The U language or P'uman (Chinese: 濮满), is spoken by 40,000 people in the Yunnan Province of China and possibly Myanmar. It is classified as an Austroasiatic language in the Palaungic branch. In China, U speakers are classified as ethnic Bulang.
U | |
---|---|
Pouma | |
Region | China |
Native speakers | 40,000 (2000)[1] |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | uuu |
Glottolog | uuuu1243 |
ELP | U |
U is classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger |
U is spoken in Shuangjiang County of Yunnan and other nearby counties.[2]
There two 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).
Avala (autonym: a21 va21 la21) is spoken in Bangliu (邦六),[7] Manghuai Township (芒怀乡), Yun County (云县), Yunnan, China.[8][9]
U has four tones, high, low, rising, falling, which developed from vowel length and the nature of final consonants.
Gazetteers and other Chinese government sources with lexical data