Kyirong language
Kyirong | |
---|---|
| |
स्युबा | |
Region | Tibet |
Native speakers | 100 (2002) |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | kgy |
Glottolog | kyer1238 Kyerung |
Kyirong is a language from the subgroup of Tibetic languages spoken in the Gyirong County of the Shigatse prefecture, of the Tibetan Autonomous Region.
Kyirong has lexical tone, with a three-tone system.
Relationship to other languages
There is a varying degree of mutual intelligibility between Kyirong and other Kyirong-Yolmo varieties. It is most closely related to the Nubri and Gyalsomdo languages, and more distantly related to other languages in the family.
Phonology
Consonants
There are 36 consonants in Kyirong, which are summarized in the table below.
Bilabial | Apico-Dental | Retroflex | Lamino- post-alveolar |
Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |||||
Plosive/ Affricate |
voiceless | p | t | ts | ʈ | tɕ | c | k | |
aspirated | pʰ | tʰ | tsʰ | ʈʰ | tɕʰ | cʰ | kʰ | ||
voiced | b | d | dz | ɖ | dʑ | ɟ | ɡ | ||
Fricative | voiceless | s | ɕ | h | |||||
voiced | z | ʑ | ɦ | ||||||
Liquid | rhotic | r | |||||||
voiced lateral | l | ||||||||
unvoiced lateral | ɬ | ||||||||
Semivowel | w | j |
Vowels
There are eight places of articulation for vowels. There is a length distinction at each place of articulation, as well as a long nasalised vowel.
Front | Central | Back | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Close | oral | i iː | y yː | u uː | |
nasal | ĩː | ỹː | ũː | ||
Half-close | oral | e eː | ø øː | ||
nasal | ẽː | ø̃ː | |||
Half-open | oral | ɛ ɛː | ɔ ɔː | ||
nasal | ɛ̃ː | ɔ̃ː | |||
Open | oral | a aː | |||
nasal | ãː |
Tone
Kyriong has a three tone system; high, medium and low. Low tone is often accompanied by breathy voice.
Sources
- Hedlin, M. (2011). An Investigation of the relationship between the Kyirong, Yòlmo, and Standard Spoken Tibetan speech varieties. Masters thesis, Payap University, Chiang Mai.
- Huber, B. (2005). The Tibetan dialect of Lende (Kyirong). Beiträge zur tibetischen Erzählforschung, 15.