er. Administrative divisions In the present, Jingdong Yi ...

during the early 1300s, first arriving in Bangmai Village (邦卖/班卖),

, and then later migrating to Wumulong Township, Yongde County.

References

* * Loloish languages Languages of China {{st-lang-stub