U language

U
Pouma
Region China
Native speakers
40,000 (2000)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3 uuu
Glottolog uuuu1243[2]

The U language, or P'uman 濮满, is spoken by 40,000 people in the Yunnan province of China and possibly Burma. It is classified as an Austroasiatic language in the Palaungic branch. In China, U speakers are classified as ethnic Bulang.

Locations

U is spoken in Shuangjiang County of Yunnan and other nearby counties.[3]

There 2 main dialects of U in Shuangjiang County: one spoken in Gongnong 公弄 (now part of Mengku Town 勐库镇), and one spoken in Bangbing 邦丙 and Dawen Mangga 大文乡忙嘎; the Dawen dialect is reportedly mutually intelligible with that of Shidian County (Shuangjiang County Ethnic Gazetteer 1995:160).

Phonology

U has four tones, high, low, rising, falling, which developed from vowel length and the nature of final consonants.

References

Gazetteers and other Chinese government sources with lexical data


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