# Cai–Long languages

The Cai–Long (Chinese: 蔡龙语支) or Ta–Li languages are a group of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in western Guizhou, China. Only Caijia is still spoken, while Longjia and Luren are extinct. The branch was first recognized by Chinese researchers in the 1980s, with the term Cai–Long (Chinese: 蔡龙语支) first mentioned in Guizhou (1982: 43).
The languages are unclassified within Sino-Tibetan, and could be Sinitic or Macro-Bai.

## Languages

The Sino-Tibetan classification of Cai–Long languages is not generally agreed upon by linguists. Cai–Long languages are reported by some scholars to belong to a Macro-Bai subgroup and are closest to the language of the Bai. In 2010, Zhengzhang Shangfang opined that Caijia and Bai are sister languages in this subgroup.
Conversely, Laurent Sagart (2011)believed that Caijia and Northwestern Hunan's Waxiang language are early branches that split off from Old Chinese and hence form a unique lineage within Sino-Tibetan.
The Cai-Long languages are limited to Caijia that is in use now and Longjia and Luren that are under threat of extinction due to Mandarine Chinese and Zhuang dominating in that region. However, generally there are three main classifications for the Cai-Long languages:
* Caijia
* Longjia (extinct)
* Luren (extinct)
In addition, the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, through their Glottolog database, proposes that Longjia and Luren form a Longjia–Luren branch within Cai–Long. Hölzl (2021) also states that Longjia and Luren have a higher percentage of lexical parallels to each other than to Caijia, though emphasizes that past studies have not established regular sound laws between all three languages or clearly distinguished between inherited and borrowed lexical items.
Caijia Language
The only surviving language of Cai–Long group is Caijia and is critically endangered with a speaker base of approximately 1,000. Caijia is primarily located in western Guizhou province. Caijia possesses unique linguistic features that have resulted in disagreement regarding its classification and has been identified with language of Bai and early Chinese by certain scholars.
Longjia Language
Longjia is an extinct language that used to be used in western Guizhou. There is less documentation on Longjia. However, it is known to have a close link with Caijia and Luren. The language became extinct in the middle of the 20th century, with assimilation into mainstream Chinese dialects being a major contributing factor.
Luren Language
Luren or Lu is a now-extinct language of western Guizhou. Like Longjia, Luren had a close relationship with Caijia. The language is assumed to have died out in the 1960s when speakers shifted to a more significant regional language.

## Lexical innovations

Hölzl (2021) proposes the name Ta–Li as a portmanteau of the two lexical innovations ‘two’ and ‘pig’, respectively.
| Language | ‘two’ | ‘pig’ |
| Caijia (Hezhang) | ta$^{55}$ | li$^{21}$ |
| Luren (Qianxi) | ta$^{31}$ | li$^{31}$ |
| Longjia (Pojiao/Huaxi) | ta$^{31}$ | lɛ$^{55}$ |
The Cai–Long languages possess major lexical innovations that distinguish them from other Sino-Tibetan languages. A major transformation is in the items for 'two' and 'pig'. It is appreciated that ‘two’ and ‘pig’ are expressed as ‘ta’ and ‘li’ respectively in Caijia language, whereas the words are expressed similarly in the Luren language as in the Caijia language. The word ‘two’ is expressed by ‘ta’ and ‘pig’ as pig by ‘lɛ’ in Longjia language. Therefore it is vivid that these items are not attested in related languages and indicate independence in evolution within the Cai-Long subgroup.
Moreover, Cai-Long languages conserved certain phenomena in their phonology that have been otherwise lost in the Sino-Tibetan languages. Preservation of initial consonant groups and certain tonal patterns remind us of ancient phonology in the region. These occurrences reveal their diversity in linguistic and historical importance of Cai-long languages in Sino-Tibetan.

## Sociolinguistic Context

The extinction of Longjia and Luren, and the endangered condition of Caijia are representative of more pervasive sociolinguistic patterns in the region. Continued language shift towards major Chinese dialects, urbanization, and assimilation policies have long been among the driving forces to their extinction. The documentation and language revitalization of Caijia are vital in preserving the linguistic heritage of the Cai-Long subgroup and understanding the complex texture of Sino-Tibetan languages.