Be languages

{{Short description|Kra–Dai languages spoken in China}} {{About|a pair of languages in China|the language with ISO code <code>be</code>|Belarusian language}} {{Infobox language | name = Be | altname = Lingao | states = [[China]] | region = [[Hainan]] | speakers = 600,000 | date = 2000 | ref = e18 | familycolor = Tai-Kadai | fam2 = [[Kam–Tai languages|Kam–Tai]]? | fam3 = Be–[[Tai languages|Tai]]?<ref name="Hansell1988" /> | fam4 = Be–[[Jizhao language|Jizhao]]?<ref name="Ostapirat1998">Ostapirat, W. (1998). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/23756759 A Mainland Bê Language? / 大陆的Bê语言？]. ''Journal of Chinese Linguistics'', 26(2), 338-344</ref><ref name="glottoBeic">{{Cite web |url=https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/beic1239 |title=Glottolog 4.8 - Beic |date=2023-07-10 |access-date=2023-10-19 |website=[[Glottolog]] |last=Hammarström |first=Harald |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231020040823/glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/beic1239 |archive-date=2023-10-20 |url-status=live |publisher=[[Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology]] |author-link=Harald Hammarström |last2=Forkel |first2=Robert |publication-place=[[Leipzig]] |doi=10.5281/zenodo.7398962 |last3=Haspelmath |first3=Martin |author-link3=Martin Haspelmath |last4=Bank |first4=Sebastian |doi-access=free}}</ref> | iso3 = onb | glotto = ling1270 | glottorefname = Lingao | map = Langues Be-Jizhao.png }}

'''Be''' ({{IPA|onb|ʔɑŋ˧ɓe˧|label=native pronunciation:}}), also known as '''Ong Be''', '''Bê''', or ''Vo Limgao'' ({{zh|t=臨高話|p=Lín'gāohuà}}), is a pair of languages spoken by 600,000 people, 100,000 of them monolingual, on the north-central coast of [[Hainan|Hainan Island]], including the suburbs of the provincial capital [[Haikou]]. The speakers are counted as part of the [[Han Chinese]] nationality in census. According to ''[[Ethnologue]]'', it is taught in primary schools.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lingao |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/onb |access-date=2018-12-18 |website=Ethnologue |language=en}}</ref>

==Names== Be speakers refer to themselves as ''{{IPA|ʔaŋ³³vo³³}}'', with ''{{IPA|ʔaŋ³³}}'' being the prefix for persons and ''{{IPA|vo³³}}'' meaning 'village'.{{sfn|Liang|1997|p=1}} Liang (1997) notes that it is similar to the autonym ''{{IPA|ŋaːu¹¹fɔːn¹¹}}'' (from ''{{IPA|ŋaːu¹¹}}'' 'person' and ''{{IPA|fɔːn¹¹}}'' 'village'), by which Gelong {{lang|zh|仡隆}} ([[Cun language]]) speakers refer to themselves.

==Classification== The Be languages are a pair of [[Kra–Dai languages]], but its precise relationship to other branches within the Kra-Dai family has yet not been conclusively determined. Hansell (1988)<ref name="Hansell1988">{{Cite book |last=Hansell |first=Mark |title=Comparative Kadai: Linguistic Studies Beyond Tai |date=1988 |publisher=Summer Institute of Linguistics and The University of Texas at Arlington |editor-last=Edmondson |editor-first=Jerold A. |series=Publications in Linguistics No. 86 |pages=239–288 |language=en |chapter=The Relation of Be to Tai: Evidence from Tones and Initials |editor-last2=Solnit |editor-first2=David B.}}</ref> considers Be to be a [[sister group|sister]] of the [[Tai languages|Tai]] branch based on shared vocabulary, and proposes a ''Be–Tai'' grouping.

Based on toponymic evidence from place names with the prefix ''dya''- ({{lang|zh|调}} diao), [[Jinfang Li]] considers Be to have originated from the [[Leizhou]] peninsula of [[Guangdong]] province.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tan |first=Xiaoshu 谭晓舒 |date=2015-04-22 |title=Lǐ Jǐnfāng jiàoshòu: "Bīnwēi yǔyán jízhào huà yánjiū" |script-title=zh:李锦芳教授：“濒危语言吉兆话研究” |url=https://wxy.gxun.edu.cn/info/1224/2008.htm |access-date=2021-09-01 |website=Wén xuéyuàn |script-work=zh:文学院 |archive-date=2021-06-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613054836/http://wxy.gxun.edu.cn/info/1224/2008.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> Liang (1997:16) considers Be to have migrated to Hainan from the [[Leizhou Peninsula]] of [[Guangdong]] about 2,500 years ago during the [[Warring States Period]], but not over 3,000 years ago. Liang & Zhang (1996:21–25)<ref name="Liang 1996">{{Cite book |last1=Liang |first1=Min 梁敏 |title=Dòng-Tái yǔzú gàilùn |last2=Zhang |first2=Junru 张均 |date=1996 |publisher=Zhongguo shehui kexue chubanshe |isbn=7-5004-1681-4 |location=Beijing |language=zh |script-title=zh:侗台语族概论 |trans-title=An Introduction to the Kam–Tai Languages}}</ref> also believe that Be had migrated from the Leizhou Peninsula to northern Hainan about 2,500 years ago during the [[Warring States period]].

Weera Ostapirat (1998),<ref name="Ostapirat 1998">{{Cite journal |last=Ostapirat |first=Weera |date=1998 |title=A Mainland Bê Language? / Dàlù de bê yǔyán? |journal=Journal of Chinese Linguistics |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=338–344 |jstor=23756759}}</ref> analyzing data from Zhang (1992),<ref name="Zhang 1992">{{Cite journal |last=Zhang |first=Zhenxing 张振兴 |date=1992 |title=Guǎngdōngshěng wúchuān fāngyán jì lüè |script-title=zh:广东省吴川方言记略 |journal=Fāngyán |language=zh |volume=1992 |issue=3 |script-journal=zh:方言}}</ref> notes that Be and [[Jizhao language|Jizhao]] share many lexical similarities and sound correspondences, and that Jizhao may be a remnant Be-related language in China.

According to Ostapirat (2026), Be originated from the present-day borderlands of [[Guangxi]], China and northern Vietnam. The ancestors of Be speakers migrated to northern Hainan via the [[Leizhou Peninsula]].<ref name="Ostapirat2026">{{cite book |last=Ostapirat |first=Weera |chapter=Kra-Dai Migration and Austro-Tai Numerals |publisher=Brill |date=2026 |editor-last1=Kikusawa |editor-first1=Ritsuko |editor-last2=Okamoto |editor-first2=Susumu |editor-last3=Suzuki |editor-first3=Hiroyuki |url=https://brill.com/display/book/9789004762077/BP000011.xml |page=41–54 |title=Establishing Spatiotemporal Linguistics: Toward an Interdisciplinary Approach to the History of Language and of Human Movement |isbn=978-90-04-76207-7 |doi=10.1163/9789004762077-004}}</ref>

==Dialects== Be consists of the Lincheng ({{lang|zh|临城}}, Western) and Qiongshan ({{lang|zh|琼山}}, Eastern) dialects.{{sfn|Liang|1997}} Liang (1997:32) documents the following varieties of Be. *[[Lingao County]], including Lincheng ({{lang|zh|临城镇}}) and Xinying ({{lang|zh|新盈镇}}) towns *Bailian ({{lang|zh|白莲}}), [[Chengmai County]] *Longtang Township ({{lang|zh|龙塘镇}}), [[Qiongshan District]]

Be of Chengmai is intermediate between the Lincheng and Qiongshan dialects, and has features of both.{{sfn|Liang|1997}}

Chen (2018) contains extensive comparative lexical data for the Be dialects of Changliu ({{lang|zh|長流}}), Yongxing ({{lang|zh|永興}}), Longtang ({{lang|zh|龍塘}}), Qiaotou ({{lang|zh|橋頭}}), Huangtong ({{lang|zh|皇桐}}), and Xinying ({{lang|zh|新盈}}). The Qiaotou, Huangtong, and Xinying dialects are unintelligible with the Changliu, Yongxing, Longtang, and Shishan ({{lang|zh|石山}}) dialects. Chen (2018) also reconstructs Proto-Ong-Be on the basis of this comparative lexical data.

===Classification=== Chen (2018: 82) classifies the Ong-Be dialects into two groups, which are mutually unintelligible with each other.

{{tree list}} *'''Ong-Be''' **Western Ong-Be ***Qiaotou {{lang|zh|桥头}} ***Huangtong {{lang|zh|皇桐}} ***Maniao {{lang|zh|马尿}} ***Lincheng {{lang|zh|凌城}} ***Jialai {{lang|zh|加來}} ***Meiliang {{lang|zh|美良}} ***Xinying {{lang|zh|新盈}} **Eastern Ong-Be ***Longtang {{lang|zh|龙塘}} ***Longqiao {{lang|zh|龙橋}} ***Longquan {{lang|zh|龙泉}} (formerly Shizilu {{lang|zh|十字路}}) ***Yongxing {{lang|zh|永兴}} ***Shishan {{lang|zh|石山}} ***Changliu {{lang|zh|长流}} ***Laocheng {{lang|zh|老城}} {{tree list/end}}

Schmitz (2024) suggests three dialects:

{{tree list}} *'''Ong-Be (Lingao)''' **Lingao County Lingao ***Bohou {{lang|zh|博厚}} *** Jialai {{lang|zh|加来}} *** Lincheng {{lang|zh|临城}} **Chengmai County Lingao **Haikou City Lingao {{tree list/end}}

== Phonology ==

=== Consonants ===

==== Initials ==== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |+Be consonant initials ! colspan="2" | ![[Labial consonant|Labial]] ![[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]] !([[Alveolo-palatal consonant|Alveolo]]-)[[Alveolo-palatal consonant| palatal]] ![[Velar consonant|Velar]] ![[Glottal consonant|Glottal]] |- ! rowspan="2" |[[Stop consonant|Plosive]] ![[Voicelessness|voiceless]] |({{IPA link|p}}) |{{IPA link|t}} | |{{IPA link|k}} |{{IPA link|ʔ}} |- ![[Glottalized consonant|glottalized]] |{{IPA|ʔb}} |{{IPA|ʔd}} | | | |- ! colspan="2" |[[Affricate consonant|Affricate]] | |{{IPA link|ts}} | | | |- ! rowspan="2" |[[Fricative consonant|Fricative]] ![[Voicelessness|voiceless]] |{{IPA link|f}} |{{IPA link|s}} |({{IPA link|ɕ}}) |{{IPA link|x}} |{{IPA link|h}} |- ![[Voice (phonetics)|voiced]] |{{IPA link|v}} | | | | |- ! colspan="2" |[[Nasal consonant|Nasal]] |{{IPA link|m}} |{{IPA link|n}} |{{IPA link|ȵ}} |{{IPA link|ŋ}} | |- ! colspan="2" |[[Approximant consonant|Approximant]] | |{{IPA link|l}} |{{IPA link|j}} | | |}

* {{IPA|[p]}} is mainly heard in finals, rarely in initials. * {{IPA|/s/}} can also be heard as {{IPA|[ɕ]}} in free variation. * {{IPA|/f/}} can be heard as {{IPA|[pʰ]}} in the dialect of Xindengyi.

==== Finals ==== {|class="wikitable" style=text-align:center |+Be consonant finals ! colspan=1| ! [[Labial consonant|Labial]] ! [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]] ! [[Velar consonant|Velar]] ! [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]] |- ! colspan="1" |[[Stop consonant|Plosive]] |{{IPA link|p}} |{{IPA link|t}} |{{IPA link|k}} |{{IPA link|ʔ}} |- ! colspan=1| [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]] |{{IPA link|m}} |{{IPA link|n}} |{{IPA link|ŋ}} | |}

=== Vowels === {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |+Be vowels ! ![[Front vowel|Front]] ![[Central vowel|Central]] ![[Back vowel|Back]] |- ![[High vowel|High]] |{{IPA link|i}} | |{{IPA link|u}} |- ! rowspan="2" |[[Mid vowel|Mid]] |{{IPA link|e}} |{{IPA link|ə}} |{{IPA link|o}} |- |({{IPA link|ɛ}}) |({{IPA link|ɐ}}) |{{IPA link|ɔ}} |- ![[Low vowel|Low]] | colspan="2" |{{IPA link|a}} | |}

* Vowels in word-initial position are phonetically heard beginning with a glottal {{IPA|[ʔ]}}. * An open-mid vowel {{IPA|[ɛ]}} occurs in the Chengmai and Qiongshan dialects. * A near-open central vowel sound {{IPA|[ɐ]}} also occurs in the Qiongshan dialect.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Zhang |first1=Yuansheng |title=Hǎinán Língāo huà |last2=Ma |first2=Jialin |last3=Wen |first3=Mingying |last4=Wei |first4=Xinglang |date=1985 |publisher=Guangxi minzu chubanshe |location=Nanning |language=zh |script-title=zh:海南临高话}}</ref> === Tones === Be is a [[tonal language]]. It has 5 tones: * Rising ({{not a typo|¹}}) * High ({{not a typo|²}}) * Mid ({{not a typo|³}}) * Low ({{not a typo|⁴}}) * Mid checked ({{not a typo|⁷}})

The Bolian dialect has also a high checked tone ({{not a typo|⁸}}).

==See also== *[[Wiktionary:Appendix:List of Proto-Ong-Be reconstructions|List of Proto-Ong-Be reconstructions]] (Wiktionary)

==References== {{reflist}}

==Works cited== {{refbegin}} * {{Cite book |last=Liang |first=Min 梁敏 |title=Língāo yǔ yánjiū |date=1997 |publisher=Shanghai yuandong chubanshe 上海远东出版社 |location=Shanghai |language=zh |script-title=zh:临高语研究 |trans-title=A Study of Lingao}} * {{Cite thesis |last=Chen |first=Yen-ling |title=Proto-Ong-Be |date=2018 |type=Ph.D. dissertation |publisher=University of Hawaii at Manoa |url=http://ling.hawaii.edu/wp-content/uploads/ChenYenlingFinal.pdf |archive-date=2023-06-05 |access-date=2019-01-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605121229/http://ling.hawaii.edu/wp-content/uploads/ChenYenlingFinal.pdf |url-status=dead }} {{refend}} *Schmitz, Timo. 2024. ''Family Tree: Tai-Kadai Languages''. {url=https://www.academia.edu/114687690/Family_Tree_Tai_Kadai_Languages}

==Further reading== *Zhang, Yuansheng {{lang|zh|张元生}}. 1985. ''Hainan Lingaohua'' {{lang|zh|海南临高话}}. Nanning: Guangxi People's Publishing House {{lang|zh|广西民族出版社}}.

==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110520125355/http://language.psy.auckland.ac.nz/austronesian/language.php?id=724 ABVD: Ong Be word list] * [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Swadesh_lists_for_Tai–Kadai_languages Ong Be–language Swadesh vocabulary list of basic words] (from Wiktionary's [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Swadesh_lists Swadesh-list appendix])

[[Category:Kra–Dai languages]] [[Category:Languages of Hainan]]