# Then language

The Then language (also known as Yánghuáng 佯僙语 in Chinese; alternate spellings: Tʻen and Ten) is a Kam–Sui language spoken in Pingtang and Huishui counties, southern Guizhou. It is spoken by the Yanghuang 佯僙 people, many of whom are officially classified as Maonan by the Chinese government.

## Names

The Yanghuang people called themselves ai11 raːu11, except for the Yanghuang of Huishui County, Xiayou District 下游地区, and Xiguan Shangmo 西关上莫, who called themselves ai11 thən35 (Bo 1997). According to the Guizhou Ethnic Gazetteer (2002:846), their autonyms include jiŋ22 zau24 (印绕) and ai22 au24 (哎绕).
"Yanghuang" was mentioned in a Ming Dynasty record, the Dushi Fangyu Jiyao (读史方舆纪要). According to it, "the Man people of Sizhou are Yanghuang, Gelao, Muyao (Mulao), and Miaozhi (Miaozi). (思州蛮自佯僙、仡佬、木瑶（老）、苗质（子）数种。)

## Phonology

Yanghuang of Kapu Township (卡蒲乡) has 71 consonants total, including those with secondary articulations. There are a total of 71 rhymes, 9 vowels, and 8 codas (Bo 1997).

## Dialects

Bo (1997:138-139) lists three main dialects of Yanghuang.
* Hedong 河东: spoken by more than 15,000 people, 10,000 of whom are daily users of the language. It is spoken east of the Pingtang River 平塘河 in the townships of Kapu 卡蒲乡 and Zhemi 者密镇, in Pingtang County, as well as in parts of western Dushan County, including Balang village 坝浪寨. Their autonym is ai1 raːu1. This is the representative dialect studied most by Bo (1997).
* Hexi 河西: active speaker population of about 2,000 out of a population of about 10,000 people. It is spoken west of the Pingtang River 平塘河 in the western part of Zhemi Township 者密镇, Pingtang County (in the villages of Liudongba 六硐坝 and Jiaqing 甲青), and neighboring areas.
* Huishui 惠水: spoken only by elderly people out of a population of about 2,000-3,000 people. Middle-aged and younger people do not speak the Huishui variety of Then anymore. It is spoken in Huishui County. It is spoken around the village of Yaoshao 姚哨, but not in Yaoshao 姚哨 itself. This is the most divergent dialect, and is most heavily influenced by Chinese. Their autonym ai1 thən2. Their ancestors had reportedly migrated from Liudongba 六硐坝 during the 1800s.
Below are some lexical comparisons of Yanghuang dialects from Bo (1997:139-146).
| English gloss | Chinese gloss | Hedong 河东 | Hexi 河西 | Huishui 惠水 |
| vegetable | 蔬菜 | ʔma1 | ma1 | ma1 |
| female | 女 | ʔmjɛk9 | mjɛk9 | mjaːk9 |
| well (water) | 井 | ʔmwə5 | mo5 | mu5 |
| year | 年 | ʔme1 | be1 | be1 |
| nose | 鼻子 | ʔnaŋ1 | naŋ1 | naŋ1 |
| moon | 月 | ʔnjen1 | njen1 | njen1 |
| sesame | 芝麻 | ʔȵa1 | ȵa1 | ȵa1 |
| nod (head) | 点(头) | ʔŋak7 | | ŋak7 |
| money | 钱 | prin2 | bin2 | -tʰin2 |
| stove, hearth | 灶 | kraːu5 | taːu5 | tʰaːu5 |
| white | 白 | pɣaːk8 | pwaːk10 | paːk8 |
| cliff | 山崖 | pɣa1, pɣə1 | pwa1 | pa1 |
| horn (of cattle) | 角 | pɣaːu2 | pwaːu2 | paːu2 |
| grass | 草 | kɣaŋ1 | kaŋ1 | kaŋ1 |
| light (weight) | 轻 | ʔza4 | tsa4 | ja4 |
| heavy | 重 | ʔzan2, jan2 | tsan2 | ʔjan2 |
| itch | 痒 | ʔzam2 | tsam2 | jəm2 |
| star | 星星 | ʔzut7 | tsut7 | jut7 |
| span; bunch | 拃 | ʔzaːp8 | tsjɛp10 | jɛp8 |
| zongzi | 粽子 | ʔzut7 | ʔjut7 | jut7 |
| mushroom, fungus | 菌子 | ʔɣa1 | ɣa1 | ɣə1 |
| long | 长 | raːi3 | raːi3 | zaːi3 |
| field | 田 | ra5 | ra5 | za5 |
| air | 空气 | ro6 | rəu6 | zo6 |
| transplant (seedlings) | 插(秧) | ram1 | ram1 | zam1 |
| wind | 风 | rəm2 | rəm2 | zəm2 |
| firewood | 柴 | rət7 | rət7 | zət7 |
| bone | 骨头 | raːk9 | raːk9 | zaːk9 |
| dark | 昏暗 | rəp8 | rəp8 | zəp8; rəp8 |
| soup | 汤 | riu6 | | ʑiu6 |
| boat | 船 | rjɛ1 | rjɛ1 | zja1 |
| wife | 妻 | rjɛ4 | rje4 | zja4 |
| roll (down) | 滚 | rjɛŋ4 | rjɛŋ4 | zjaːŋ4 |
| steal | 偷 | rjɛk8 | rjɛk8 | zjak8 |
| taro | 芋头 | rjɛk9 | rjɛk9 | zjaːk9 |
| name | 名字 | daːn1 | laːn1 | laːn1 |
| gallbladder | 胆 | do5 | ləu5 | |
| listen | 听 | dəi3 | ləi3 | lei3 |
| shallow | 浅 | dai5 | ləi5 | lai5 |
| go to market | 赶(场) | daːu3 | laːu3 | laːu3 |
| forest | 森林 | dɔŋ1 | lɔŋ1 | loŋ1 |
| winnowing basket | 簸箕 | dɔŋ3 | lɔŋ3 | loŋ3 |
| deaf | 聋 | dak7 | lak7 | lak7 |
| navel | 肚脐 | djɛ1 | | lja1 |
| eye | 眼睛 | la1 | da1 | da1 |
| steam, cook | 蒸 | laːu3 | daːu3 | daːu3 |
| moss | 青苔 | lau1 | dau1 | dau1 |
| pond | 水塘 | lam1 | dam1 | dam1 |
| see | 看见 | lo3 | dəu3 | do3 |
| wood shavings | 刨花 | laːk9 | daːk9 | daːk9 |
| fragrant | 香 | laːŋ1 | daːŋ1 | |
| tian que | 田缺 | laːŋ3 | | daːŋ3 |
| bamboo strips | 竹篾 | luk7 | dok7 | |
| river | 河 | njɛ2 | njɛ2 | nja2 |
| tree (classifier) | 棵 | pjɛ2 | pjɛ2 | pja2 |
| hand | 手 | mjɛ2 | mjɛ2 | mja2 |
| walk | 走 | sjɛm3 | sjɛm3 | sjaːm3 |
| housefly | 蝇子 | tsjɛm5 | tsjɛm5 | tsjaːm5 |
| sunlight | 阳光 | ljɛŋ1 | ljɛŋ1 | ljaːŋ1 |
| ditch | 水渠 | mjɛŋ2 | | mjaːŋ2 |
| magpie | 喜鹊 | ȶʰɛk9 | sjɛk9 | ɕaːk9 |
| belly | 肚子 | lɔŋ2 | lɔŋ2 | loŋ2 |
| finger | 手指 | tɔŋ1 | tɔŋ1 | toŋ1 |
| ripe, cooked | 熟 | sɔk8 | sɔk8 | sok8 |
| fall (intr.) | 落 | tɔk9 | tɔk9 | tok9 |
| bird | 鸟 | ʔnɔk9 | nɔk9 | nok9 |
| liver | 肝 | tap7 | tap7 | tap7 |
| select; carry | 挑 | taːp9 | taːp9 | taːp9 |
| ten | 十 | sip8 | sip8 | sip8 |
| child | 子女 | laːk10 | laːk8 | laːk8 |
| congratulate | 贺喜 | bek10 | bek8 | bjek8 |
| sky | 天 | ʔmun1 | mun1 | mən1 |
| marriage | 姻 | wan2 | wan2 | van2 |
| fire | 火 | vi2 | vi2 | vi2 |
| body | 身体 | rən1 | rən1 | zən1 |
| one | 一 | to2 | to2 | to2 |
| Chinese bayberry | 杨梅 | tʰaːi6 | tʰaːi6 | tʰaːi6 |
| buffalo | 水牛 | wi2 | wi2 | wi2 |
| rust | 锈 | raːk10 | raːk10 | mai4 |
| overflow | 溢 | ron4 | ron4 | tʰiu5 |
| cogon grass | 茅草 | ja2 | ja2 | zaːp8 |
| squeeze | 挤 | nɛn3 | nɛn3 | ȵat8 |
| squat, kneel | 蹲 | kʰu6 | kʰu6 | pok8 |
| tremble | 颤抖 | taːn2 | taːn2 | ən1 |
| mole (of skin) | 痦子 | mak8 | mak8 | don1 |
| pig food | 猪食 | kaːm1 | kaːm1 | |
| dog | 狗 | ma1 | ma1 | kə0 va1 |
| peel (skin) | 剥(皮) | kwa3 | kwa3 | tʰot9 |
| cast, mold | 浇铸 | tʰaːu3 | tʰaːu3 | toi3 |
| tickle | 搔痒 | tsjɛt10 | ʔjɛt8 | koi6 |
| still (adverb) | 还(副词) | ʔnaŋ1 | naŋ1 | voŋ2 |
| mountain (earth) | 土山 | liŋ4 | nu2 | niu2 |
| big | 大 | laːu4 | maːk9 | maːk9 |
| marry (of man) | 娶 | lət7 | tʰep9 | tʰep9 |
| rest | 休息 | ljak8 | dja5 | dja5 |
| sharp | 锋利 | nim1 | raːi2 | zaːi2 |
| have | 有 | ʔnaŋ1 | mei2 | me2 |
| pheasant | 野鸡 | ʔnɔk9 rwa1 | kok9 | kaːi5 ke1 |
| fish scale | 鳞 | kɛt9 | tep9 | kʰwaːŋ1 |
| wrinkle (n.) | 皱纹 | tiu3 | ȵap7 | tsuŋ3 |
| trip | 绊 | kɛk9 | mit7 | kʰam5 |
| I | 我 | jiu2 | jiu2 | jiu2 |
| you (sg.) | 你 | ȵa2 | ȵa2 | ȵa2 |
| he | 他 | mən2 | mən2 | mu5 |
| we (incl.) | 咱们 | raːu1 | raːu1 | zaːu1 |
| we (excl.) | 我们 | ljeu1, diu1 | diu1 | zaːu1 |
| you (pl.) | 你们 | sjeu1 | siu1 | si1 |
| they | 他们 | tjeu1 | tiu1 | mən2 |
| bull, male cattle | 公牛 | tak8 wi2 | wi2 tak8 | wi2 tak8 |
| sow, female pig | 母猪 | nei4 məu5 | məu5 nəi4 | məu5 nəi4 |
| rooster | 公鸡 | tʰai3 kaːi5 | kaːi5 tʰai3 | kaːi5 tʰai3 |
| male dog | 公狗 | tak8 ma1 | ma1 tak8 | ma1 tak8 |