Katia Chirkova

Xumi (part 1): Lower Xumi, the variety of the lower and middle reaches of the Shuiluo river

The Xumi 旭米 language (/ EP ʃʉ- h ĩ ket ɕɐ/ ‘the language of the Shu people’) is spoken by approximately 1,800 people who reside along the banks of the Shuiluo River (水洛河) in Shuiluo Township (水洛乡) of Muli Tibetan Autonomous County (木里藏族自治县; smi li rang skyong rdzong in Written Tibetan, hereafter, WT). This county is located in the South-West of Sichuan Province (四川省) in the Peoples Republic of China (see Figure 1).

Xumi (part 2): Upper Xumi, the variety of the upper reaches of the Shuiluo river

, smi li rang skyong rdzong in Written Tibetan, hereafter, WT), in the South-West of Sichuan Province () in the People’s Republic of China. Upper Xumi is one of the two dialects of the Xumi language, the other one being Lower Xumi. That dialect is spoken in the lower and middle reaches of the Shuiluo river, as we discussed in our phonetic and phonological sketch of Lower Xumi (Chirkova & Chen 2013b). The present overview of Upper Xumi complements our overview of Lower Xumi. The two dialects of Xumi are closely related to each other, but they are distinctly different, due to their contact with different languages. Upper Xumi is essentially influenced by the local dialect of Tibetan (Gami Tibetan), as well as, to a lesser extent, by Pumi. By contrast, Lower Xumi is mostly influenced by the local dialects of the Pumi, Mosuo, and Naxi languages. The observed diversity is highly remarkable given:

Between Tibetan and Chinese: Identity and Language in the Chinese Southwest

Abstract This paper focuses on the ongoing process of changing local ethnic identities in the Southwest of China. The analysis is based on a comparison of two ethnic groups: Xùmiˇ and Báimaˇ, both officially classified as Tibetans. While the experienced ethnic identity of the Xùmiˇ is in conformity with their official classification, the Báimaˇ feel their own identity as being distinct from the classification imposed by the state. The related changes in local identities are examined with special emphasis on the role played by the Xùmiˇ and Báimaˇ languages in creating and assessing group identity. I conclude that for both groups, albeit for various reasons, language is neither the major constructive element of ethnic boundaries nor an exclusive marker of ethnicity, which confirms Haarmaans 1986 postulation that language is not a necessary criterion of ethnicity.

The Baima Tibetans and the Di People of Chinese Historical Records: Challenging the Link

This paper addresses a long-standing controversy surrounding the ethnicity of the Baima Tibetans, a Tibeto-Burman people in Western Sichuan Province whose ethnic and linguistic origins are yet to be satisfactorily ascertained. It focuses on one popular view, which attempts to link the present-day Baima Tibetans with the Di, an ancient Tibeto-Burman group documented in the Chinese historical records who inhabited roughly the same area until their gradual assimilation into the Han and the Tibetans during the Tang Dynasty. The paper examines and refutes all three types of evidence proffered in the literature in support of making such a link: geographical distribution, cultures and customs, and language. Focusing on the linguistic evidence, including autonyms and certain names of the Di contained in the historical texts, and two alleged Di loan words recorded in the ancient Chinese character dictionary《说文解字》, the paper makes use of first-hand fieldwork material to bear on the issue. It concludes that it is immature to say anything definite about the identity of the mysterious Di language or languages, let alone to directly link them with the speech of the modern Baima people, which is predominantly a Bodic language.