Mantsi language
Lolo-Burmese language of China and Vietnam
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mantsi (autonym: mã53 tsi53; also called Lô Lô, Flowery Lolo, White Lolo or Black Lolo, is a Lolo-Burmese language. Speakers are mostly located in Hà Giang Province, Vietnam. In China, speakers are classified as a subgroup of the Yi people. In Vietnam they are called Lô Lô and is classified as one of the official 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam.
Classification
Mantsi may be related to the Kathu (Kasu, Gasu) and Mo'ang (mɯaŋ˥˩) languages of Wenshan Prefecture, Yunnan, China (Edmondson 2003). Lama (2012) concludes that Mantsi (Mondzi) and Maang constitute the most divergent branch of the Lolo-Burmese languages.
Distribution
Monji or Mondzi is reportedly spoken in some villages of Muyang Township, Funing County, Yunnan, China.
Munji is reportedly spoken by the Flowery Yi (Lolo) of Donggan (董干) Town, Malipo County, Yunnan. It is closely related to the Mandzi or Mantsi language of the Flowery Lolo and Black Lolo people of Vietnam and of the White Lolo people of Funing Country. The Red Lolo and Flowery Lolo live across the border in Đồng Văn district, Hà Giang province of Vietnam. Both speak similar languages. The language spoken by the Red Lolo was investigated by Jerold A. Edmondson in the late 1990s.
In Vietnam
The Lô Lô ethnic group of northern Vietnam consists of 3,134 people in Hà Giang and Cao Bằng, also including some in Mường Khương District of Lào Cai Province. They are also known as Mùn Di, Di, Màn Di, La La, Qua La, Ô Man, and Lu Lộc Màn.[2]
- Flowery Lolo
- Hà Giang Province
- Xín Cái, Mèo Vạc District
- Lũng Cù, Đồng Văn District
- Red Lolo
- Hà Giang Province
- Black Lolo
- Bảo Lạc District, Cao Bằng Province
Phonology
Phonology of Mondzi:[4]
Consonants
[ŋ] can appear only as a coda.
Mondzi also has three consonant clusters: [lg], [lk], [lkʰ].
Vowels
Monophthongs
Diphthongs
| a | e | e̠ | ɛ | ɛ̠ | o | ɔ | u | i | ɑ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| i | ia | ie | ie̠ | iɛ | iɛ̠ | io | iɔ | iu | ||
| y | yi | |||||||||
| u | ue | ui | uɑ | |||||||
| e | ei |
Tones
| IPA | Tone value |
|---|---|
| ˥ | 55 |
| ˦ | 44 |
| ˧ | 33 |
| ˥˧ | 53 |
| ˨˩ | 21 |
| ˩˧ | 13 |
