Pholo (autonym: ') is an unclassified
Loloish language
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 ...
of
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 ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. Although culturally associated with the
Phula languages
The Southeastern Loloish languages, also known as Southeastern Ngwi, are a branch of the Loloish languages. In Lama's (2012) classification, it is called ''Axi-Puoid'', which forms the Nisoish branch together with the ''Nisoid'' (''Nisu–Lope'' ...
, does not consider it to be linguistically related to the Phula languages.
Pholo speakers are also referred to as Black Phula and Flowery Phula.
Classification
specifically excludes Pholo, noting that it does not share the defining features of Southeastern Loloish. However, classifies Pholo as a Southeastern Loloish language, and considers it to be most closely related to
Zokhuo
Distribution
Pholo speakers are most densely concentrated in:
*Aji Township,
Yanshan County
*eastern Tianxing Township,
Qiubei County
Qiubei County () is under the administration of the Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, in southeast Yunnan province, China.
Administrative divisions
In the present, Qiubei County has 3 towns, 4 townships and 5 ethnic townships.
;3 to ...
Other Pholo speakers are found in:
*eastern
Yanshan County
*Pingzhai Township,
Qiubei County
Qiubei County () is under the administration of the Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, in southeast Yunnan province, China.
Administrative divisions
In the present, Qiubei County has 3 towns, 4 townships and 5 ethnic townships.
;3 to ...
*western
Guangnan County
Guangnan County (; Zhuang: ) is located in Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan province, China. The seat of Guangnan, known today as Liancheng (), was the heart of the Gouding Kingdom () that lasted approximately 400 years, f ...
*Xinzhai Township,
Malipo County
Malipo County (, vi, Ma Lật Pha) is under the administration of the Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, in the southeast of Yunnan province, China, bordering Ha Giang Province to the southeast.
Administrative divisions
In the presen ...
Vocabulary
The following Pholo lexical items along with their Proto-Ngwi (Proto-Loloish) reconstructed proto-forms are from .
Most, but not all, of the Pholo words above do not share the following innovations that define Southeastern Ngwi.
# Proto-Ngwi * and * > Proto-Southeastern Ngwi * (modern reflexes: tɬ, kɬ, k, t, ɬ, etc.)
# Proto-Ngwi * and * > Proto-Southeastern Ngwi * (modern reflexes: tɬʰ, kɬʰ, kʰ, tʰ, ɬ, etc.)
# Proto-Ngwi * and * > Proto-Southeastern Ngwi * (modern reflexes: dɮ, ɡɮ, ɡ, d, etc.)
# Proto-Ngwi * and * > Proto-Southeastern Ngwi * (modern reflexes: ndɮ, ŋɡɮ, nd, etc.)
Other Pholo words from :
* (neck)
* (pus)
* (full)
* (long)
* (name)
* (cooked)
More Pholo words are documented in , part of which are quoted in .
Notes
References
*
*
* (Handwritten Mimeograph).
{{Lolo-Burmese languages
Loloish languages