Paha language


Paha or Baha is a Kra language spoken in northern Guangnan County, Wenshan Prefecture, Yunnan. The two villages are located near the border with Longlin County, Guangxi. Paha is often considered to be part of the Buyang dialect cluster and is the most divergent form. Although listed in Ethnologue as Baha Buyang, Thai linguist Weera Ostapirat considers Paha to be a separate language.

Demographics

Within Guangnan County, Yunnan, the Paha language is spoken in the two villages of Yangliancun in Dixu Township and Anshecun in Bada Township 八达乡. While Yanglian has around 500 Paha speakers, Anshe only has about 100 speakers left. Paha speakers are shifting rapidly to Zhuang and Southwestern Mandarin, particularly in Anshe village. Many Buyang men in Yanglian village are also married to Zhuang women.

Phonology

Consonants

Paha Buyang has the following consonants.

Vowels

Paha Buyang has the following vowels.
frontcentralback
unrounded		back
rounded
High
Hi-Mid
Lo-Mid
Low

The three high vowels and the low vowel can be long.

Tones

Grammar

Unlike the Buyang dialects of Langjia, Ecun, and Yalang, Paha negatives precede the verb, whereas the Buyang dialects always place negatives at the end of a sentence. This phenomenon in Paha is probably due to Chinese influence.