Ná-Meo language

Ná-Meo (Vietnamese: Na Miểu; autonym: na53 mjau35 ɬa53^[2]) is a language of northern Vietnam, spoken by the Mieu people. Nguyen (2007) believes Na Meo may be a Hmongic language closest to Qiandong Miao.

Ná-Meo
Na Meo
Mieu
Native to	Vietnam
Region	Lang Son Province, Tuyen Quang Province
Ethnicity	Mieu people
Native speakers	1,000 (2015)[1]
Language family	Hmong–Mien Hmongic East Hmongic Southern Qiandong Miao Ná-Meo
Language codes
ISO 639-3	neo
Glottolog	name1237

Classification

According to Hsiu (2015), Na Meo is most closely related to the Guncen 滚岑 and Zhenmin 振民 dialects of Southern Qiandong Miao (ISO 639-3: hms), which are spoken in Rongshui Miao Autonomous County, northern Guangxi Province, China. This is evidenced by the sound change Proto-Hmong–Mien *-ɛŋ > Proto-Na Meo-Guncen-Zhenmin *-a.

Distribution

The following locations are reported in Ethnologue.

• Khánh Long Commune, Tràng Định District, northwestern Lạng Sơn Province
  • Khuổi Phu Dao village
• Cao Minh Commune
• Ca Liec village, Thạch An District, Cao Bằng Province

Nguyen (2007:31) reports the following additional locations.

• Khuổi Giảo village, Cao Minh Commune, Tràng Định District, Lạng Sơn Province
• Cai Liệng village, Thúy Hùng Commune, Thạch An District, Cao Bằng Province (ancestors crossed over from China via Trùng Khánh District)
• Vũ Loan Commune, Na Rì District, Bắc Kạn Province
• Kim Quan Commune, Yên Sơn District, Tuyên Quang Province (ancestors came from Yunnan to Bắc Giang Province via the Red River). Hsiu (2015) identifies the hamlet of Khuân Hẻ as the sole Na Meo-speaking location in Kim Quan Commune, Tuyên Quang Province.