Lisu (
Fraser alphabet: , or ;
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
: ; Lisu syllabary: ; zh, c=傈僳语, p=Lìsùyǔ; , ) is a
tonal Tibeto-Burman language spoken in
Yunnan
Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...
(Southwestern
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
), Northern
Burma
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...
(Myanmar) and
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
and a small part of
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. Along with
Lipo, it is one of two languages of the
Lisu people. Lisu has many dialects that originate from the country in which they live. Hua Lisu, Pai Lisu and Lu Shi Lisu dialects are spoken in China. Although they are mutually intelligible, some have many more loan words from other languages than others.
The Lisu language is closely related to the
Lahu and
Akha languages and is also related to
Burmese,
Jingphaw and
Yi languages.
Demographics
In China, the Lisu people are mostly found in
Yunnan
Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...
, the majority living mainly in
Nujiang and
Weixi, but also in
Baoshan,
Dehong,
Dêqên,
Lijiang,
Lincang,
Pu'er,
Chuxiong,
Luquan and
Dali. In
Liangshan and
Panzhihua
Panzhihua ( zh, c=攀枝花, p=Pānzhīhuā), formerly Dukou ( zh, labels=no, c=渡口), is a prefecture-level city located in the far south of Sichuan province, China, at the confluence of the Jinsha and Yalong Rivers. It has an administrative ...
,
Sichuan
Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...
, where they make a small minority, some speak Lisu and others speak
Lipo, and some are classified under the
Yi nationality. A number of Lisu can also be found in southern
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...
.
In Myanmar, it is spoken in
Shan State
Shan State (, ; , ) is a administrative divisions of Myanmar, state of Myanmar. Shan State borders China (Yunnan) to the north, Laos (Louang Namtha Province, Louang Namtha and Bokeo Provinces) to the east, and Thailand (Chiang Rai Province, Chia ...
,
Kachin State
Kachin State (; Jingpho language, Kachin: ) is the northernmost administrative divisions of Myanmar, state of Myanmar. It is bordered by China to the north and east (Tibet Autonomous Region, Tibet and Yunnan, respectively), Shan State to the sou ...
,
Sagaing Division and
Mandalay Division. The two states are bordered by Yunnan. The
Fraser script
The Fraser or Old Lisu script is an constructed script, artificial abugida for the Lisu language invented around 1915 by Sara Ba Thaw, a Karen people, Karen preacher from Myanmar, and improved by the missionary James O. Fraser. It is a single-le ...
was invented in Myanmar by
Sara Ba Thaw.
In India, it is spoken in the
Changlang District
Changlang district (Pron:/tʃæŋˈlæŋ/) is located in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, located south of Lohit District, Lohit district and north of Tirap District, Tirap district. Naga people reside here . As of 2011 it is the second ...
of
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeast India. It was formed from the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and India declared it as a state on 20 February 1987. Itanagar is its capital and la ...
and possibly in the
Tinsukia District of
Assam
Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...
. See for more information. Lisu people in India are called Yobin.
In
Northern Thailand
Northern Thailand, or more specifically Lanna, is a region of Thailand. It is geographically characterized by several mountain ranges, which continue from the Shan Hills in bordering Myanmar to Laos, and the river valleys that cut through them. ...
, it is spoken mainly in the provinces of
Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai, sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the List of municipalities in Thailand#Largest cities by urban population, second largest city in Thailan ...
,
Chiang Rai
Chiang Rai (, ; , ) is the northernmost major city in Thailand, with a population of about 200,000 people. It is located in Mueang Chiang Rai District, Chiang Rai Province. Chiang Rai was established as a capital city in the reign of King Ma ...
,
Mae Hong Son and
Kamphaeng Phet.
Possibly, there are also perhaps some Lisu speakers in
Laos
Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
and in
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
. The Lisu villages in Laos and Vietnam are rare and isolated from the outside world, and are difficult to distinguish among the
Hmong and
Yao villages, which make up the majority.
Dialects
Three dialects can be distinguished: northern, central and southern, with northern being the standard.
Bradley (2003)
Bradley (2003) lists the following three Lisu dialects.
*Northern (, 'Black Lisu' (autonym), , 'Northern Lisu' (name given by other Lisu)): Northwest Yunnan, Kachin State, Mandalay region, Sagaing Region and India
*Central (, Flowery Lisu or Hua Lisu): Western Yunnan, Burma
*Southern (, 'Yellow Lisu'): extreme Southwestern Yunnan, Shan State of Burma, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam
Mu and Sun (2012)
In their study of Lisu dialects, Mu and Sun (2012) split Lisu into three dialects.
*Nujiang 怒江方言: 550,000 speakers in
Nujiang Prefecture (all counties),
Baoshan Prefecture (all counties),
Dehong Prefecture (some counties),
Lincang Prefecture (some counties),
Dali Prefecture (a few counties) and
Weixi County
*Luquan 禄劝方言: 65,000 speakers in parts of
Chuxiong Prefecture (in
Luquan County,
Wuding County, etc.) and parts of neighboring prefectures
*Yongsheng 永胜方言: 18,000 speakers in the counties of
Yongsheng,
Huaping,
Panzhihua
Panzhihua ( zh, c=攀枝花, p=Pānzhīhuā), formerly Dukou ( zh, labels=no, c=渡口), is a prefecture-level city located in the far south of Sichuan province, China, at the confluence of the Jinsha and Yalong Rivers. It has an administrative ...
,
Muli,
Yanyuan and others
Mu and Sun (2012) compare a total of five datapoints in their comparative vocabulary table.
*Fugong 福贡: 140,000 speakers in
Fugong,
Gongshan,
Lanping, etc.
*Luquan 禄劝 (autonym: ',
Lipo): 45,000+ speakers in
Binchuan,
Wuding,
Yuanmou,
Dayao,
Yao'an,
Yongren,
Dechang,
Huili,
Huidong,
Yanyuan, etc.
*Weixi 维西: 100,000+ speakers in
Weixi,
Deqin,
Zhongdian,
Lijiang, etc.
*Tengchong 腾冲: 120,000+ speakers in
Longling,
Dehong Prefecture,
Gengma,
Simao,
Lushui,
Shan State
Shan State (, ; , ) is a administrative divisions of Myanmar, state of Myanmar. Shan State borders China (Yunnan) to the north, Laos (Louang Namtha Province, Louang Namtha and Bokeo Provinces) to the east, and Thailand (Chiang Rai Province, Chia ...
(Burma),
Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai, sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the List of municipalities in Thailand#Largest cities by urban population, second largest city in Thailan ...
(Thailand)
*Yongsheng 永胜: 90,000+ speakers in
Yongsheng,
Huaping,
Ninglang,
Dayao,
Yongren,
Dechang, etc.
Orthography
Pollard alphabet
Sam Pollard's
A-Hmao was adapted to write
Lipo, another Lisoish language (sometimes called ''Eastern Lisu'') spoken by the Lisu people.
Fraser alphabet
The Lisu alphabet currently in use throughout Lisu-speaking regions in China, Burma and Thailand was primarily developed by two Protestant missionaries from different missionary organizations. The more famous of the two is
James O. Fraser, a British evangelist from the China Inland Mission. His colleague, who developed the original version of the alphabet (later revised and improved with Fraser and various colleagues from the C.I.M.) was Sara Ba Thaw, a polyglot Karen preacher based in Myitkyina, Burma, who belonged to the American Baptist Mission.
Ba Thaw had prepared a simple Lisu catechism by 1915. The script now widely known as the "Fraser alphabet" was finished by 1939, when Fraser's mission houses in the Lisu ethnic areas of Yunnan Province (China) received their newly printed copies of the Lisu New Testament.
Lisu syllabary

From 1924 to 1930, a Lisu farmer named Ngua-ze-bo (pronounced ; zh, 汪忍波/哇忍波) invented the Lisu syllabary from
Chinese script
Chinese characters are logographs used Written Chinese, to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars, they represe ...
,
Dongba script and
Geba script. However, it looks more different from the Chinese script than
Chữ Nôm
Chữ Nôm (, ) is a logographic writing system formerly used to write the Vietnamese language. It uses Chinese characters to represent Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary and some native Vietnamese words, with other words represented by new characters ...
and
Sawndip
(Sawndip: ; ) are Chinese characters used to write the Zhuang languages in the Chinese provinces of Guangxi and Yunnan. is a Standard Zhuang, Zhuang word that means "immature characters". The Zhuang word for Chinese characters used in the Chi ...
(Zhuang logograms). Since Ngua-ze-bo initially carved his characters on bamboos, the syllabary is known as the Lisu Bamboo script (傈僳竹书).
It has a total of 1250 glyphs and 880 characters.
Latin Lisu alphabet
A new Lisu alphabet based on
pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...
was created in 1957, but most Lisu continued to use the old alphabet. The Fraser alphabet was officially recognized by the Chinese government in 1992, since which time its use has been encouraged.
Burmese Lisu script
In a few places in
Myanmar
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
in which Lisu is spoken, an orthography based on the
Burmese alphabet
The Burmese alphabet (, MLCTS: ''mranma akkha.ya'', ) is an abugida used for writing Burmese, based on the Mon–Burmese script. It is ultimately adapted from a Brahmic script, either the Kadamba or Pallava alphabet of South India. The ...
has been developed and is taught to speakers and used in several publications and school books.
Thai script
In the 1970s, missionary Edward Hope of
OMF International created a variant of the
Thai script
The Thai script (, , ) is the abugida used to write Thai language, Thai, Southern Thai language, Southern Thai and many other languages spoken in Thailand. The Thai script itself (as used to write Thai) has 44 consonant symbols (, ), 16 vowel s ...
for the Lisu of Thailand. In doing so, he was guided by the policy of the Thai authorities, who believed that the writing systems of the country's national minorities should be based on the Thai script. However, this alphabet did not gain any popularity.
Thai alphabet for Lisu:
Tones are marked with ่, ๋, ๊.
Phonology
The Lisu phonological inventory is as follows.
Vowels
and the
fricative vowel are in complementary distribution: is only found after palato-alveolars, though an alternate analysis is possible, with the palato-alveolars viewed as allophones of the palatals before and .
The distinction originates from proto-Lolo–Burmese consonant clusters of the type *kr or *kj, which elsewhere merge, but where Lisu normally develops , they remain distinct with the latter producing the type , the former the type . Inherited palatal affricates + also become .
In Central Lisu, is heard as a syllabic when after alveolar sibilant sounds, and as when after retroflex sibilant sounds. is heard as more fronted when following alveolo-palatal sounds.
is variable across dialects. It may be either
endolabial or
exolabial, central or even merged with . The distinction between and is marginal, and both are written in pinyin.
Tones
Lisu has six tones: high , mid creaky , mid , low , rising and low checked (that is, ). In some dialects the creaky tone is higher than mid tone, in others they are equal. The rising tone is infrequent, but common in baby talk (which has a stereotypical disyllabic low–rising pattern); both high and rising tone are uncommon after voiced consonants.
Consonants
and are in complementary distribution, with before
front vowel
A front vowel is a class of vowel sounds used in some spoken languages, its defining characteristic being that the highest point of the tongue is positioned approximately as far forward as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction th ...
s. is marginal, occurring in a few words before or . The subdialect Fraser first encountered also distinguishes a retroflex series, , but only before .
Medial glides appear before . These are with velars and with bilabials and . The latter consonant (see
rhinoglottophilia) has a non-nasal allophone in the imperative particle . is only distinctive before and in some dialects is merged with .
In Central Lisu, can be heard as an alveolo-palatal when before .
In Southern Lisu, the velar plosives become alveopalatal before front vowels. The vowels and trigger an offglide on preceding consonants, so are pronounced .
The vowels do not occur initially—or, at least, in initial position they are pronounced . It has been argued that the initial vowels are phonetically , so initial consonants do not need to be posited in such cases (and marginal can be removed from the inventory of native words), or that they are phonemically , with glottal stop.
References
Works cited
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
Miyake, Marc. 2011
Unicode 5.2 (not 6.1!): the Old Lisu script
*
External links
Handbook of the Lisu language(1922)
SOUTHERN LISU DICTIONARYA DICTIONARY OF THE NORTHERN DIALECT OF LISU (CHINA AND SOUTHEAST ASIA)
{{Authority control
Loloish languages
Languages of Yunnan
Languages of India
Languages of Myanmar
Languages of Thailand
Languages of Sichuan