The or '''Miao-Yao''' languages are a small
Language Family of southern
China and
Southeast Asia . They are spoken in mountainous areas of southern China, including
Guizhou ,
Hunan ,
Yunnan ,
Sichuan ,
Guangxi and
Hubei provinces, where they have been relegated to being 'hill people', while the
Han Chinese have settled the more fertile river valleys. Within the last 300–400 years, Hmong and some Mien people migrated to
Thailand ,
Laos ,
Vietnam and
Myanmar . As a result of the
Indochina Wars , many Hmong speakers left Southeast Asia for
Australia , the
United States , and other countries.
Hmong (Miao) and Mien (Yao) are clearly distinct, but closely related. The relationship of the poorly known
Ho Nte Language (Mandarin ''Shē'') is obscure, though it may be closest to Mien. Part of the difficulty is that it has been strongly influenced by neighboring tongues. One proposed internal classification is listed below.
Earlier linguistic classifications placed the Hmong-Mien languages into the
Sino-Tibetan Language Family , where they remain in many Chinese classifications, but the current consensus among Western
Linguist s is that they constitute a family of their own. The family has its origins in southern or perhaps even central China. The current region of greatest diversity is between the
Yangtze and
Mekong rivers, but there is reason to believe that they migrated there from further north with the expansion of the
Han Chinese .
Some have conjectured that the Hmong-Mien languages may be part of an
"Austric" superfamily, but evidence for this has been slow in coming. In any case, it is interesting to note that sub-clades of
Y-haplogroup O that are typical for Hmong-Mien peoples (O3a3, O3a4) belong to the same branch like O3a5 that is found in the speakers of the Sino-Tibetan family.
The Mandarin names for these languages are ''Miáo'' and ''Yáo''.
''Meo'', ''Hmu'', ''Mong'', and ''Hmong'' are local names for Miao, but since most Laotian refugees in the United States call themselves ''Hmong/Mong'', this name has become better known in English than the others in recent decades. However, the name Hmong is not used in China, where the majority of the Miao live.
The Chinese name Yao, on the other hand, is for the
Yao Nationality , which is a cultural rather than ethno-linguistic group. It includes peoples speaking Mien,
Kadai ,
Yi , and Miao languages. For this reason the
Ethnonym ''Mien'' may be preferred as less ambiguous.
The words Hmong and Mien, both meaning 'person', are
Cognate .
Like many languages in southern China, the Hmong-Mien languages tend to be
Monosyllabic . They are some of the most highly
Tonal languages in the world.
2001.
- Hmong (Miao) languages
- ---? 'Gelo'
- ---Northern Hmong
--Xiangxi Miao (Red Miao)
- ---Western Hmong
--Libo Miao
--Weining Miao
--Yi Miao
--Hmong proper (includes Hmong Njua (Blue/Green Miao), Hmong Daw (White Miao), and Magpie Miao)
- ---Central Hmong
--Qiandong Miao (Black Miao)
--Longli Miao
- ---East Guizhou
- ---Patengic
--Pa-Hng
--Yongcong
- Mien ( Yao ) languages
- --- Iu Mien
- --- Kim Mun
- --- Ba Pai
In addition, the position of Ho Nte is obscure.
For an examination of alternate schmes such as the one by Strecker and one prepared for Miao by Chinese linguists,
see
Bryce Schroeder's Hmong page .
- Enwall, J. (1995). ''Hmong writing systems in Vietnam: a case study of Vietnam's minority language policy''. Stockholm, Sweden: Center for Pacific Asian Studies.
- Smith, P. (1995). ''Mien-English everyday language dictionary = Mienh in-wuonh dimv nzangc sou''. Visalia, CA: {Link without Title} .
- Enwall, J. (1994). ''A myth become reality: history and development of the Miao written language''. Stockholm East Asian monographs, no. 5-6. {Link without Title} : Institute of Oriental Languages, Stockholm University. ISBN 171532692
- Smalley, W. A., Vang, C. K., & Yang, G. Y. (1990). ''Mother of writing: the origin and development of a Hmong messianic script''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226762866
- Lyman, T. A. (1979). ''Grammar of Mong Njua (Green Miao): a descriptive linguistic study''. {Link without Title} : The author.
- Lyman, T. A. (1974). ''Dictionary of Mong Njua: a Miao (Meo) language of Southeast Asia''. Janua linguarum, 123. The Hague: Mouton.
- Lyman, T. A. (1970). ''English/Meo pocket dictionary''. Bangkok, Thailand: German Cultural Institute, Goethe-Institute.
- Lombard, S. J., & Purnell, H. C. (1968). ''Yao-English dictionary''.
- Purnell, H. C. (1965). ''Phonology of a Yao dialect spoken in the province of Chiengrai, Thailand''. Hartford studies in linguistics, no. 15.
