Bendi Pinghua

Bendihua
Native to	China
Region	Hunan
Native speakers	25,000 (date missing)
Language family	Sino-Tibetan Sinitic Chinese Ping–Yue Pinghua Guibei Pinghua Bendihua
Language codes
ISO 639-3	None (mis)
ISO 639-6	(none)
Glottolog	None

The Bendi language, Bendihua (Chinese: 本地话), is a variety of Guibei Pinghua (桂北平话) influenced by Kam (Dong). It is spoken by about 25,000 people in Tongdao Dong Autonomous County, Hunan, China (Shi 2015:137).

Although Bendihua speakers are classified by the Chinese government as ethnic Han, the speakers consider themselves to be a distinct ethnic group, and not Han or Kam.

Names

Bendihua speakers call their own language Bendihua 本地话, although some speakers also refer to it as Jiangping 讲平. The Kam people refer to Bendihua as li˧˩ka˧˩ti˦˩, and the Yao (Pa Hng speakers) refer to it as Luoyanhua (洛岩话; "Luoyan language"). The name Bendihua 本地话 literally means 'native language' in Mandarin Chinese.

Bendi speakers call themselves the wən˨ɲən˨ people (我们人) (Shi 2015:137). The Dong call Bendi people ka˧˩pən˧ti˧ (Chinese: 本地客) or ka˧˩ti˧ (Chinese: 地客), while the Bendi language is called li˧˩ka˧˩ti˦˨ (Chinese: 本地话). The Dong refer to Han Chinese of Jingzhou County, Hunan as ka˧˩ (Chinese: 客), and their language as li˧˩ka˧˩ (Chinese: 客话). The Yao refer to the Bendi language as lo˧ŋai˧.

Locations

Within Tongdao Dong Autonomous County, Hunan Province, Bendihua is primarily spoken in Xiaxiang 下乡, Linkou 临口, and Jingwuzhou 菁芜州 townships. Bendihua is also spoken to a lesser extent in the townships of Mujiao 木脚, Xikou 溪口, and Malong 马龙, as well as Chengbu County, Hunan and Longsheng County, Guangxi.

Dialects

Peng (2010:1) divides Bendihua into 4 main dialects.

• Xiaxiang 下乡话: spoken in the townships of Xiaxiang 下乡 (entire township), Linkou 临口 (in the villages of Guantuan 官团, Shanxi 山溪, and Shibi 石壁), and Mujiao 木脚 (in Xishang Village 溪上 and Gengtou Village 更头)
• Jingwu 菁芜话: spoken in Jingwuzhou Township 菁芜洲镇, in ethnic Bendiren (本地人) villages. Shi (2015) documents the variety of Luantang 銮塘 in Jingwuzhou Township 菁芜洲镇.
• Xingwu 杏五话: spoken by just under 3,000 people in Linkou Township 临口乡 (in Xinhua 杏花 and Wuyi 五一 villages, as well as other neighboring villages)
• Taizhong 太中话: spoken in the townships of Taipingyan 太平岩, Zhongtuan 中团, and Mujiao 木脚 (in Mujiao Village 木脚村)

Shi (2015) recognizes the 4 Bendi dialects of:

• Luantang 銮塘
• Linkou 临口
• Taipingyan 太平岩
• Dengkou 邓口

References

• Peng Jianguo [彭建国]. 2010. 湖南通道侗族“本地话”的语音系统及其归属. Journal of Yunmeng 云梦学刊, Vol. 31, No. 4.
• Peng Jianguo [彭建国]. 2003. Research on Bendihua of Tongdao County, Hunan (湖南通道“本地话”调查). M.A. dissertation. Changsha: Hunan Normal University [湖南师范大学].
• Shi Lin [石林]. 2015. Three language varieties of the Hunan-Guizhou-Guangxi border region [湘黔桂边区的三个族群方言岛]. Beijing: China Social Sciences Academy Press [中国社会科学出版社]. ISBN 9787516164945