Sila (also called Sida
[Badenoch, Nathan; Hayashi, Norihiko. 2017]
Phonological Sketch of the Sida Language of Luang Namtha, Laos
JSEALS Volume 10.1 (2017).) is a
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 ...
spoken by 2,000 people in Laos and Vietnam (Bradley 1997). Sila speakers are an officially recognized group in Vietnam, where they are known as the
Si La
The Si La (also Sila or Syla) are an ethnic group of about 3,151 people living in northern Laos and another 600 living in two villages: Nậm Sin and Seo Hay of Lai Châu Province, Northwest region, Vietnam.
Culture
The Si La people speak a ...
.
Phonology
Consonants
Unaspirated plosives are usually realised as voiced stops. Phonetically, /l̥/ is realized as
l̥l The
palatal nasal
The voiced palatal nasal is a type of consonant used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , a lowercase letter ''n'' with a leftward-pointing tail protruding from the bottom ...
is noted as /ɲ/ although the phonetic realisation is closer to
with the blade of the tongue remaining at a short distance from the palate.
Example contrasts
/p/ vs. /pʰ/: /pa33la33/ ‘moon’ vs. /ɐ31pʰa31/ ‘leaf’
/t/ vs. /tʰ/: /ta31/ ‘to look at’ vs. /tʰa33/ ‘PROHIBITIVE’
/tɕ/ vs. /tɕʰ/: /tɕɐ31/ ‘to have, to exist’ vs. /tɕʰɐ31/ ‘to speak’
/k/ vs. /kʰ/: /ki55lɯ55/ ‘green’ vs. /a31kʰi55/ ‘foot’
/f/ vs. /s/: /fɔ31/ ‘to protect vs. /sɔ31/ ‘to study’
/x/ vs. /ɣ/: /xɯ55/ ‘gold’ vs. /ɣɯ55/ ‘good’
/m/ vs. /n/: /ma̰31/ ‘person’ vs. /na̰31/ ‘deep’
/ɲ/ vs. /ŋ/: /ɲa55/ ‘frost’ vs. /ŋa55/ ‘salty’
/w/ vs. /j/: /wa33/ ‘careless’ vs. /ja31/ ‘child’
/l/ vs. /l̥/: /lɐ33wa33/ ‘palm of hand’ vs. /l̥a33/ ‘to fall down’
Vowels
All vowels can be