Bit language
| Bit | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Laos, China |
Native speakers | (2,200 cited 1994–2005)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | bgk |
| Glottolog | bitt1240 |
| ELP | Bit |
Bit (Khabit, Psing, Buxing) is an Austroasiatic language spoken by around 1,500 people in Phongsaly Province, northern Laos and in Mengla County, China.[citation needed] There are thought to be about another 500 speakers over the border in Yunnan Province, China.[citation needed] It has been classified as Palaungic, Khmuic, and as Mangic.[citation needed]
Names
In China, the Buxing people (布兴, 布幸, or 布醒; IPA: [puʃiŋ]) are also called Kami 佧米人 or Kabi 佧比人 (IPA: [khabit]) (Gao 2004).
Yan & Zhou (2012:157) list the following names for Khabit.
- pu siŋ, kha bet (autonyms)
- xa13 vit55 (Dai exonym)
- khaʔmĭt (Khmu exonym)
- Kami 卡咪 (Han Chinese exonym)
The Khabit name for Khmu is ta mɔi.
Classification
Paul Sidwell (2014)[2] and Svantesson (1990) classify Bit as Palaungic. It is most closely related to Kháng and Quang Lam.
Distribution
Laos
In Laos, Bit is spoken by 2,000 people in the following villages (Gao 2004). The speakers call themselves "Laubit."
- Nam Lie
- Nam Lan
- Nam Liaŋ
- Nam Pauk
- Bɔn Tsɛm Mɑi
- Nam Tha
- Bɔn Hui Huo
- Bɔn Bɔm Phiŋ
- Nam Nɔi
Kingsada (1999) covers the Khabit (khaa bet) language of Nale village, Bun Neua District, Phongsaly Province, Laos.[3]
China
In Mengla County, Yunnan, China, Bit (Buxing) is spoken by 539 people as of 2000, in the following villages (Gao 2004).
- Nanqian 南欠村, Manzhuang Village 曼庄村, Mohan Township 磨憨镇[4]
- Kami 卡咪村, Huiluo Village 回洛村, Kami Township 卡米镇 / Mengban 勐伴镇[5]
References
- ^ Bit at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Sidwell, Paul. 2014. "Khmuic classification and homeland". Mon-Khmer Studies 43.1:47-56
- ^ Kingsadā, Thō̜ngphet, and Tadahiko Shintani. 1999 Basic Vocabularies of the Languages Spoken in Phongxaly, Lao P.D.R. Tokyo: Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA).
- ^ http://www.ynszxc.gov.cn/villagePage/vIndex.aspx?departmentid=160513
- ^ http://www.ynszxc.gov.cn/villagePage/vIndex.aspx?departmentid=203717
- Gao Yongqi [高永奇]. 2004. A study of Buxing [Buxing yu yanjiu 布兴语研究]. Beijing: Minzu University Press [民族出版社].
- Yan Qixiang [颜其香] & Zhou Zhizhi [周植志] (2012). Mon-Khmer languages of China and the Austroasiatic family [中国孟高棉语族语言与南亚语系]. Beijing: Social Sciences Academy Press [社会科学文献出版社].