Rangtang Puxi: Language in Herding and Farming Life
| Language | Rangtang Puxi |
| Depositor | Yulha Lhawa |
| Affiliation | Endangered Languages Project |
| Location | China |
| Collection ID | 0871 |
| Grant ID | SG1163 |
| Funding Body | ELDP |
| Collection Status | Forthcoming |
| Landing Page Handle | http://hdl.handle.net/2196/a23ad5cb-44a6-46d1-a831-bcc7aaa7b611 |
Summary of the collection
English:This collection documents Rangtang Puxi, an endangered language spoken in Puxi Township, Rangtang County, Sichuan, China. It includes audio and video recordings, transcriptions, translations, annotations, metadata, and other language materials collected with local speakers.
The collection records the language in different contexts, including daily conversations, personal stories, traditional knowledge, farming and herding activities, place names, and language interviews. It aims to preserve how people use the language in everyday life and to support future research and community language work.
This collection was created with the participation of local speakers and community members. Their knowledge and guidance help ensure that the recordings reflect the language, culture, and experiences of the Puxi community.
收藏概述
中文：本收藏记录的是中国四川省阿坝州壤塘县蒲西乡使用的濒危语言——壤塘蒲西话。收藏内容包括当地说话人的音频和视频记录、文字转写、翻译、语言标注、元数据以及其他语言资料。
本收藏记录了壤塘蒲西话在不同环境中的使用情况，包括日常交流、个人故事、传统知识、农业和牧业活动、地名以及语言调查。项目希望保存语言在真实生活中的使用方式，并支持未来的语言研究和社区语言保护工作。
本收藏是在当地说话人和社区成员参与下完成的。他们的知识和建议帮助确保这些记录能够真实反映普西社区的语言、文化和生活经验。
Group represented
English: Rangtang Puxi is spoken by the Puxi community in Puxi Township, southern Rangtang County, Rngaba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China. The community has traditionally relied on farming and yak/sheep herding, and their language preserves generations of knowledge related to local landscapes, animals, plants, weather patterns, and seasonal activities.
Within Puxi Township, Rangtang Puxi is mainly spoken in Puxi Village and Dayili Village. Neighboring villages speak other local languages, including Khroskyabs and Amdo Tibetan. The Puxi community has long maintained cultural connections with surrounding Tibetan and Gyalrongic-speaking communities through trade, marriage, and shared regional traditions.
Today, the community is experiencing major social and environmental changes. Migration, formal education, increased use of Mandarin Chinese and Amdo Tibetan, and the decline of traditional farming and pastoral practices have weakened intergenerational language transmission. Most fluent speakers of Rangtang Puxi are now older adults, and fewer children are acquiring the language naturally at home.
所代表的群体
中文： 壤塘蒲西话（Rangtang Puxi）主要由生活在中国四川省阿坝藏族羌族自治州壤塘县南部蒲西乡的蒲西村使用。当地传统生活方式主要包括农业生产和牦牛、羊群放牧，语言中保存了几代人积累的关于当地土地、动物、植物、天气变化和季节活动的知识。
在蒲西乡，壤塘蒲西话主要分布于蒲西村和大伊里村。周边村寨使用其他地方语言，包括嘉绒绰斯甲话（Khroskyabs）和安多藏语。蒲西社区长期以来与周围藏族和嘉绒社区保持着贸易、婚姻和文化交流。
近年来，社区经历了快速的社会和环境变化。人口外流、学校教育、普通话和安多藏语使用增加，以及传统农业和牧业的减少，都导致壤塘蒲西话的代际传承逐渐减弱。目前，能够流利使用壤塘蒲西话的人主要是老年人，越来越少的儿童在家庭环境中自然学习这种语言。
Language information
English: Rangtang Puxi , locally known as Xiangyang skad or Rongskad (“farmer’s tongue”), is spoken in Puxi Township, Rangtang County, Sichuan Province. It belongs to the Horpa (Stau/Ergong) group within the Gyalrongic branch of the Trans-Himalayan language family.
Although earlier studies often grouped Horpa varieties together, recent research shows that they consist of multiple related but mutually unintelligible languages. Rangtang Puxi remains one of the least documented languages in this group, with only limited linguistic descriptions available.
The language preserves important linguistic features, including complex verbal morphology, multiple tones, and distinctive phonological characteristics. These features make Rangtang Puxi important for understanding the linguistic diversity and historical development of the Gyalrongic and Trans-Himalayan language families.
Today, Rangtang Puxi has approximately 500–600 speakers, most of whom are older adults. The language is endangered due to declining intergenerational transmission and increasing use of Amdo Tibetan and Mandarin Chinese. Documentation is urgently needed to preserve both the language and the cultural knowledge embedded within it.
语言信息
中文：壤塘蒲西话，当地也称为襄阳斯噶德或绒斯噶德（意为“农区的方言”），主要使用于四川省阿坝州壤塘县蒲西乡。该语言属于跨喜马拉雅语系嘉绒语支中的霍尔巴语言群。
过去的研究常将霍尔巴语言归为一个整体，但近年来的研究发现，霍尔巴实际上由多个彼此相关但不能互相完全理解的语言组成。壤塘蒲西话是其中记录较少的一种，目前只有少量语言学研究资料。
壤塘蒲西话保留了一些重要的语言特点，例如复杂的动词变化、多声调系统以及独特的语音现象。这些特点对于研究嘉绒语支和跨喜马拉雅语言的历史发展具有重要意义。
目前，壤塘蒲西话约有500–600名使用者，大部分为老年人。由于年轻一代越来越多使用安多藏语和普通话，该语言正面临严重的传承危机。因此，对壤塘蒲西话进行记录，对于保护语言结构以及其中包含的文化知识具有重要意义。
Special characteristics
English: This collection is unique because it documents Rangtang Puxi, one of the least described languages in the Horpa group, at a time when fluent speakers are rapidly decreasing. Many recordings preserve traditional knowledge that is closely connected to local ways of life, including herding practices, farming knowledge, ecological understanding, ritual expressions, and oral traditions.
The collection combines natural conversations with systematic linguistic documentation, creating resources valuable for both scientific research and community heritage preservation. Some recordings capture specialized vocabulary and expressions related to landscapes, animals, weather, and seasonal activities that may disappear as traditional practices decline.
The project also aims to support community-based language preservation by creating resources that allow younger generations to reconnect with their linguistic and cultural heritage.
收藏的特殊特点
中文：本收藏的独特之处在于，它记录了壤塘蒲西话这一目前研究非常有限的语言，并且是在母语流利使用者数量快速减少的重要时期进行记录。许多录音保存了与当地传统生活方式密切相关的知识，包括放牧经验、农业知识、生态认识、仪式表达和口述传统。
本收藏结合了自然语言交流记录和系统性的语言调查材料，既具有语言学研究价值，也具有社区文化保存价值。其中一些录音记录了与土地、动物、天气变化和季节活动相关的特殊词汇和表达方式，这些内容可能会随着传统生活方式的变化而逐渐消失。
该项目希望通过建立语言资源，帮助年轻一代重新了解和连接自己的语言与文化传统。
Collection contents
English: The collection includes audio and video recordings of Rangtang Puxi speakers, together with transcriptions, translations, annotations, metadata, photographs, and lexical materials.
The recordings document different speech genres, including personal narratives, oral histories, traditional stories, daily conversations, songs, place names, and vocabulary related to agriculture, animal husbandry, plants, animals, weather, and local ecological knowledge.
The collection also contains linguistic data collected through interviews and elicitation sessions, including phonological, lexical, morphological, and grammatical materials. These resources will support future linguistic research, community language preservation, and the development of educational materials.
收藏内容
中文：本收藏包括壤塘蒲西话母语者的音频和视频记录，以及相应的文字转写、翻译、语言标注、元数据、照片和词汇资料。
录音内容包括多种语言形式，例如个人故事、口述历史、传统故事、日常交流、歌曲、地名，以及与农业、畜牧、植物、动物、天气和当地生态知识相关的词汇。
此外，本收藏还包括通过访谈和语言调查收集的语言材料，包括语音、词汇、形态和语法资料。这些资源将支持未来的语言研究、社区语言保护以及教育材料开发。
Other Information
English: This project grew from direct interest and encouragement from the Puxi community. Several community members have expressed a desire to see their language recorded and preserved, inspired by the researcher’s previous work with Khroskyabs, a related Gyalrongic language spoken nearby.
A key goal of this project is to build local capacity. Two community members will receive hands-on training in filming, transcription, subtitling, and organizing language materials, allowing the community to continue documentation work beyond the project period.
The project follows a community-led approach. Speakers will help decide what to record and how materials should be shared, ensuring that the documentation respects local values and preserves not only the language, but also the memories and knowledge connected to it.
其他信息
中文：本项目源于蒲西社区成员的主动关注和支持。一些社区成员受到研究者过去开展嘉绒绰斯甲话记录工作的启发，希望自己的语言也能够被记录和保存。
项目的重要目标之一是培养社区自身的语言记录能力。两名社区成员将接受拍摄、转写、字幕制作和语言资料整理等方面的实践培训，使社区能够在项目结束后继续开展语言记录工作。
本项目采用社区参与的方式。说话人将参与决定记录哪些内容以及如何分享资料，确保记录过程尊重当地价值观，并保存语言背后的记忆和知识。
Acknowledgement and citation
English: To refer to any data from the collection, please cite as follows:
Yulha Lhawa, 2027, Puxi Rangtang: Language in Herding and Farming Life, Endangered Languages Archive. Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/2196/c6ace606-ed8f-4234-bca8-4edac88c34d0 . Accessed on [insert date].
致謝與引用
中文：如欲引用本專集之任何資料，請以下列格式標註出處：
依娜·喇哇，2027，《蒲西壤塘：放牧与农耕生活中的语言》，濒危语言档案馆（Endangered Languages Archive），档案编号: http://hdl.handle.net/2196/c6ace606-ed8f-4234-bca8-4edac88c34d0 . 访问日期：[请填写日期]。
