Comprehensive Documentation of Four Peripheral and Undocumented Rma Languages – Heihu

Language	Heihu
Depositor	Nathaniel Sims, Agnes Conrad
Affiliation	University of Oregon
Location	People’s Republic of China
Collection ID	0864
Grant ID	MDP1095
Funding Body	ELDP
Collection Status	Forthcoming
Landing Page Handle	http://hdl.handle.net/2196/c27691ed-41ab-411b-8db4-fb6b1152ae05

 

Summary of the collection

English: This collection will contain audiovisual documentation inclusive of natural conversations, folktales, and digital resources showcasing lexicon/narratives related to weaving, farming, and architecture.

中文: 该档案集将包含视听记录材料，其中包括自然会话、民间故事，以及展示与编织、农业和建筑相关词汇与叙事的数字资源。

 

Group represented

English: Within the ethnic classification scheme of the People’s Republic of China, speakers of Rma languages are classified as members of either the Tibetan nationality or the Qiang nationality, two of 56 recognized nationalities of the People’s Republic of China (LaPolla & Huang 2003). The Rma-speaking area is located in the northern reaches of one of the most
culturally and linguistically diverse areas of China, known in the local literature as the ‘Sichuan ethnic corridor’. The cultural diversity of the Rma-speaking people is reflected in widely different types of traditional dress for both men and women (LaPolla & Huang 2003: 9-11), as well as different native non-buddhist religious practices. Heīshuí County is particularly diverse; in addition to Rma speakers, there are speakers of at least five or six different non-Amdo Tibetan languages and Situ Gyalrong (Sun 2025).

Internally, the various Rma-speaking communities employ autonyms such as [m̥a˞, rme, ʐmæ, χmà] among others. Different groups may or may not recognize each other as belonging to the same autonym, but may still identify each other as belonging to one of the nationally recognized ethnic groups, i.e. Qiang or Tibetan. Rma languages have been traditionally split into two major groups: Northern (ISO 639-3 cng) and Southern (ISO 639-3 qxs) (Liu 1998; Sun 1981). It is now recognized that the initial division into Northern and Southern is not justified (Evans & Huang 2007, Huang 2010; LaPolla & Huang 2003; Sims 2016;). There have been published grammars of a number of Rma languages (Huang 2004; Huang & Zhou 2006; LaPolla & Huang 2003; Liu 1998; Sun 1981; Wang 2017; Zheng 2017). Evans (2001), LaPolla and Huang (2003), and Chirkova (2008) give bibliographies of research on Rma languages. At first glance, the apparent volume of sources would indicate fuller documentation than actually exists. However, almost no previous studies have made their source data publicly available and present descriptions do not fully reflect the diversity of these languages.

中文: 尔玛语区位于中国最具文化与语言多样性的地区之一北部边缘，该区域在中国本土文献中被称为“四川民族走廊”。尔玛族群的文化多样性体现在男女传统服饰风格的巨大差异（LaPolla & Huang 2003: 9–11），以及不同的本土非佛教宗教实践。

在内部认同上，各尔玛语社群使用诸如 [m̥a˞]、[rme]、[ʐmæ]、[χmà] 等自称。不同群体可能并不彼此承认属于同一自称体系，但仍可能将彼此认定为国家承认民族中的羌族或藏族。传统上，尔玛语被划分为两大类：北部（ISO 639-3 cng）与南部（ISO 639-3 qxs）（Liu 1998；Sun 1981）。如今人们已经认识到，这种南北划分并不成立（Evans & Huang 2007；Huang 2010；LaPolla & Huang 2003；Sims 2016）。目前已有若干尔玛语的语法著作出版（Huang 2004；Huang & Zhou 2006；LaPolla & Huang 2003；Liu 1998；Sun 1981；Wang 2017；Zheng 2017）。Evans（2001）、LaPolla 与 Huang（2003）以及 Chirkova（2008）对尔玛语研究提供了书目综述。乍看之下，大量研究文献似乎意味着这些话已有较完整的记录；然而，几乎没有先前研究公开其原始数据，而现有描述也未能充分反映这些话的真实多样性。

 

Language information

English:

Heihu is spoken by approximately 1800 individuals in a single isolated valley of western Mao County (茂县) who use the autonym [mɚ]. The language is severely endangered. There are no fluent speakers under the age of 50. While there are a few passive bilinguals in lower age brackets, at home communication typically occurs in Sichuanese Mandarin, and there are no monolingual speakers. The language is in heavy contact with Sichuanese Mandarin. Heihu is phonologically divergent from other surrounding Rma languages, with which it is mutually unintelligible. The distinctiveness of the language is paralleled by unique differences in dress. Despite relative isolation of the Heihu speaking area, knock-on effects of the devastation caused by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, and more recently the construction of a high-speed railway leading to the Mao County seat in (2023) have accelerated outbound migration of village residents. As Heihu speakers move to the county seat, they inevitably use Sichuanese Mandarin as a lingua franca when interacting with speakers of other Rma languages.

The Heihu-speaking villages are located in the southeast of the Rma speaking region. Heihu is the name given to a subgroup in Liu’s (1998) classification of Rma languages, and also the name of an individuallanguage within this subgroup. The languages of this subgroup are lumped into the Glottolog code [upst1234], though the exact position of Heihu within Rma is unclear. Sun (1981) and Liu (1998) place Heihu within the ‘Southern’ branch based on typological characteristics. However Huang and Zhou (2006) place Heihu within the ‘Northern’ group. Huang (2010) states that Heihu groups with the northern varieties with regard to morphology. Save for a few words listed in Evans (2001), the only documentation of the Heihu language presently available is three hours of narratives and conversations recorded by a community project.

中文:

黑虎话约有1800名使用者，分布于茂县西部一个孤立山谷中，使用自称 [mɚ]。该话已处于严重濒危状态。50岁以下已无流利使用者。虽然较年轻年龄层中仍有少数被动双语者，但家庭交流通常使用四川官话，且已不存在单语使用者。该话与四川官话存在强烈接触。黑虎话在音系上与周边其他尔玛语差异显著，彼此之间无法互通。该话的独特性也体现在传统服饰上的明显差异。尽管黑虎话区相对偏僻，2008年汶川地震造成的破坏所带来的连锁效应，以及近年来（2023年）通往茂县县城的高速铁路建设，都加速了村民外迁。随着黑虎话使用者迁往县城，他们在与其他尔玛语使用者交流时，不可避免地将四川官话作为通用话使用。

黑虎话村寨位于尔玛语区东南部。“黑虎”既是刘光坤（1998）尔玛语分类中的一个次话组名称，也是该次话组内部某一具体话的名称。该次话组在 Glottolog 中被归入 [upst1234]，但黑虎话在尔玛语内部的确切位置仍不明确。Sun（1981）与刘（1998）基于类型学特征将其归入“南部”分支；然而 Huang 与 Zhou（2006）则将其划入“北部”话组。Huang（2010）指出，在形态学方面，黑虎话与北部方言更为接近。除 Evans（2001）列出的少量词汇外，目前可获得的黑虎话材料仅包括一个社区项目录制的三小时叙事与对话资料。

 

Acknowledgement and citation

English: To refer to any data from the collection, please cite as follows:
Sims, Nathaniel, Conrad, Agnes, Zhaxi, Rong, and Ludwig Adisiswoyo. 2026. Comprehensive Documentation of Four Peripheral and Undocumented Rma Languages. Endangered Languages Archive. Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/2196/f0b47d47-4656-4dfe-b949-ff57bfa55e06. Accessed on [insert date here].

中文:
Sims, Nathaniel, Conrad, Agnes, Zhaxi, Rong, and Ludwig Adisiswoyo. 2026. 《四种边缘且未记录尔玛语的综合记录》（Comprehensive Documentation of Four Peripheral and Undocumented Rma Languages. 濒危话档案馆（Endangered Languages Archive. Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/2196/f0b47d47-4656-4dfe-b949-ff57bfa55e06. 访问日期：[此处插入日期]。