THE PHONEMIC SYSTEM OF THE YI MIAO DIALECT

In the mountainous region of southwestern China, extending from Szechuan to Annam, and from Hunan to Yunnan, are to be found many aboriginal tribes who speak various dialects of the Miao-Yao group. The division into Miao and Yao is based on linguistic observation; and definite phonological correspondence have been established between these two subgroups. The Miao dialects are spoken by people under various Chinese tribal names in the western part of Hunan, in a large part of Kweichow, in northern Kwangsi, and in southern Szechuan; they are also to be found here and there in Yunnan, northern Annam, and northern Thailand. This subgroup is characterized by the absence of the final consonants -m, -n, -ŋ, -p, -t, -k. The Yao dialects, like the Miao, are spoken by people under various tribal names in the northwester Kwangtung, and they are also scattered here and there among the various regions of Kwangsi, and the northern parts of Annam and Thailand.