She language

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The She language is a very endangered language spoken by the She people in southern China, mainly in Guangdong province. UNESCO lists it as Critically Endangered.

Where it’s spoken
- In Guangdong, two small pockets west and east of Huizhou City have the two main dialect groups.
- The She people total about 710,000 (2000 census), but only a small number—about 1,200 or so in Guangdong—still speak the She language as their native tongue. Many She people speak She Chinese or other Chinese varieties.

Names and identity
- The language is called She by outsiders. The people themselves use autonyms such as Ho Le or Ho Ne.
- Ho Ne is used in Huidong County; Ho Le is used in Boluo, Haifeng, and Zengcheng counties.
- She language is different from She Chinese, which is a separate language spoken by the She people in other provinces.

Dialects and status
- There are two main dialect groups, both highly endangered, spoken in two small areas around Huizhou, Guangdong.
- The language has been hard to classify because Chinese influence is very strong.

Classification and relations
- Linguists differ on where She fits. It is usually placed in the Hmong–Mien (Hmongic) family, but some scholars regard its place as uncertain, with connections to Jiongnai proposed by some researchers.
- It is not the same as She Chinese (a Chinese language variety linked to the She people in other regions).

Phonology in brief
- She uses a set of vowels (i, e, a, ɔ, ɤ, u) and several consonants, with some mutations when words combine.
- The language has six tones, but in some borrowed words the system reduces to two tones.
- There are some loanwords from Old Chinese.

Note
- The name “She language” refers to this distinct language; “She Chinese” is a different language and should not be confused with it.