Kiong Nai language

Kiong Nai, also called Jiongnai, is a special language spoken by a group of people in Jinxiu County, Guangxi, China. It belongs to the Hmongic, or Miao, language family. The people who speak Kiong Nai call themselves “mountain people,” because “kjɔŋ” means “mountain” and “nai” means “people” in their language.

This language is quite unique and differs from others in the same family. Experts Mao and Li, in their work from 2002, think that Kiong Nai is most similar to another language called She. Learning about Kiong Nai helps us understand the rich cultural and linguistic heritage of different communities in China.

Dialects

Jiongnai has two main dialects. These are Longhua, spoken in the village of Longhua, and Liuxiang, spoken in Liuxiang Township.

The language is used in several villages across three townships in Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County, Guangxi. These villages include Liuxiang, Mengtou, Dadeng, Huangsang, Xincun, Gupu, Longhua, Nanzhou, Dajing, Zhanger, Liutuan, and Luodan.