Phonemic and Tonal Analysis of Youmi Ruke
Phonemic and Tonal Analysis of Youmi Ruke

Summary/Abstract: The present study describes the phonemic and tonal system of Youmi Ruke according to my field works in Youmi Village, Labo Township, Ninglang County, Yunnan Province, China. Ruke is a member of Naish languages in Sino-Tibetan family. According to the linguistic features spotted so far, it shows to be an intermediate language between Naxi and Na (the eastern branch of Naxi). Therefore, it provides significant data for diachronic comparative studies. Even though Ruke People and their Dongba Culture have been mentioned in some academic researches, Ruke language still needs in-depth work in language documentation. This paper aims at establishing a foundation for further studies on Ruke People, including but not limited to their language and culture.

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