Be languages

Be (native pronunciation: [ʔɑŋ˧ɓe˧]), also known as Ong Be, Bê, or Vo Limgao (Mandarin: 临高话 Lín'gāohuà), is a pair of languages spoken by 600,000 people, 100,000 of them monolingual, on the north-central coast of Hainan Island, including the suburbs of the provincial capital Haikou. The speakers are counted as part of the Han Chinese nationality in census. According to Ethnologue, it is taught in primary schools.[5]

This article is about a pair of languages in China. For the language with ISO code be, see Belarusian language.
Be
Lingao
Native toChina
RegionHainan
Native speakers
600,000 (2000)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3onb
Glottologling1270

Names

Be speakers refer to themselves as ʔaŋ³³vo³³, with ʔaŋ³³ being the prefix for persons and vo³³ meaning 'village'.[6] Liang (1997) notes that it is similar to the autonym ŋaːu¹¹fɔːn¹¹ (from ŋaːu¹¹ 'person' and fɔːn¹¹ 'village'), by which Gelong 仡隆 (Cun language) speakers refer to themselves.

Classification

The Be languages are a pair of Kra–Dai languages, but its precise relationship to other branches within the Kra-Dai family has yet not been conclusively determined. Hansell (1988)[2] considers Be to be a sister of the Tai branch based on shared vocabulary, and proposes a Be–Tai grouping.

Based on toponymic evidence from place names with the prefix dya- (调 diao), Jinfang Li considers Be to have originated from the Leizhou peninsula of Guangdong province.[7] Liang (1997:16) considers Be to have migrated to Hainan from the Leizhou Peninsula of Guangdong about 2,500 years ago during the Warring States Period, but not over 3,000 years ago. Liang & Zhang (1996:21–25)[8] also believe that Be had migrated from the Leizhou Peninsula to northern Hainan about 2,500 years ago during the Warring States period.

Weera Ostapirat (1998),[9] analyzing data from Zhang (1992),[10] notes that Be and Jizhao share many lexical similarities and sound correspondences, and that Jizhao may be a remnant Be-related language on the Chinese mainland.

Dialects

Be consists of the Lincheng 临城 (Western) and Qiongshan 琼山 (Eastern) dialects.[11] Liang (1997:32) documents the following varieties of Be.

Be of Chengmai is intermediate between the Lincheng and Qiongshan dialects, and has features of both.[11]

Chen (2018) contains extensive comparative lexical data for the Be dialects of Changliu (長流), Yongxing (永興), Longtang (龍塘), Qiaotou (橋頭), Huangtong (皇桐), and Xinying (新盈). The Qiaotou, Huangtong, and Xinying dialects are unintelligible with the Changliu, Yongxing, Longtang, and Shishan (石山) dialects. Chen (2018) also reconstructs Proto-Ong-Be on the basis of this comparative lexical data.

Classification

Chen (2018: 82) classifies the Ong-Be dialects into two groups, which are mutually unintelligible with each other.

Western Ong-Be
  • Qiaotou 橋頭
  • Huangtong 皇桐
  • Maniao 馬裊
  • Lincheng 臨城
  • Jialai 加來
  • Meiliang 美良
  • Xinying 新盈
Eastern Ong-Be
  • Longtang 龍塘
  • Longqiao 龍橋
  • Longquan 龍泉 (formerly Shizilu 十字路)
  • Yongxing 永興
  • Shishan 石山
  • Changliu 長流
  • Laocheng 老城

Phonology

Initials
Be consonant initials
Labial Alveolar (Alveolo-)
palatal		 Velar Glottal
Plosive voiceless (p) t k ʔ
glottalized ʔb ʔd
Affricate ts
Fricative voiceless f s (ɕ) x h
voiced v
Nasal m n ȵ ŋ
Approximant l j
  • [p] is mainly heard in finals, rarely in initials.
  • /s/ can also be heard as [ɕ] in free variation.
  • /f/ can be heard as [pʰ] in the dialect of Xindengyi.

Finals
Be consonant finals
Labial Alveolar Velar Glottal
Plosive p t k ʔ
Nasal m n ŋ

Vowels
Be vowels
Front Central Back
High i u
Mid e ə o
(ɛ) (ɐ) ɔ
Low a
  • Vowels in word-initial position are phonetically heard beginning with a glottal [ʔ].
  • An open-mid vowel [ɛ] occurs in the Chengmai and Qiongshan dialects.
  • A near-open central vowel sound [ɐ] also occurs in the Qiongshan dialect.[12]

See also

References
  1. Be at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Hansell, Mark (1988). "The Relation of Be to Tai: Evidence from Tones and Initials". In Edmondson, Jerold A.; Solnit, David B. (eds.). Comparative Kadai: Linguistic Studies Beyond Tai. Publications in Linguistics No. 86. Summer Institute of Linguistics and The University of Texas at Arlington. pp. 239–288.
  3. Ostapirat, W. (1998). A Mainland Bê Language? / 大陆的Bê语言？. Journal of Chinese Linguistics, 26(2), 338-344
  4. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian (2023-07-10). "Glottolog 4.8 - Beic". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7398962. Archived from the original on 2023-10-20. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
  5. "Lingao". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
  6. Liang 1997, p. 1.
  7. Tan, Xiaoshu 谭晓舒 (2015-04-22). "Lǐ Jǐnfāng jiàoshòu: "Bīnwēi yǔyán jízhào huà yánjiū"" 李锦芳教授：“濒危语言吉兆话研究”. Wén xuéyuàn 文学院. Archived from the original on 2021-06-13. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  8. Liang, Min 梁敏; Zhang, Junru 张均 (1996). Dòng-Tái yǔzú gàilùn 侗台语族概论 [An Introduction to the Kam–Tai Languages] (in Chinese). Beijing: Zhongguo shehui kexue chubanshe. ISBN 7-5004-1681-4.
  9. Ostapirat, Weera (1998). "A Mainland Bê Language? / Dàlù de bê yǔyán?". Journal of Chinese Linguistics. 26 (2): 338–344. JSTOR 23756759.
  10. Zhang, Zhenxing 张振兴 (1992). "Guǎngdōngshěng wúchuān fāngyán jì lüè" 广东省吴川方言记略. Fāngyán 方言 (in Chinese). 1992 (3).
  11. Liang 1997.
  12. Zhang, Yuansheng; Ma, Jialin; Wen, Mingying; Wei, Xinglang (1985). Hǎinán Língāo huà 海南临高话 (in Chinese). Nanning: Guangxi minzu chubanshe.

Works cited
  • Liang, Min 梁敏 (1997). Língāo yǔ yánjiū 临高语研究 [A Study of Lingao] (in Chinese). Shanghai: Shanghai yuandong chubanshe 上海远东出版社.
  • Chen, Yen-ling (2018). Proto-Ong-Be (PDF) (Ph.D. dissertation). University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Further reading
  • Zhang, Yuansheng 张元生. 1985. Hainan Lingaohua 海南临高话. Nanning: Guangxi People's Publishing House 广西民族出版社.
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