Qiang, Southern

A language of China

ISO 639: qxs
Alternate Names: Ch’iang, Rrmea
Population: 81,300 (1999 J. Evans), decreasing. 8,300 Daqishan, 4,100 Taoping, 3,100 Longxi, 14,500 Mianchi, 31,000 Hehu. Around 130,000 total for Northern and Southern Qiang. 80,000 officially classified within Qiang nationality and speakers 50,000 within Tibetan nationality (1990 J-O. Svantesson). No monolinguals. Ethnic population: 310,000 (2010 census).
Location:: Sichuan province: Li and Wenchuan counties; south Mao county.
Language Status: 6b (Threatened). Language of recognized nationality: Qiang.
Classification: Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Northeastern Tibeto-Burman, Qiangic
Dialects: Dajishan (Daqishan), Taoping, Longxi, Mianchi, Heihu, Sanlong, Jiaochang.
Typology: SOV; heavy phonemic inventory; few consonant clusters in syllable onsets; tonal (2–6 tones).
Language Use: Parents encourage children’s excellence at school which means learning Mandarin Chinese [cmn]. Some families still use Qiang at home. Home. Some of all ages. Negative attitudes. Also use Mandarin Chinese [cmn].
Language Development: Those under 35 are functionally literate in Chinese. Dictionary.
Other Comments: Buddhist, Daoist, traditional religion.

Location: Sichuan province: Li and Wenchuan counties; south Mao county.