Comprehensive Documentation of Four Peripheral and Undocumented Rma Languages – Baishui

Language	Baishui
Depositor	Nathaniel Sims, Agnes Conrad
Affiliation	University of Oregon
Location	People’s Republic of China
Collection ID	0865
Grant ID	MDP1095
Funding Body	ELDP
Collection Status	Forthcoming
Landing Page Handle	http://hdl.handle.net/2196/f504ea75-79d3-488d-a2c7-14d320443c59

 

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: Baishui is spoken by somewhere around 2000 individuals in a single valley in eastern Wenchuan County (汶川县) who use the autonym [mà]. The Baishui language is critically endangered, being spoken only by people over 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. To the immediate south the language is in heavy contact with Sichuanese Mandarin. As with other Rma languages in Wenchuan County, significant human casualties related to the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake and efforts at improving transportation within the region over the past 20 years have severely affected speaker communities and the transmission of the language. These environmental changes have permanently altered traditional social structures.

The Baishui speaking villages are located in the southeasternmost extreme of the Rma speaking region. While Baishui is not listed in Liu’s (1998) classification of Rma languages, it would fall under the Mianchi language group (Glottolog code [mian1253]). Within the Mianchi language group, the Mianchi language (namesake of the group) has one available wordlist in Evans (2001) and a few forms in Evans (2008). The other language in this group, Luobozhai, has received relatively more attention. However, Baishui and Luobozhai have a low degree of intelligibility and it is unclear if there are any remaining speakers of Mianchi. Documentation of Baishui is thus particularly time sensitive. The only documentation of the Baishui language presently available is less than a half hour of folkstories recorded by a community project.

中文: 白水话约有2000名使用者，分布于汶川县东部一个山谷中，使用自称 [mà]。白水话已处于极度濒危状态，仅有50岁以上的人仍在使用。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。该话南侧与四川官话存在强烈接触。与汶川县其他尔玛语一样，2008年汶川地震造成的大量人员伤亡，以及过去20年来改善区域交通的努力，都严重影响了使用者社群与该话传承。这些环境变化永久改变了传统社会结构。
白水话村寨位于尔玛语区最东南端。虽然白水话未被列入刘光坤（1998）的尔玛语分类中，但其应归入绵虒话组（Glottolog 编码 [mian1253]）。在该话组中，作为话组名称来源的绵虒话仅在 Evans（2001）中有一个词表，并在 Evans（2008）中出现少量词形。该话组中的另一种话——萝卜寨话——则获得了相对更多的关注。然而，白水话与萝卜寨话之间的互通程度较低，目前也不清楚是否仍存在绵虒话使用者。因此，对白水话的记录工作具有特别强的时间紧迫性。目前可获得的白水话材料仅包括一个社区项目录制的不到半小时的民间故事。

 

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/f489dccf-a955-4ea5-b182-1032b147ad4c. 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：[Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/2196/f489dccf-a955-4ea5-b182-1032b147ad4c. 问日期：[此处插入日期]。