Sui Language - Dialects

Dialects

The Sui language is divided into three dialects with minor differences (Wei & Edmondson 2008).

• Sandong 三洞, spoken by 90% of Sui speakers.
  • Sandu Shui Autonomous County: Sāndòng 三洞, Shǔilóng 水龙, Zhōnghé 中和, Miáocǎo 苗草, Bàjiē 坝街, Jiǎdǎo 甲倒, Shíqí 石奇, Jiāróng 佳荣, Héngfēng 恒丰, Zhōuqín 周覃, Jiǔqiān 九仟, Tángzhōu 塘州, Yángméng 阳蒙
  • Libo County: Yáoqìng 瑶庆
  • Dushan County: Wēnquán 温泉 (Tiānxīng 天星)
  • Rongjiang County
  • Congjiang County
• Yang'an 阳安
  • Sandu Shui Autonomous County: Yáng'ān 阳安, Yángluò 羊洛, Línqiáo 林桥
  • Dushan County: Dǒngmiǎo 董渺
• Pandong 潘洞
  • Duyun City: Pāndòng 潘洞
  • Dushan County: Wēngtái 翁台

In Guangxi, Sui is spoken by about 7,000 people in Hechi and 1,900 in Nandan County (e.g., in Longmazhuang 龙马庄 of Liuzhai Township 六寨镇, with the autonym pu4 sui3).

However, Castro (2011) proposes that the Sandong dialect be divided further into two more subdialects, Central (spoken in Sandu County) and Southern (spoken in Libo County). Southern Sui speakers are also culturally distinguished by their celebration of the “Maox” festival instead of the “Dwac” festival, which is celebrated by all other Sui groups. Below are some villages representative of Central and Southern Sui.

• Central (Sandu County, etc.)
  • Sandong district 三洞乡
  • Tingpai district 廷牌乡 ("Pyo"; described by Fang-kuei Li in 1965)
  • Rongjiang County ("Jung-chiang"; described by Fang-kuei Li in 1965)
  • Liuzhai district 六寨, Nandan County, Guangxi
• Southern (Libo County, etc.)
  • Shuili 水利水族乡 and Shuiyan 水岩乡 ("Li-Ngam"; described by Fang-kuei Li in 1965)
  • Yongkang district 永康水族乡
  • Shuiqing, Maolan district 茂兰镇
  • Jiuqian district 九阡镇, Sandu County
  • Jiarong district 佳荣镇

Sui is also spoken in Hồng Quang Village, Chiêm Hoá District, Tuyên Quang Province (62 km northwest of Chiêm Hoa City). In Vietnam, the Sui are known as Thủy, but are officially classified with the Pà Thẻn people. The elderly Sui people of Hồng Quang claim that 8 Sui families had migrated to Vietnam from China 100 to 200 years ago, 2 of which have now already assimilated into other ethnic groups. The Sui numbered only 55 people as of the 1982 Vietnamese census, and numbered about 100 people as of 2001. Since Pa-Hng (Pà Thẻn) and Tày are also spoken in Hồng Quang Village, many Sui are also fluent in those two languages. Edmondson & Gregerson (2001) have found that the Sui of Hồng Quang is most similar to the Sandong 三洞 dialect of Sui as spoken in Shǔilóng 水龙, Sandu Shui Autonomous County, Guizhou, China.