The Nasu language, also known as the Eastern Yi language or Naisu, Luquan Yi, Wuding Yi, Guizhou Yi, Weining Yi, Guangxi Yi or Longlin Yi, is a Loloish language spoken by the Yi people of China. Nasu and Wusa are two of six Yi languages recognized by the Government of China. Unlike most written Yi languages, Nasu uses the Pollard script. A distinct form of the Yi script was traditionally used for Wusa, though few can still read it.
The Nasu language is also known as the Black Yi language, but this name is no longer used.
Names According to the Guizhou Ethnic Gazetteer (2002),Guizhou Province Gazetteer: Ethnic Gazetteer [贵州省志. 民族志] (2002). Guiyang: Guizhou Ethnic Publishing House [貴州民族出版社]. Yi autonyms include Nasu 哪苏,http://asiaharvest.org/wp-content/themes/asia/docs/people-groups/China/chinaPeoples/N/NasuWusa.pdf Tusu 兔苏, Lagou 腊勾, Guo 果, and so forth.
Most of Yi people of the Luquan area do not have the autonym Luoluo and Nasu (transliterated into Chinese as 纳苏) means "black", hence the Black Yi (黑彝 Hei Yi),Anthology of Yi Cultural Research [彝族文化研究文集]. Kunming: Yunnan Nationalities Publishing House (1988). p. 100. "西一带的彝族,仍有自称为'罗罗'。同时，男人自称'罗颇'，女人自称'罗摩'。前述流行《四方八虎"图的滇东北武定、禄劝一带大多数彝族，虽己没有"罗罗》之自称,而从彝族尚黑祟虎的传统中，咯虎取黑以自称'纳苏'为'黑人'或'黑族' (彝语'纳"义为黑、大、深 ...” though Black Yi is an aristocratic caste distinction among the Yi People, and Black Yi Script (Heiyiwen) was a Latin script for Yi introduced by missionaries.Huang Xinxian [黃新宪] Christian Education and Chinese Social Change [基督敎敎育与中国社会变迁] Fujian Education Publishing Fujian Education Press] (1996). . p. 173 "... 这对民族区域的社会变迁具有十分积极的意义。首先，提高了少数民族地区的总体文化水平。据 1951 年对滇北武定区的调查表明，聚居于各县山谷中的苗族 9 / 10 能看能写外国传教士用拉丁字母拼写的苗文；分布在山谷中的黑彝和傈傈族，凡参加基甘教者都懂传教士用拉丁字母拼写的黑彝文和栗栗文。”
Classification Chen (1985) Chen, et al. (1985:108) recognizes 3 major varieties of Eastern Yi (i.e., Nasu) that are spoken in Yunnan and Guizhou provinces, namely Dianqian 滇黔 (Yunnan-Guizhou), Pan 盘县 (Pan County of Guizhou), and Diandongbei 滇东北 (Northeastern Yunnan).Chen Shilin [陈士林], et al. 1985. Yiyu jianzhi [彝语简志]. Beijing: Ethnic Publishing House [民族出版社]. Autonyms include (alternatively ), (including , , and ), , and .
Dianqian 滇黔次方言: 4 dialects Shuixi 水西土语: spoken in Bijie, Qianxi, Dafang, Zhijin, Nayong, Qingzhen, and Zhenxiong counties Wusa 乌撒土语 ( [yig]): spoken in Weining, Shuicheng, Hezhang, Nayong, Yiliang, Huize, and Xuanwei counties Mangbu 芒部土语: spoken in Zhenxiong and Hezhang counties Wumeng 乌蒙土语 ( [ywu]): spoken in Zhaotong and Yongshan Pan 盘县次方言: spoken in Xingren, Pu'an, Qinglong, Shuicheng, Fuyuan, and Luoping counties Diandongbei 滇东北次方言: 5 dialects Luquan 武禄土语: spoken in Wuding, Luquan, Yuanmou, Xundian, Lufeng, and Huize counties Qiaowu 巧武土语 (Qiaojia-Wuding): spoken in Qiaojia, Wuding, Luquan, Yuanmou, and Huize counties Wuding 武定土语: spoken in Wuding, Yongren, and Lufeng counties Xundian 寻甸土语: spoken in Xundian, Luquan, Huize, Songming, Luxi, Shizong, Luoping, and Mile counties Kun'an 昆安土语 (Kunming-Anning): spoken in Anning and Lufeng counties
Huang (1993) In his description of the Yi script (not the spoken language), Huáng Jiànmíng (1993) holds that the Nasu variety of the Yi script is used by the groups speaking languages of the Nasu language cluster of Northern Yi in south-eastern Sìchuān, eastern Yúnnán, Gùizhōu, as well as in Guǎngxī.Nathan Hill Medieval Tibeto-Burman Languages IV 2012- Page 450 "The Nasu variety is used by the groups speaking languages of the Nasu language cluster of Northern Yi in the south-eastern part of Sìchuān, the eastern part of Yúnnán, Gùizhōu, as well as in Guǎngxī. Huáng Jiànmíng (1993: 152)" He distinguishes two sub-groups. Nasu proper used in Wuding, Luquan, and the suburbs of Kunming, and Wusa used in Guizhou and the bordering areas of Eastern Yunnan.
Bradley (1997) David Bradley (1997) distinguishes three main dialects of Nasu:
Southeastern (Panxian): 150,000 speakers in southwestern Guizhou Northeastern (Nesu): 300,000 speakers, comprising most of the other Nasu speakers of Guizhou, and some in extreme northeastern Yunnan and southeastern Sichuan Shuixi subdialect 水西土语 Wusa subdialect 乌撒土语 Mangbu subdialect 芒部土语 Wumeng subdialect 乌蒙土语 Western (Nasu proper): 250,000 speakers all in north-central Yunnan; Black (more numerous) and Red subdialects
Lama (2012) Lama (2012) determined that Nasu (Western) is more closely related to Gepo than it is to the others:
Nesu Panxian (Nasepho, ): North and South dialects Shuixi Nesu (Dafang Nesu) Nesu proper Wumeng Mangbu Wusa (Wusa Nasu) Nasu Nasu proper Gepo (): 100,000 speakers
Chen (2010)
Phonology Consonants
Labial Alveolar (Alveolo-)palatal Retroflex Velar GlottalNasal Stop voiceless aspirated voiced prenasal/asp. Affricate voiceless aspirated voiced prenasal/asp. Fricative voiceless voiced lateral Lateral
The phonetic sound of // is mainly heard as .
Vowels There is distinction between tight-throat vowels and lax-throat (plain) vowels. FrontCentralBackunrd.tightunrd.tightunrd.rnd.tightClose Mid , Open-mid Open
Sounds are heard as syllabic consonants when following alveolar sounds , and as syllabic retroflex when following retroflex sounds . The phonetic sounds of the rhoticized vowels are mainly heard as more back .
Tones 3 tones occur as follows: NamePitchSymbolHigh55Mid33Low (falling)21
See also Nesu word list (Wiktionary; has comparisons with Nasu)
References
Bibliography Bradley, David (1997). "Tibeto-Burman languages and classification". In Tibeto-Burman languages of the Himalayas, Papers in South East Asian linguistics. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. Chen Kang [陈康]. 2010. A study of Yi dialects [彝语方言研究]. Beijing: China Minzu University Press. Lama, Ziwo Qiu-Fuyuan (2012), Subgrouping of Nisoic (Yi) Languages, thesis, University of Texas at Arlington. Lu Lin 卢琳. 2017. Yiyu Shuicheng Zhichanghua yanjiu 彝语水城纸厂话研究. In Guizhou Minzu Yanjiu 贵州民族研究.
External links 283-word wordlist in Wuding Maojie Naisu dialect available from Kaipuleohone as well as word lists from other Nasu speakers