Nasu (Naisu, Eastern Yi), or Nasu proper, is a Loloish language spoken by a quarter million Yi people of China. Nasu proper and Wusa Nasu are two of six Yi languages recognized by the government of China. Unlike most written Yi languages, Nasu proper uses the Pollard (Miao) script. A distinct form of the Yi script was traditionally used for Wusa, though few can still read it.

Names

According to the Guizhou Ethnic Gazetteer (2002),^[2] Yi autonyms include Nasu 哪苏,^[3] Tusu 兔苏,^[4] Lagou 腊勾,^[5] Guo 果,^[6] and so forth.

Most of Yi people of the Luquan area do not have the autonym Luoluo and Nasu (transliterated into Chinese as 纳苏) means "black", hence the Black Yi (黑彝 Hei Yi),^[7] though Black Yi is an aristocratic caste distinction among the Yi People, and Black Yi Script (Heiyiwen) was a Latin script for Yi introduced by missionaries.^[8]

Classification

Chen (1985)

Chen, et al. (1985:108) recognizes 3 major varieties of Eastern Yi (i.e., Nasu) that are spoken in Yunnan and Guizhou provinces, namely Dianqian 滇黔 (Yunnan-Guizhou), Pan 盘县 (Pan County of Guizhou), and Diandongbei 滇东北 (Northeastern Yunnan).^[9] Autonyms include no55su55 (alternatively nɤ55su13), na33su33 pʰo55 (including na33so33 pʰo55, nɤ55su33 pʰu55, and ni55su33 pʰu55), nɒ55 pʰo55, and ko33 pʰo55.

• Dianqian 滇黔次方言: 4 dialects
  • Shuixi 水西土语: spoken in Bijie, Qianxi, Dafang, Zhijin, Nayong, Qingzhen, and Zhenxiong counties
  • Wusa 乌撒土语 (ISO 639 yig): spoken in Weining, Shuicheng, Hezhang, Nayong, Yiliang, Huize, and Xuanwei counties
  • Mangbu 芒部土语: spoken in Zhenxiong and Hezhang counties
  • Wumeng 乌蒙土语 (ISO 639 ywu): spoken in Zhaotong and Yongshan
• Pan 盘县次方言: spoken in Xingren, Pu'an, Qinglong, Shuicheng, Fuyuan, and Luoping counties
• Diandongbei 滇东北次方言: 5 dialects
  • Luquan 武禄土语: spoken in Wuding, Luquan, Yuanmou, Xundian, Lufeng, and Huize counties
  • Qiaowu 巧武土语 (Qiaojia-Wuding): spoken in Qiaojia, Wuding, Luquan, Yuanmou, and Huize counties
  • Wuding 武定土语: spoken in Wuding, Yongren, and Lufeng counties
  • Xundian 寻甸土语: spoken in Xundian, Luquan, Huize, Songming, Luxi, Shizong, Luoping, and Mile counties
  • Kun'an 昆安土语 (Kunming-Anning): spoken in Anning and Lufeng counties

Huang (1993)

In his description of the Yi script (not the spoken language), Huáng Jiànmíng (1993) holds that the Nasu variety of the Yi script is used by the groups speaking languages of the Nasu language cluster of Northern Yi in south-eastern Sìchuān, eastern Yúnnán, Gùizhōu, as well as in Guǎngxī.^[10] He distinguishes two sub-groups. Nasu proper used in Wuding, Luquan, and the suburbs of Kunming, and Wusa used in Guizhou and the bordering areas of Eastern Yunnan.

Bradley (1997)

David Bradley (1997) distinguishes three main dialects of Nasu:

• Southeastern (Panxian): 150,000 speakers in southwestern Guizhou
• Northeastern (Nesu): 300,000 speakers, comprising most of the other Nasu speakers of Guizhou, and some in extreme northeastern Yunnan and southeastern Sichuan
  • Shuixi subdialect 水西土语
  • Wusa subdialect 乌撒土语
  • Mangbu subdialect 芒部土语
  • Wumeng subdialect 乌蒙土语
• Western (Nasu proper): 250,000 speakers all in north-central Yunnan; Black (more numerous) and Red subdialects

Lama (2012)

Lama (2012) determined that Nasu (Western) is more closely related to Gepo than it is to the others:

• Nesu
  • Panxian (Nasepho, na33 su33 pʰo55): North and South dialects
  • Shuixi Nesu (Dafang Nesu)
  • Nesu proper
    • Wumeng
    • Mangbu
    • Wusa (Wusa Nasu)
• Nasu
  • Nasu proper
  • Gepo (ko33 pʰu44): 100,000 speakers

Chen (2010)

Phonology

Consonants

• The phonetic sound of /h/ is mainly heard as [ɦh].

Vowels

• Sounds /i, i̠/ are heard as syllabic consonants [z̩, z̠̩] when following alveolar sounds /t͡s, t͡sʰ, d͡z, ⁿd͡zʱ, s, z/, and as syllabic retroflex [ʐ̩, ʐ̠̩] when following retroflex sounds /t͡ʂ, t͡ʂʰ, d͡ʐ, ᶯd͡ʐʱ, ʂ, ʐ/.
• The phonetic sounds of the rhoticized vowels /ə˞, ə˞̠/ are mainly heard as more back [ʌ˞, ʌ̠˞].^[11]

Tones

3 tones occur as follows: