Phowa is a
dialect cluster
A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated varie ...
of
Loloish languages
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 ...
spoken by the
Phula people
Phula is a village in Singhpur block of Rae Bareli district, Uttar Pradesh, India. As of 2011, its population is 7,726, in 1,383 households. It has one primary school and no healthcare facilities.
The 1961 census recorded Phula as comprising 21 ...
of
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 ...
. There are three principal varieties, Hlepho, Ani, and Labo, which may be considered distinct languages. Hlepho may be closer to
Phukha than it is to Labo and Ani. Usage is decreasing, with about two-thirds of Phowa speaking their language.
The representative Hlepho Phowa dialect studied in Pelkey (2011) is that of Feizuke 菲租克, Xinhua Township 新华乡,
Pingbian County
Pingbian Miao Autonomous County () is a county located in Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture in the southeast of Yunnan province, People's Republic of China. Its seat is located only from the border with Lào Cai Province, Vietnam.
Admini ...
.
References
Loloish languages
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