Lahu (autonym: Ladhof [lɑ˥˧xo˩]) is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken by the Lahu people of China, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos. It is widely used in China, both by Lahu people, and by other ethnic minorities in Yunnan, who use it as a lingua franca.^[2] However, the language is not widely used nor taught in any schools in Thailand, where many Lahu are in fact refugees and illegal immigrants, having crossed into Thailand from Myanmar.^[3]

Distribution by dialect

Lahu Na (Black Lahu) is the northern and standard Lahu dialect and is spoken in most of Yunnan, China, in Kengtung District of Shan State, Myanmar and in most parts of Thailand. It should not be confused with Lahu Aga (Black Lahu of Laos (See below) or Kucong (Black Lahu of Vietnam).

Lahu Phu (White Lahu) is the southern and most spoken dialects of the Lahu language. It is spoken all five countries wher it is spoken, including in Muong Te District of Lai Châu Province.

Lahu Nyi (Red Lahu) is only spoken in Thailand, including in the southern Yala Province.

Lahu Aga (Black Lahu) is spoken in Bokeo Province and Yunnan (Xishuangbanna).^[4]

Classification

The Lahu language, along with the closely related Kucong language, is classified as a separate branch of Loloish by Ziwo Lama (2012),^[5] but as a Central Loloish language by David Bradley (2007).^[6] Lahu is classified as a sister branch of the Southern Loloish branch in Satterthwaite-Phillips' (2011) computational phylogenetic analysis of the Lolo-Burmese languages.^[7]

Dialects

Matisoff (2006)

A few dialects are noted, which are each known by a variety of names:^[8]

• Lahu Na (Black Lahu, Musser Dam, Northern Lahu, Loheirn)
• Lahu Shi (Yellow Lahu, Kutsung); the divergent la53 xu31 sɯ33 dialect is spoken in Nanduan 南段村 (Lahu: na31 tɔ35) Village, Nuofu Township 糯福乡, Lancang County, China^[9][10]
• Lahu Nyi (Red Lahu, Southern Lahu, Musseh Daeng, Luhishi, Luhushi), Shehleh
• Lahu Shehleh

Pham (2013)

Phạm Huy (2013:13) lists the following 3 branches.

• La Hủ Phu (White Lahu): only found in Lüchun County, Yunnan, China
• La Hủ Năk (Black Lahu)
• La Hủ Nê Thu

Yunnan (1998)

Yunnan (1998:280)^[11] lists 5 Lahu dialects.

• Lancang (standard) dialect 澜沧标准音区片 (in most of Lancang, Ximeng, Menglian, Cangyuan, and Shuangjiang counties)
• Nanmei dialect 南美土语群片 (in Nanmei Township 南美乡, Lincang County; Gengma County, and other nearby areas)
• Mojiang dialect 墨江土语群片 (in Pu'er, Simao, Mojiang, Xinping counties, etc.; Lahu Shi)
• Menghai dialect 勐海土语群片 (in Menghai, Jinghong, Mengla, Lancang counties (in Jiujing 酒井, Yakou 雅口, Qianliu 谦六 townships, etc.); Lahu Shi)
• Jinping-Lüchun dialect 金绿土语群片 (in Jinping and Lüchun counties)

Traditionally Lahu folk taxonomy splits the Lahu people into the two groups of Black Lahu and Yellow Lahu; Red Lahu and White Lahu are new dialect clusters originating in messianic movements within the past few centuries.^[12] Black Lahu is the standard dialect in China,^[2] as well as the lingua franca among different groups of Lahu in Thailand.^[3] However, it is intelligible to speakers of Yellow Lahu only with some difficulty.^[2]

Bradley (1979)

Based on the numbers of shared lexical items, Bradley (1979) classifies the Lahu dialects as follows:^[13]

Common Lahu

• Black Lahu
  • Shehleh
  • (Core)
    • Black Lahu proper
    • Red Lahu
• Yellow Lahu
  • Bakeo
  • Banlan

Lama (2012)

Lama (2012) gives the following tentative classification for what he calls Lahoid.

Lahoid

• Lahu-Xi (Yellow Lahu)
• (Black Lahu cluster)
  • Lahu-Na (Black Lahu)
  • Lahu-Ni (Red Lahu)
  • Lahu-Pu (White Lahu)
  • Lahu-Shehleh

Jin (2007)

Jin Youjing (2007)^[14] classifies the Lahu dialects as follows.

• Lahu Na 拉祜纳 (Black Lahu 黑拉祜): about 80% of all Lahu
  • Xia'nanxian 下南现 (Nanling Township 南岭乡) dialect
  • Dongkahe 东卡河 (Laba Township 拉巴乡) dialect
• Lahu Xi 拉祜西 (Yellow Lahu 黄拉祜): about 20% of all Lahu
  • Northern dialect: Donghe 东河, Xincheng 新城, Qianliu 谦六, Wendong 文东, Fudong 富东, and Dashan 大山 townships
  • Central dialect: Yakou 雅口, Qianmai 谦迈, and Yingpan 营盘 townships
  • Southern dialect: Southern Nuofu 糯福(南), Northern Nuofu 糯福(北), and Huimin 惠民 townships
• Lahu Alai 拉祜阿莱: located in Alai Dazhai 阿莱大寨, Fubang Township 富邦乡, Lancang County and a few other nearby villages
• Kucong 苦聪: located in Jinping, Lüchun, Zhenyuan, and other counties

Jin Youjing (1992)^[15] covers Lahu linguistic geography and dialectology in detail.

Heh (2008)

Heh (2008)^[16] lists Lahu Shi (Yellow Lahu) dialects as:

• Mikeng
• Nakeo
• Lahu Aga (also called Aphubele; spoken in Laos)
• Bakeo
• Balan

Lahu Aga was classified as Lahu Shi by Bradley (1979), but Heh (2008) found that it is actually linguistically closer to Lahu Na (Black Lahu). In Laos, there are about 9,000 Lahu Aga located in Bokeo Province (Tonpheung district, Muang Muang district, Houj Xai district, and the special region of Nam Yut) and Luang Namtha Province (Vieng Phoukha district, Boten district, and Muang Long district) (Heh 2008:161). In Laos, the Lahu Aga are most numerous in Tonpheung district (in Baan Dong Keap, Baan Sam Sip, Baan Khi Lek, Baan Beu Neong, Baan Hoe Ong, and Baan Nan Fa villages) and Vieng Phoukha district (in Baan Na Kat Tai, Baan Na Kat Neua, Baan Pamak, Baan NaNoi, Baan NaVa, Baan NaPhe, and Baan Na Shin villages) (Heh 2008:161-162). The Yellow Lahu are also called Lahu Kui Lung in Laos (Schliesinger (2003:110), with Kui meaning 'people'. There are about 21 Lahu Aga villages in Bokeo and Luang Namtha provinces, including in Ban Don Keao, Bokeo, and Ban Na Kat Neua, who had originally migrated from Yunnan, China. (Heh 2008:8). There are also 11 Lahu Aga families living in Baan Son Pu Nong, Chiang Saen District, Chiang Rai Province, Thailand. Heh (2008) provides comparative Lahu Aga dialectal data for:

• Na Kat Neua village, Vieng Phoukha district, Luang Namtha province
• Don Keao village, Tonpheung district, Bokeo province
• Na Kha village, Muang Muang Township, Bokeo province

Phonology

Consonants

• Palatal consonant sounds when occurring before a close central vowel /cɨ, cʰɨ, ɟɨ, ʃɨ, jɨ/ are heard as dental affricate sounds [tsɹ̩, tsʰɹ̩, dzɹ̩, sɹ̩, zɹ̩]. Stop sounds may also be heard as palato-alveolar sounds [tʃ, tʃʰ, dʒ] elsewhere, in free variation.^[17]
• /h/ may also be heard as a velar fricative [x], in free variation.
• /n/ before /i/, can be articulated as a palatal nasal [ɲ].
• Labial sounds before a close back vowel /pu, pʰu, bu, mu/ have affricated variants, heard as [pfɯ, pfʰɯ, bvɯ, mvɯ].

Vowels

• When following palatal or labial consonants, /ɨ, u/ have special allophones [ɹ̩, ɯ].^[18]

Tones

Sound changes

Lama (2012) lists the following sound changes from Proto-Loloish as Lahu innovations.

• *s-l- > x-
• *z- > dz-
• *ŋ- > x-

Grammar

Lahu has a similar grammar to many Tibeto-Burman languages.^[19]

Vocabulary

Below, common Vocabulary of the Lahu language.^[20]