Akhazà
Akha
Sino-Tibetan (Loloish, Hani)
Akha is a Loloish (Yi-branch) Sino-Tibetan language spoken across the highland borders of Yunnan (China), Myanmar's Shan State, northern Thailand (Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai), Laos, and Vietnam. Closely related to Hani in Yunnan; the two together form the Hani-Akha group. It has three contrastive tones, SOV word order, and rich verb-final particles. Akha society is famous for its Akha Way of ancestor genealogy, recited as a chain stretching back more than sixty generations.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Akha
Water
i tsi
/i˧tsɨ˧/
Fire
mji
/mji˧/
Sun
nyi ma
/ɲi˧ma˧/
Moon
ba la
/ba˧la˧/
Mother
a ma
/a˧ma˧/
Father
a da
/a˧da˧/
Eat
za
/dza˧/
Drink
tu
/tu˧/
Love
gaq
/ɡaʔ˧/
Heart
ne ma
/ne˧ma˧/
Tree
aq xeu
/aʔ˧ɕeu˧/
House
nyma
/ɲma˧/
Dog
jia
/tɕa˧/
Cat
a yi
/a˧ji˧/
Hand
la pa
/la˧pa˧/
Eye
nyaq
/ɲaʔ˧/
Hello
u du la
/u˧du˧la˧/
Thank you
gv ya
/ɡɯ˧ja˧/
One
ti
/ti˧/
Good
jau
/tɕau˧/
Words compared
Compared with related Sino-Tibetan (Loloish, Hani) languages
| Meaning | Akha | Azhe | Naxi | Yi (Nuosu) | Jingpo (Kachin) | Tujia | Pwo Karen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | i tsi /i˧tsɨ˧/ | ʑɿ /ʑɿ˧˧/ | gee /ɡɯ˧/ | ꒉ /ʑɿ˧˧/ | hka /kʰaː˧/ | zi /t͡sɨ˥˧/ | ထံ /tʰi˧/ |
| Fire | mji /mji˧/ | mi /mi˧˧/ | mee /mɯ˧/ | ꃆꄔ /mu˨˩tu˥/ | wan /waːn˧/ | mi /mi˥˧/ | မ့ၣ် /me˨˩/ |
| Sun | nyi ma /ɲi˧ma˧/ | ŋni /ŋnʲi˧˧/ | ny-mei /nĩ˧mi˧/ | ꉘꁮ /ho˧˧bu˧˧/ | jan /dʒan˧/ | ni /ni˧˥/ | မုန် /mu˧/ |
| Moon | ba la /ba˧la˧/ | ɬɛ /ɬɛ˧˧/ | he-mei /hɯ˧mi˧/ | ꆪ /ɬɯ˨˩/ | shata /ʃata˧/ | nie /nie˧˥/ | လး /la˧/ |
| Mother | a ma /a˧ma˧/ | amo /amo˧˧/ | mei /mei˧/ | ꀊꂿ /a˧˧mo˧˧/ | nu /nu˧/ | a-mie /a˧mie˧/ | မိ /mu˧˥/ |
| Father | a da /a˧da˧/ | ada /ada˧˧/ | av /a˧/ | ꀊꀧ /a˧˧bo˧˧/ | wa /wa˧/ | a-pa /a˧pa˧/ | ဖါ /pa˧/ |
| Eat | za /dza˧/ | dza /dza˧˧/ | zo /d͡zo˧/ | ꋠ /dzɯ˧˧/ | sha /ʃa˧/ | za /t͡sa˨˩/ | အၢင် /ai˧˩/ |
| Drink | tu /tu˧/ | du /du˧˧/ | chil /t͡ʂʰi˥/ | ꄸ /tu˧˧/ | lu /lu˧/ | da /ta˧/ | အူ /ɔ˧/ |
| Love | gaq /ɡaʔ˧/ | ŋa /ŋa˧˧/ | lai /lɑ˧/ | ꉂ /ŋɡu˧˧/ | tsaw ra /tsau˧ra˧/ | aci /a˧˥t͡si˥/ | အဲင် /ai˧kʰe˧/ |
| Heart | ne ma /ne˧ma˧/ | si /si˧˧/ | see-zai /sɯ˧d͡zɑ˧/ | ꌋ /si˧˧/ | salum /salum˧/ | xin /ɕin˧/ | သး /tʰa˧/ |
| Tree | aq xeu /aʔ˧ɕeu˧/ | sɿ /sɿ˧˧/ | si /si˧/ | ꌩꁧ /sɿ˧˧bo˧˧/ | hpun /pʰun˧/ | si /sɨ˧˥/ | သုၣ် /tʰoŋ˧/ |
| House | nyma /ɲma˧/ | ɣɯ /ɣɯ˧˧/ | pee-mei /pɯ˧mi˧/ | ꑳ /ji˧˧/ | nta /nta˧/ | li /li˧˥/ | ဟံၣ် /hi˧/ |
| Dog | jia /tɕa˧/ | kʰɯ /kʰɯ˧˧/ | kee /kʰɯ˧/ | ꈌ /kʰɯ˧˧/ | gwi /ɡwi˧/ | kvʼ /kʰə˨˩/ | ထွဲ /tʰwi˧/ |
| Cat | a yi /a˧ji˧/ | vi /vi˧˧/ | lai-mei /lɑ˧mi˧/ | ꀉꑐ /a˧˦ɲɛ˧˧/ | nyaung /ɲauŋ˧/ | mau /mau˧/ | ဖၣ် /pə˧/ |
| Hand | la pa /la˧pa˧/ | la /la˧˧/ | lel /lɯ˥/ | ꇇ /lo˥/ | lata /lata˧/ | lo /lo˨˩/ | စူ /sɔ˨/ |
| Eye | nyaq /ɲaʔ˧/ | ȵi /ȵi˧˧/ | nyi /ɲi˧/ | ꑓ /ɲɔ˧˧/ | myi /mji˧/ | mie /mie˨˩/ | မဲာ် /mɛ˧/ |
| Hello | u du la /u˧du˧la˧/ | mosu /mosu˧˧/ | nyel-bbeq /ɲɯ˥bɯ˨˩/ | ꂿꎆꈐ /mo˧˧su˧˧kɤ˧˧/ | kaja i /kadʒa˧i˧/ | shu shu /ʃu˧ʃu˧/ | နာမှၤ /na˧ʃi˧/ |
| Thank you | gv ya /ɡɯ˧ja˧/ | katɕʰɿ /katɕʰɿ˧˧/ | jjuq jjuq /d͡ʑɯ˨˩d͡ʑɯ˨˩/ | ꃰꊿ /vo˧˧tso˧˧/ | chyeju kaba /tʃedʒu˧kaba˧/ | angzai /aŋ˧˥t͡sai˥/ | တၢ်ဘျုး /ta˧blu˧/ |
| One | ti /ti˧/ | tsʰɿ /tsʰɿ˧˧/ | ddee /dɯ˧/ | ꋍ /tsʰɿ˨˩/ | langai /laŋai˧/ | lao /lao˧˥/ | တ /ta˧˩/ |
| Good | jau /tɕau˧/ | mu /mu˧˧/ | ai /ɑ˧/ | ꉾ /xɯ˧˧/ | kaja /kadʒa˧/ | ngaq /ŋaʔ˧˥/ | ဂ့ၤ /ɣai˧/ |
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