The Pumi language (also known as PrinmiDing, P. S. (2014). A Grammar of Prinmi : based on the central dialect of northwest Yunnan, China (1st ed.). Brill.) is a Qiangic language used by the Pumi people, an ethnic group from Yunnan, China, as well as by the Tibetan people of Muli in Sichuan, China. Most native speakers live in Lanping, Ninglang, Lijiang, Weixi and Muli.
The autonym of the Pumi is in Western Prinmi, in Central Prinmi, and in Northern Prinmi with variants such as and .
In Muli Bonpo-Buddhist priests read religious texts in Tibetan, which needs to be interpreted into Prinmi. An attempt to teach Pumi children to write their language using the Tibetan script has been seen in Ninglang. A pinyin-based Roman script has been proposed, but is not commonly used.
Dialects Earlier works suggest there are two branches of Pumi (southern and northern), and they are not mutually intelligible. Ding (2014) proposes three major groups: Western Prinmi (spoken in Lanping), Central Prinmi (spoken in southwestern Ninglang, Lijiang, Yulong and Yongsheng) and Northern Prinmi (spoken in northern Ninglang and Sichuan).
Lu (2001) Dialects of Pumi include the following (Lu 2001).
Southern (22,000 speakers) Qinghua 箐花村, Lanping County, Yunnan Ludian 鲁甸县, Yunnan Xinyingpan 新营盘乡, Ninglang County, Yunnan
Northern (55,000 speakers) Taoba 桃巴村, Muli County, Sichuan Tuoqi 拖七村, Ninglang County, Yunnan Zuosuo 左所区, Yanyuan County, Sichuan Sanyanlong 三岩龙乡, Jiulong County, Sichuan
Sim (2017) Sims (2017) lists the following dialects of Pumi. Northern Sanyanlong 三岩龙 [Jiulong County] (B. Huang & Dai 1992) Taoba 桃巴 [Muli County] (Sun 1991) Shuiluo 水洛 [Muli County] (Jacques 2011) Central Wadu 瓦都 [Ninglang County] (Daudey 2014) Niuwozi 牛窝子 [Ninglang County] (Ding 2001, etc.) Southern Dayang [Lanping County] (Matisoff 1997) Qinghua 箐花 [Lanping County] (Sun 1991; B. Huang & Dai 1992)
Sims (2017) reconstructs high tones and low tones for Proto-Prinmi.
Documentation Transcribed, translated and annotated audio documents in the Pumi language are available from the Pangloss Collection. They concern Northern dialects of Pumi.
Phonology
+Pumi ConsonantsLabialDentalRetroflexPalatalVelarNasalvoicelessvoicedPlosivevoicelessaspiratedvoicedAffricatevoicelessaspiratedvoicedFricativevoicelessvoicedLateralvoicelessvoicedApproximantvoicelessvoiced +Oral Vowels of PumiFrontCentralBackClose[/] Close-Mid MidOpen-MidNear-OpenOpen +Nasal Vowels of PumiFrontCentralBackCloseClose-MidMidOpen-MidNear-Open
Orthography
The pinyin-based Roman script for Pumi has been proposed, but yet to be promoted.
+ Initials: Letter IPA Letter IPA Letter IPA Letter IPA Letter IPA b p bb m hm d t dd n hn g k gg h hh j q jj x xx z c zz s ss zh ch zzh sh ssh zr , [/] cr , [/] zzr , [/] l lh br pr bbr r hr ng hng w y
+ Rimes: Letter IPA Letter IPA Letter IPA Letter IPA i u ui e iu uee ii uu ue üa in ien uen uin o io on ion a ia ua uan aa uaa an ea ai uai
Tones: Monosyllabic words f – falling tone v – high tone none – rising tone Polysyllable words f – nonspreading of the high tone v – spreading of the high tone to the next syllable r – rising tone none – default low tone
Grammar
A reference grammar of the Wadu dialect of Pumi is available online. A grammar of Central Pumi is also available.
Example
Pumi English Tèr gwéjè dzwán thèr phxèungphxàr sì.Timitae llìnggwe zreungzrun stìng. He has broken several hammers.This man is crying and shouting all the time.
References
Bibliography
Jiǎng, Yǐng [蒋颖] (2019). Yúnnán Lánpíng Pǔmǐyǔ [云南兰坪普米语]. Beijing: Commercial Press [商务印书馆].