Pumi, Southern

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A language of China

ISO 639-3
pmj
Alternate Names
Pimi, P’ömi, Primmi, P’rome, Pruumi, P’umi
Population

19,000 (1999). 6,000 monolinguals. Ethnic population: 28,000 (2000 census).

Location

Northwest Yunnan Province, Lanping, Weixi, Yongsheng, and Lijiang counties; Ninglang county, Xinyingpan district.

Language Maps
Language Status

6a (Vigorous).

Classification
Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Northeastern Tibeto-Burman, Qiangic
Dialects

Qinghua. 4 other dialects. Intelligibility of Northern Pumi [pmi] is difficult. Lexical similarity: 60% between Northern Pumi [pmi] and Southern Pumi.

Typology

SOV; adjectives and numbers follow noun heads; uvular obstruents; initial s + consonant clusters; different vowels from N. Pumi; tonal, 2 tones

Language Use

Vigorous. All domains. Positive attitudes. Also use Mandarin Chinese [cmn], Tibetan [bod], Lisu [lis], Bai [bca], Naxi [nxq], or Lipo [lpo].

Language Development
Literacy rate in L2: 70% for Pumi nationality (2000 census).
Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Pumi, Southern
Writing
Unwritten.
Other Comments

Officially classified within Pumi nationality. Buddhist (Lamaist).