Huang Bufan 黃布凡 & Dai Qingxia 戴庆厦 (eds.). 1992.

Zangmian yuzu yuyan cihui 藏緬語族語

言詞匯 [A Tibeto-Burman lexicon], 649-650. Beijing 北京: Zhongyang Minzu Xueyuan
Chubanshe 中央民族学院出版社 [Minzu University of China Press].

Language variety: Southern Dulong 独龙语 / T'rung/Tvrùng (tə³¹ruŋ⁵³), of the Nungish or

Rawang-Dulong-Anong branch of Tibeto-Burman or Trans-Himalayan

Location: Muliwang 木立王 / Mvli ̀wàng (mə³¹li⁵³wɑŋ⁵³) Village in the southern Dulong River
Valley, 4th Township, Gongshan County, Nujiang Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China

Authors/fieldworkers: Dai Qingxia 戴庆厦 and Liu Juhuang 刘菊黄

Translator: Nathan Straub

[page 649]

2.15 The Dulong phonological system

Dulong is the language used by the Dulong ethnic group. It has 5,816 speakers (1990). It is
mainly located in Gongshan Dulong-Nu Autonomous County, Nujiang Lisu Autonomous
Prefecture, Yunnan Province (云南省怒江傈僳族自治州的贡山独龙族怒族自治县). The Dulong
ethnic group mostly uses Dulong, while a few people are bilingual in Lisu or Tibetan. This
article is a brief introduction to the sound system of the variety spoken in Muliwang Village 木
力王村, Mengdi Township 蒙迪乡, Gongshan County 贡山县.

[page 650]

2.15.1 Initials (39)

Single consonant initials (28)

p b m w pj bj mj ts dz s z t d n l tɕ dʑ ȵ ɕ c ɟ ç j k ɡ ŋ x ɹ

Consonant cluster initials (11)

pl bl ml kl ɡl pɹ bɹ mɹ kɹ ɡɹ xɹ

1
Notes:

1. With voiceless stops and affricates as initials, aspiration is not a distinguishing feature; it is
mostly just free variation.

2. All the initial stops distinguished by voicing can have free variation. For example:
bɑŋ³¹kɑp⁵⁵ / pɑŋ⁵³kɑp⁵⁵ 'leg ring'.

3. The voiced affricates dʑ and dz are in free variation in some words. For example: dʑɔn⁵³ /
dzɔn⁵³ 'to pay'.

2.15.2 Rhymes (122)

Single vowel rhymes (12)

i ɛ ɑ ɔ u ɯ iː ɛː ɑː ɔː uː ɯː

Diphthong rhymes (10)

ɑi ɔi ui ɯi ɑːi ɔːi uːi ɯːi ɑˑi uɑ

Rhymes with consonant codas (100)

im ɛm ɑm ɔm ɯm iːm ɛːm ɑːm ɔːm ɯːm ɑˑm

in ɛn ɑn ɔn un ɯn iːn ɛːn ɑːn ɔːn ɯːn ɑˑn uɑn uɑːn

iŋ ɛŋ ɑŋ ɔŋ uŋ ɯŋ iːŋ ɛːŋ ɑːŋ ɔːŋ uːŋ ɯːŋ ɑˑŋ uɑŋ

ip ɛp ɑp ɔp ɯp iːp ɛːp ɑːp ɔːp ɯːp ɑˑp uɑp uɑːp

it ɛt ɑt ɔt ut ɯt iːt ɛːt ɑːt ɔːt uːt ɯːt ɑˑt

ik ɑk ɔk uk ɯk

iʔ ɛʔ ɑʔ ɔʔ uʔ ɯʔ iːʔ ɛːʔ ɑːʔ ɔːʔ uːʔ ɯːʔ ɑiʔ uiʔ uɑʔ uːiʔ uɑːʔ

ɛɹ ɑɹ ɔɹ uɹ ɯɹ ɛːɹ ɑːɹ ɔːɹ uːɹ ɯːɹ uɑɹ uɑːɹ

2
Notes:

1. Rhymes with nasal codas are unstable; in particular, velar nasal codas are optional in some
syllables. For example, tɑŋ⁵⁵bɔŋ⁵⁵ 'corn' is also pronounced tɑ⁵⁵bɔŋ⁵⁵.

2. There are three kinds of vowel length: long, half-long, and short. Besides the long vowel ɑ,
others bear the allophone ɐ. It only appears in the context of morphological changes on verbs
and adjectives, and does not serve to distinguish meaning. The half-long vowel (represented by
ˑ after the vowel) only appears on rhymes with ɑ as the main vowel of a diphthong, or on
rhymes with a consonant coda; it does not appear frequently.

2.15.3 Tones (3)

55 53 31
lɑ⁵⁵ 'to be easy' lɑ⁵³ 'to search' lɑ³¹tɕɑ⁵⁵ 'tea'

Notes:

1. 55 and 53 are sometimes in free variation. For example: ɹi⁵⁵ / ɹi⁵³ 'to carry'.

2. The 31 tone only appears on weakened syllables and in tone sandhi. "Entering tone" rhymes
(ending in p/t/k/ʔ) only occur with the 55 tone.

3
 Appendix:

Map of the Dulong River Valley, highlighting Muliwang Village

Source: Gros, Stéphane. 2005. La part manquante: échanges et pouvoirs aux confins du Yunnan
(Chine). Ethnologie des Drung dans leurs relations à leurs voisins. [The missing share:
Exchange and power in Yunnan’s borderlands. An ethnology of the Drung people in their
relations with their neighbors.], 646. Nanterre: University of Paris X - Nanterre PhD
dissertation in ethnology.