Documentation of Qabiao in Pho La, Vietnam

Language	Qabiao
Depositor	Nguyen Thu Quynh, Duong Thu Hang
Affiliation	Thai Nguyen University of Education
Location	Vietnam
Collection ID	0768
Funding Body	Endangered Languages Fund
Collection Status	Collection online
Landing Page Handle	http://hdl.handle.net/2196/23ac9df2-d891-4fd6-b676-974730174c41

 

Summary of the collection

This deposit is the result of a documentation project focusing on the Qabiao language and culture, funded by the Endangered Language Fund (ELF) from 2020 to 2021. The project entailed the collection and documentation of the Qabiao language as spoken by the Qabiao community in Pho La Commune, Dong Van District, Ha Giang Province, Vietnam. This documentation covers various aspects, including words, sentences, and speeches.

The data, comprising audio and video recordings, along with text documents containing phonological and lexical information, has been digitized and stored in The Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR) for improved accessibility and storage. This endeavor significantly contributes to the preservation of this critically endangered language. The collection and documentation of Qabiao play a pivotal role in language preservation and revitalization. Using the data collected by this project, researchers can describe the fundamental characteristics of Qabiao and its linguistic context while evaluating its level of endangerment. Subsequently, practical solutions for the preservation and revitalization of Qabiao can be proposed.

 

Group represented

Qabiao, or sometimes Laqua (Chinese: Pubiao 普 标, Vietnamese: Pu Péo) is a Kra language spoken by the Qabiao people in northern Vietnam and Yunnan, China. Moseley (2010) states that there are 307 Qabiao people in China, about 50 speak the language, and 382 in Vietnam, most can speak it, while General Statistics Office of Vietnam (2010) estimates that there are 687 Qabiao people living in Ha Giang Province, Vietnam. The Qabiao is one of the severely endangered ethnic groups in Vietnam. In Vietnam, most Qabiao people live in Dong Van District, Ha Giang Province in Pho La and Sung Cheng villages, and perhaps also in Yen Minh and Meo Vac Districts. Although Pho La, a border commune of Ha Giang Province has been considered the capital of Qabiao so far, it houses only about 30 households with nearly 200 Qabiao people. Natural population growth rate of these people is very low. Qabiao people is facing poverty, low infrastructure, illiteracy, child marriage, and inbreeding marriage. They live self-sufficient mainly in forests. This documentation project was carried out in Pho La Commune, Dong Van District, Ha Giang Province. We are immensely grateful to all the inhabitants in the village for accepting and hosting us, and in particular to the Ly Te Ngan’s family for giving us a home away from home.

 

Language information

According to the current popular classification, Qabiao belongs to the Eastern Kra branch of Kra-Dai (also known as Tai-Kadai) language family. Qabiao is facing a great risk of disappearance due to many reasons: the weakening of Qabiao community resulted from inbreeding marriage, low birth rate and poverty; absence of written language; limited use of language (mainly in families and village communities); the crowding of Vietnamese and regional common languages (Mong), and the lack of Qabiao archives that the community can easily access. Many young people speak little or even no longer speak of the language of their people. The vitality of language is threatened by the change of social factors and of the Qabiao ethnic community itself.

 

Special characteristics

This deposit is the result of a collaborative effort involving a linguist, Nguyen Thu Quynh, and her colleagues: Duong Thu Hang and Bui Linh Hue, with contributions from native collaborators (Ly Te Ngan, Trang Min Ho, Trang Thi Mai, Ly Thi Dien, and Ly Xuan Thuc). The topics for documentation were selected by the entire research team, and the residents of several communities in Pho La Commune, Dong Van District, Ha Giang Province, kindly contributed their time and knowledge to the project.

What makes this collection special is that the majority of the materials deposited consist of Qabiao language recordings, spoken by the Qabiao community in Pho La Commune, Vietnam. These materials include words, sentences, and utterances in four different formats: audio, text, images, and videos. The project’s products can be valuable for language development and in-depth research on languages, such as script creation, dictionary compilation, language teaching materials, and reference materials on ethnic languages and culture.

 

Collection contents

The current set of documents on Qabiao language includes 3 specific parts as follows:
(1). Audio format data (1 original file of 550 words in audio format, 550 files of single words in audio format, 1 original file of 50 sentences in audio format (classified by grammar); 50 audio format files of single sentence; 1 original file of 50 sentences (classified by spoken purpose); 50 files of single sentence in audio format; 4 files recording: 1 conversation in family, 1 conversation in the marketplace, 1 conversation in the village meeting, and 1 folk song.
Regarding quality, the audio format data set meets the following requirements:

• A list of 550 words including the basic vocabulary of Swadesh partly reflects the phenomena and basic phonetic-phonemic features of the Qabiao language.
• A list of 50 sentences reflecting most of the speech purposes of the Qabiao language.
• The content of the conversations was not prepared in advance. The communication situations occurred naturally as it exists in their normal life. The conversations were recorded at the scene, ensuring natural communication situations
• Audio files are recorded in sample size 22,050 Hz, 16 bits, .wav format.
• The files were recorded in a closed room without noise.

(2). Text format data (IPA transcription of 550 words, 1 table of 50 sentences classified by grammar structure; 1 table of 50 sentences classified for speech purpose; 4 documents providing IPA transcriptions and lexical information of the conversations or songs). Regarding quality, the text format data set meets the following requirements:

• The materials were transcribed using the IPA character set, with translations into Vietnamese and English respectively.
• The transcriptions were accurate and faithful to audio material.

(3). Video format data (5 video files recording Qabiao language communication situations in family, community, and folk song presentation).
Regarding quality, the text format data set meets the following requirements:

• The videos honestly reflect the typical communication situations and cultural and artistic activities of the Qabiao people.
• The videos meet the quality assurance according to general regulations on specifications.

 

Collection history

The data collection for this project began in August 2020 when Nguyen Thu Quynh and her colleagues arrived in Pho La Commune for the initial fieldwork period. From August 2020 to January 2021, the research team surveyed and recorded Qabiao vocabulary and grammar while simultaneously documenting the language’s usage in family, community, and cultural contexts among the Qabiao community.

Afterward, the project team and native speaker members continued transcribing, translating, and completing audio (.wav) and video (.mp4) products, which were finalized in August 2021.

The project implementation process was adversely affected by the challenging circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam. The third outbreak, which occurred in September 2020, forced the team to postpone fieldwork due to travel difficulties. Instead, the team attempted to communicate and collaborate online with Qabiao partners, providing them with a glossary to prepare in advance. However, due to limited resources and education among the Qabiao, the research team primarily handled data collection, including audio and video recording, later. During the fourth COVID-19 outbreak in July 2021, the research team faced challenges with group work and preparing seminars for the project report. While working online helped resolve these issues, it did impact the project’s progress and duration.

The challenging topographical conditions of the survey area, characterized by rugged and perilous terrain, made travel difficult. Additionally, the region where the Qabiao people reside experiences frequent rains and floods, further impacting the project’s implementation.

 

References

Benedict, Paul K. 1942. Thai, Kadai and Indonesian: A New Alignment in South Eastern Asia. American Anthropologist ns 44/4: 576-601.
Edmondson, J . A . 2008. Kra or Kadai languages. In Anthony VN Diller and Jerold A. Edmondson and Yongxian Luo (eds.), The Tai-Kadai Languages, 653-677. London & New York: Routledge.
Edmondson, JA. Lesser Known Languages ​​of Northern Vietnam. At: http://www.uta.edu/faculty/jerry/research/, accessed 1 March 2020.
General Statistics Office of Vietnam: Central Population and Housing Census Steering Committee. 2010. The 2009 Vietnam Population and Housing Census: Completed Results. p. 135.
Hoang, Van Ma; Vu, Ba Hung. 1992. English Qabiao (The Pubiao Language). Hanoi: Social Science Publishing House.
Liang, Min; Zhang, Junru; Li, Yunbing. 2007. Pubiao – yu Yanjiu , Beijing: The Ethnic Publishing House.
Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. Atlas of the World’s Languages ​​in Danger. UNESCO Publishing
Ostapirat, Weera. 2000a. Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area: Proto-Kra 23(1): 1–251.
Ostapirat, Weera;ウィーラオスタピラート. 2000b. Kra: The Tai Least-Known Sister Languages. Proceeding of the Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages ​​and Linguistics: 234-269.
Tran Van Ai. 2011. Folklore of the Qabiao ethnic group in Vietnam. Hanoi: National Culture Publishing House.
Zhang, Junru. 1990. The Pubiao Language. Kadai 2: 23-33

 

Acknowledgement and citation

Users of any part of this collection should acknowledge Nguyen Thu Quynh as the principal investigator, and Duong Thu Hang, and Bui Linh Hue as core members of the research team. The Endangered Languages Fund (ELF) funded this project. The Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR) supports the storage of collected materials on an open-access system. Users of parts of the corpus should acknowledge, by name, the people who recorded the given session, and the individuals appearing in the recordings whose words and/or images are used. Any other contributor involved in data collection, transcription, translation, or who contributed in any other way should be acknowledged by name. The relevant information is available in the metadata.

To refer to any data from the collection, please cite as follows:
Nguyen Thu Quynh. 2023. Documentation of Qabiao in Pho La, Vietnam. Endangered Languages Archive. Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/2196/5bd798f8-09eb-4f2f-8089-56bfedd395f5. Accessed on [insert date here].