Shixing language

Shixing
Native to	China
Native speakers	1,800 (2000)[1]
Language family	Sino-Tibetan Lolo-Burmese or Qiangic Naic ? Shixing
Language codes
ISO 639-3	sxg
Glottolog	shix1238[2]

Shixing or Xumi is a poorly attested Qiangic language of Sichuan and the Tibet Autonomous Region. Two-thirds of speakers are monolingual.

Shixing is also known as Xùmǐ 旭米, and is spoken by about 1800 people living by the Shuiluo River 水洛 in Shuiluo Township 水洛乡, Mili Tibetan Autonomous County.^[3]

Katia Chirkova reports two Xumi varieties.^[4]

• Upper Xumi (autonym: ʂuhĩ)
• Lower Xumi (autonym: ʃʉhẽ)

Phonology

Consonants

Xumi features a very unusual phonemic contrast between voiceless /ʎ̥/ and voiced /ʎ/ alveolo-palatal lateral approximants.^[5][6]

Nasals

• Both Upper and Lower Xumi have the following nasals: bilabial /m̥, m/, alveolar /n̥, n/, alveolo-palatal /ɲ/ and velar /ŋ/.^[7][8] In addition to that, Lower Xumi also features voiceless alveolo-palatal /ɲ̊/ and velar /ŋ̊/ nasals.^[8]

Plosives

• Both Upper and Lower Xumi have the following plosives: bilabial /p, pʰ, b/, alveolar /t, tʰ, d/, velar /k, kʰ, ɡ/ and uvular /q, qʰ/.^[7][8] In addition to that, Lower Xumi also features a voiced uvular plosive /ɢ/.^[8]

Affricates

• Both Upper and Lower Xumi have the following affricates: alveolar /ts, tsʰ, dz/, retroflex /tʂ, tʂʰ, dʐ/ and alveolo-palatal /tɕ, tɕʰ, dʑ/.^[7][8] In addition to that, Lower Xumi also features postalveolar /tʃ, tʃʰ, dʒ/.^[8]

Fricatives

• Upper Xumi has the following fricatives: alveolar /s, z/, retroflex /ʂ, ʐ/, alveolo-palatal /ɕ/, velar /x/, uvular /χ, ʁ/ and glottal /h, ɦ/.^[7]
• Lower Xumi has the following fricatives: alveolar /s, z/, postalveolar /ʃ, ʒ/, alveolo-palatal /ɕ, ʑ/, velar /x, ɣ/, uvular /ʁ/ and glottal /h, ɦ/.^[8]

Approximants

• Both Upper and Lower Xumi have the following central approximants: alveolar /ɹ/, alveolo-palatal /j/ and labialized velar /w/.^[7][8]
• Both Upper and Lower Xumi have the following lateral approximants: alveolar /l̥, l/ and alveolo-palatal /ʎ̥, ʎ/.^[7][8]

Vowels

Monophthongs of Lower Xumi, from Chirkova & Chen (2013:369)

Oral

• Upper Xumi has the following oral vowels: /i, ʉ, u, e, o, ɛ, ɜ, ɔ, ɐ/.^[9]
• Lower Xumi has the following oral vowels: /i, ʉ, u, e, o, ɛ, ɐ, ɑ/.^[10] /o, ɐ, ɑ/ generally correspond to Upper Xumi /u, ɜ, ɔ/, respectively.^[11]
  • /ʉ/ is phonetically close-mid [ɵ].^[12]

Nasal

• Upper Xumi has the following nasal vowels: /ĩ, ũ, ɛ̃, ɔ̃, ɐ̃/, as well as the marginal /ɘ̃/, which occurs only in the word [^LPmɘ̃dɐ] 'on the roof / upstairs'.^[9]
• Lower Xumi has the following nasal vowels: /ĩ, õ, ɛ̃, ɐ̃, ɑ̃/, as well as the marginal /ə̃/, which occurs only in the word [^LPmə̃dɐ ^Rʁo] 'on the roof / upstairs'.^[10] /ẽ, õ, ɐ̃, ɑ̃/ generally correspond to Upper Xumi /ĩ, ũ, ɛ̃, ɔ̃/, respectively.^[11]

References

1. Shixing at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
2. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian, eds. (2016). "Shixing". Glottolog 2.7. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
3. Chirkova & Chen (2013), p. 363.
4. Chirkova & Chen (2013), p. 364.
5. Chirkova & Chen (2013), pp. 365, 367–368.
6. Chirkova, Chen & Kocjančič Antolík (2013), pp. 382–383.
7. Chirkova, Chen & Kocjančič Antolík (2013), p. 382.
8. Chirkova & Chen (2013), p. 365.
9. Chirkova, Chen & Kocjančič Antolík (2013), pp. 388–389.
10. Chirkova & Chen (2013), pp. 369–370.
11. Chirkova, Chen & Kocjančič Antolík (2013), p. 389.
12. Chirkova & Chen (2013), p. 369.

Bibliography

• Chirkova, Katia; Chen, Yiya (2013), "Xumi, Part 1: Lower Xumi, the Variety of the Lower and Middle Reaches of the Shuiluo River" (PDF), Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 43 (3): 363–379, doi:10.1017/S0025100313000157
• Chirkova, Katia; Chen, Yiya; Kocjančič Antolík, Tanja (2013), "Xumi, Part 2: Upper Xumi, the Variety of the Upper Reaches of the Shuiluo River" (PDF), Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 43 (3): 381–396, doi:10.1017/S0025100313000169