Endangered Languages Project

Xumi (旭米語, /ʃʉ-hĩ ketɕɐ/) means 'the language of the Shu people'. It is also known as Shixing 史興語 (Chirkova 2015, p. c.).

ALSO KNOWN AS		Xumi, 史興話, 旭米語
CLASSIFICATION		Sino-Tibetan, Naic
ORTHOGRAPHY		IPA
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		sxg
VARIANTS & DIALECTS		two sub-varieties with restricted mutual intelligibility (Lower Xumi and Upper Xumi)
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS		In the Muli County where this group lives, the Shixing-speaking people are known as Xùmǐ 旭米 (currently their official denomination in Chinese) or Sùmǔ 粟母, both of which are Chinese renderings of the group’s name in Prinmi (Púmǐ), Prinmi being the language of Mùlǐ’s ethnic majority (Chirkova 2009).

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Information from: “Personal communication on Xumi/Shixing” . Katia Chirkova (2015)

Threatened

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available
~1000
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
ca. 1800
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"Children still learn the language at home; in Xumi villages everyone can speak Xumi and there are even some monolingual speakers (women)"

DATE OF INFO: 2013

DOMAINS OF USE
SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS
TRANSMISSION
SPEAKER ATTITUDE: neutral to positive
GOVERNMENT SUPPORT: no
INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT: no
OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY
LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS: "The Xumi use their native language as the primary language of oral communication for family and community events. A considerable percentage of Xumi women are monolingual, whereas most men are proficient in Mandarin Chinese (the local variety of South-West Mandarin). In addition, Lower Xumi speakers often have a good command of Pumi (and some even of Naxi and Mosuo), whereas Upper Xumi speakers often have a good command of Gami Tibetan. The language of the Xumi is traditionally considered by its speakers and ethnic neighbors alike as mixed and combining elements of various local languages. It does not have its own writing system."
Scripts (Writing system): IPA
More on Orthography: "Documentation project “Ersu and Xumi: Comparative and Cross-Varietal Documentation of Highly Endangered Languages of South-West China” by CNRS-CRLAO (France), Sichuan Minorities Institute, and Xichang College, supported by the Endangered Languages Documentation Programme (grant number MPD0257), 2013-2016"

PLACES: China

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: "Xumi reside along the banks of the Shuiluo River (水洛河) in Shuiluo Township (水洛鄉) of Muli Tibetan Autonomous County (木里藏族自治縣; smi li rang skyong rdzong) This county is located in the South-West of Sichuan Province in the People’s Republic of China."

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
1800
Native speakers worldwide

DATE OF INFO: 2005-2006

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

PLACES: China

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Shuiluo Township 水洛, Muli Tibetan Autonomous County, Liangshan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province. The Xumi people reside in 11 villages in the Shuiluo Valley. The five largest villages are: Xiwa 西瓦, Dongla 東拉, Lanman 蘭满, Pingweng 平翁, and Liangbao 兩保.

Threatened

40 percent certain, based on the evidence available
~1,800
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
<2,000

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS
LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS: Tibetan nationality

PLACES: China

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Southwestern Sichuan, Muli County, Wachang Township

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
1,800
Native speakers worldwide

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
1,800
Native speakers worldwide

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
1,800
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
2,000
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
1,200 monolinguals.
Data for the number of native speakers and ethnic population comes from D. Bradley (2000).

PLACES: China;

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Southwest Sichuan, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Muli Tibetan Autonomous County.

	16		2009	Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)			M. Paul Lewis	SIL International			Dallas, TX	http://www.ethnologue.com/		Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16 edn. http://www.ethnologue.com/home.asp. (15 February, 2011.)	ll_pub	2,000	1,800		1000-9999	1,200 monolinguals. Data for the number of native speakers and ethnic population comes from D. Bradley (2000).							Threatened (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)				China;	Southwest Sichuan, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Muli Tibetan Autonomous County.
		1	2009	Shǐxīng, a Sino-Tibetan Language of South-west China: A Grammatical Sketch with two Appended Texts		1-89			Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area	32		http://www.katia-chirkova.info/resources/publications/published/KC2009Shixing.pdf	Katia Chirkova	Katia Chirkova. 2009. "Shǐxīng, a Sino-Tibetan Language of South-west China: A Grammatical Sketch with Two Appended Texts." In Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area, 32: 1-89. http://www.katia-chirkova.info/resources/publications/published/KC2009Shixing.pdf			1800	2005-2006	1000-9999		Kami Tibetan, Prinmi, Nà, Nàxī, and Southwest Mandarin.					most	Threatened (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)				China	Shuiluo Township 水洛, Muli Tibetan Autonomous County, Liangshan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province. The Xumi people reside in 11 villages in the Shuiluo Valley. The five largest villages are: Xiwa 西瓦, Dongla 東拉, Lanman 蘭满, Pingweng 平翁, and Liangbao 兩保.	27.282201, 100.85195;
	3rd		2010	Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger				UNESCO Publishing			Paris	http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas	Christopher Moseley (ed.)	Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn. http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas. (03 June, 2011.)	ll_pub		1,800		1000-9999								Threatened (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)						28.5263,100.4734
			2007	East and Southeast Asia	Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages	349-424	C. Moseley	London & New York: Routledge					David Bradley	Bradley, David. 2007. "East and Southeast Asia." In Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages, edited by C. Moseley. 349-424. London & New York: Routledge.	HHOLD	<2,000	~1,800		1000-9999					Tibetan nationality			Threatened (40 percent certain, based on the evidence available)			11	China	Southwestern Sichuan, Muli County, Wachang Township
				World Oral Literature Project								http://www.oralliterature.org		"World Oral Literature Project." Online: http://www.oralliterature.org.			1,800		1000-9999								Threatened (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)
November 12			2015	Personal communication on Xumi/Shixing									Katia Chirkova	Chirkova, Katia. 2015. Personal communication on Xumi/Shixing (November 12).		ca. 1800	~1000	2013	1000-9999	"Children still learn the language at home; in Xumi villages everyone can speak Xumi and there are even some monolingual speakers (women)"	Mandarin (Southwest Mandarin), Tibetan (Kami, the Tibetan dialect of Muli County), Pumi (Prinmi), Mosuo, Naxi	no	neutral to positive	"The Xumi use their native language as the primary language of oral communication for family and community events. A considerable percentage of Xumi women are monolingual, whereas most men are proficient in Mandarin Chinese (the local variety of South-West Mandarin). In addition, Lower Xumi speakers often have a good command of Pumi (and some even of Naxi and Mosuo), whereas Upper Xumi speakers often have a good command of Gami Tibetan. The language of the Xumi is traditionally considered by its speakers and ethnic neighbors alike as mixed and combining elements of various local languages. It does not have its own writing system."	no	majority	Threatened (100 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	10	12	12	China	"Xumi reside along the banks of the Shuiluo River (水洛河) in Shuiluo Township (水洛鄉) of Muli Tibetan Autonomous County (木里藏族自治縣; smi li rang skyong rdzong) This county is located in the South-West of Sichuan Province in the People’s Republic of China."	28.275358, 100.666351

Shixing

Language metadata

Language information by source

Threatened

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~1000

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1800

Threatened

40 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~1,800

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1,800

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1,800

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1,800

Discussion

Shixing

Language metadata

Language information by source

Threatened

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~1000

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1800

Threatened

40 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~1,800

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1,800

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1,800

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1,800

Discussion

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