Lolo-Burmese languages


The Lolo-Burmese languages of Burma and Southern China form a coherent branch of the Sino-Tibetan family.

Names

Until ca. 1950, the endonym Lolo was written with derogatory characters in Chinese, and for this reason has sometimes been avoided. Shafer used the term "Burmic" for the Lolo-Burmese languages. The Chinese term is Mian–Yi, after the Chinese name for Burmese and one of several words for Tai, reassigned to replace Lolo by the Chinese government after 1950.

Possible languages

The position of Naxi within the family is unclear, and it is often left as a third branch besides Loloish and Burmish. Lama considers it to be a branch of Loloish, while Guillaume Jacques has suggested that it is a Qiangic language.
The Pyu language that preceded Burmese in Burma is sometimes linked to the Lolo-Burmese family, but there is no good evidence for any particular classification.
Löffler and Bradley consider the Mru language to be closely related to or part of Lolo-Burmese, while Matisoff includes Mruic in the Northeast Indian areal group.
Three Bailang songs were reportedly recorded in Chinese characters in the 1st century, and survive in quotations from the 7th century. The transmission through Chinese makes interpretation difficult, but most authors believe the language to be Lolo-Burmese or a close relative.

External relationships

& Alexis Michaud argue for a Burmo-Qiangic branch with two primary subbranches, Na-Qiangic and Lolo-Burmese. Similarly, David Bradley also proposes an Eastern Tibeto-Burman branch that includes the two subbranches of Burmic and Qiangic.

Internal classification

Bradley gives the following classification for the Lolo-Burmese languages. In later publications, in place of Loloish, David Bradley instead uses the term Ngwi based on a conservative autonym in the Sanie language.
  • Lolo-Burmese
  • *Mru
  • *Core Lolo-Burmese
  • **Ugong–Burmish
  • ***Ugong
  • ***Burmish
  • **Loloish
Lama, in a study of 36 languages, finds the Mondzish cluster to be divergent. He did not include Mru or Ugong.
  • Lolo-Burmese
  • *Mondzish
  • *Core Lolo-Burmese
  • **Burmish
  • **Loloish
Lama recognizes 9 unambiguous coherent groups of Lolo-Burmese languages, whereas Bradley considers there to be 5 groups.
  1. Mondzish
  2. Burmish
  3. Hanoish
  4. Lahoish
  5. Naxish
  6. Nusoish
  7. Kazhuoish
  8. Lisoish
  9. Nisoish