| Ersu | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution | China |
Native speakers | (20,000 cited 1982)[1] |
| Linguistic classification | Sino-Tibetan |
| Subdivisions |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | ers |
| Glottolog | ersu1242 |
The Ersuic languages (Chinese: 尔苏, Ersu; also called Duoxu or Erhsu) are a Qiangic language cluster of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Ersu languages are spoken by about 20,000 people in China as reported by Sun (1982).[2] Muya (alternatively Menia or Menya) is reported to be related, but it is not known how it fits in.
Ersuic speakers live in the western part of China's Sichuan province (several counties within the Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, and the prefecture-level city of Ya'an).[2] Most of them are classified by the Chinese government as members of the Tibetan ethnic group,[1][2] although some also are registered as Han Chinese.[1] Older adults mostly use Ersu, but younger people also use Chinese or Yi.
The Ersu Shaba script of the shābā religious books is a pictographic system of proto-writing. The system, in which the color of the characters has an effect on the meaning, was inspired by Chinese writing and was created in the 11th century.
- ^ a b c Ersu at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- ^ a b c "Ěrsūyǔ" 尔苏语 [Ersu Language]. Zhōngguó mínzú yǔyán yánjiū wǎng 中国民族语言研究网 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2012-04-26.
