Qau language

The Qau language, also called Central Gelao or Sinicized Gelao, is a special way of speaking used by some people in Guizhou, China. In Chinese, it is called 汉仡佬, which is written as Hàn Gēlǎo using pinyin, a system for writing Chinese words with the Latin alphabet.

This language belongs to the Gelao family, a group of languages spoken by a small number of people in that area. Even though many people in Guizhou speak Chinese every day, the Qau language keeps an important part of local history and culture alive. It helps connect people to their ancestors and traditions in a unique way.

Dialects

The Qau language has two main dialects that are still spoken today. These are Dagouchang, also called Pingba Qau, spoken in Pingba County, and Wanzi, also known as Anshun Qau, spoken in Anshun City.

Phonology

Consonants

In the Qau language, a special sound [ʔ] appears at the beginning of some words before vowels. Another sound, [w], is used at the start of words borrowed from Chinese.

Vowels

The language has different vowel sounds. For example, the sound /i/ can change to a syllabic [ɹ̩] when it follows certain sounds like /s/ or /ts/. There is also a special sound [ɯ] that only appears together with /əɯ/. Vowels at the end of words with an /n/ sound can sometimes sound nasalized [Ṽ].

Tones

The Wanzi dialect of Qau has 6 different tones.

Pronouns

Here are some pronouns from the Pingba Gelao language.

Numerals

The Pingba Gelao language has special words for counting. Here are the numbers from one to ten:

1. si³³
2. su³³
3. ta³³
4. pu³³
5. mpu³³
6. naŋ³³
7. ɕi¹³
8. zua⁵⁵
9. sə¹³
10. pan¹³