Hlersu
Sansu
Native to	China
Ethnicity	Yi
Native speakers	15,000 (2007)[1]
Language family	Sino-Tibetan Tibeto-Burman Lolo–Burmese Loloish Lisoish Lipo–Lolopo Hlersu
Language codes
ISO 639-3	hle
Glottolog	hler1235
ELP	Hlersu
Hlersu is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Hlersu (Lesu 勒苏), or Sansu (Shansu 山苏/散苏), is a Loloish language of Yunnan Province, China. It is spoken in Xinping, Jinping, Zhenyuan, Eshan (as Shansu 山苏),^[2] and (as Sansu) Yuanjiang County.

Background

Hlersu (autonym: ɬɛɾ55 sɨ55 pʰa21; exonym: ɬɛɾ55 sɨ55 pʰo21; so33 su33 pʰa21) autonym reported in Yunnan (1955)^[3]) is spoken by ethnic Hlersu people, who live in 13 townships (50 administrative villages and 143 hamlets). There are 4,040 households and 15,737 individuals in Xinping, Yuanjiang, and Eshan counties (Xu & Bai 2013:1). The ethnic population of each township is as follows.^[4]

• Xinping County
  • Pingdian 平甸乡 (1,862 people)
  • Guishan 桂山镇 (756 people)
  • Yangwu 杨武镇 (1,203 people)
  • Xinhua 新化乡 (2,205 people)
  • Laochang 老厂乡 (381 people)
  • Yaojie 腰街镇 (255 people)
  • Gasa 嘎洒镇 (155 people)
  • Mosha 漠沙镇 (412 people)
• Yuanjiang County
  • Ganzhuangjie 甘庄街道 (3,950 people)
  • Wadie 洼垤乡 (102 people)
  • Longtan 龙潭乡 (1,560 people)
• Eshan County
  • Tadian 塔甸镇 (1,725 people)
  • Fuliangpeng 富良棚乡 (371 people)
• Shiping County
  • Daqiao 大桥乡 (312 people)
  • Baoxiu 宝秀镇 (433 people)
• Shuangbai County (81 people)

Speakers refer to their language as ɬɛɾ55 su55 do21 (Xu & Bai 2013:62). The Hlersu dialect documented by Xu & Bai (2013) is that of Pujiehei 普杰黑, Daxi Village 大西村, Tadian Town 塔甸镇, Eshan County.^[4]