THE JUI DIALECT OF POAI: PHONOLOGY

The Jui dialect spoken in Poai 剝隘 in the district of Funing 富寧, Yunnan, belongs to the Northern group of Tai dialects generally known in Kweichow as Chungchia 仲家, and in Kwangsi as Chuangchia 撞家, 僮家. This group of dialects is spoken over a large territory in the southwestern part of Kweichow, the northwestern part of Kwangsi, and the southeastern part of Yunnan. The name Jui is a native designation of the people and their language, and corresponds to the name Dioi given to the Tseheng 冊亨 dialect by J. Esquirol and G. Williatte in their dictionary, Essai de dictionaire dioi-francais, Hongkong 1908. The name Dioi became well-known on account of this dictionary, but the description of the pronunciation of this name is unfortunately not clear.