Obsolete Names
Shafer (1955) and other accounts of the Dzorgaic/Ch'iang branch once listed the languages as Dzorgai, Kortse, Pingfang, Thochu, and sometimes Lofuchai (Lophuchai), Wagsod. However, there is no continuity with the current names; the old names were included in the 13th (1996) edition of Ethnologue with 3-letter codes (dzi, kbg, pfg, tcj, lfu, wgs), but were abandoned by the 14th (2000) edition. They appear to have been varieties of or local names for Northern or Southern Qiang. The names Dzorgai and Kortse date at least to 1912.
When Jiarongic is included as a branch of Qiangic, but distinct from the non-Jiarongic languages, the label "Dzorgaic" may be used for Qiang proper.
Hsi-fan (Xifan) is an ethnic name, meaning essentially 'Tibetan'; the people speak Qiangic or Jiarongic languages such as Qiang, Ergong/Horpa, Ersu, Guiqiong, Shixing, Zhaba, Namuyi, Muya/Minyak, and Jiarong, but not Naxi/Moso, Pumi, or Tangut. The term has not been much used since language surveys of the 1980s resulted in sufficient data for classification.
Read more about this topic: Qiangic Languages
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