Two of the six
Yi languages (
fangyan 方言) officially recognized by the Chinese government belong to the Northern Loloish branch. • Northern Yi (
Nuosu 诺苏) • Eastern Yi (
Nasu 纳苏) Another officially recognized Yi language (
fangyan), Southern Yi (
Nisu 尼苏), may or may not be a Northern Loloish language, as Pelkey (2011) classifies it as a
Southeastern Loloish language based on phonological innovations shared with Southeastern instead of Northern Loloish languages. Other Northern Loloish languages are listed below. •
Aluo is close to Nasu. •
Chesu is close to Nasu. •
Lope, also known as Awu •
Alingpo is close to Nasu and Gepo. •
Ku of
Qiubei County, Yunnan •
Luoji of
Weining County, Guizhou •
Nong of
Huaning County, Yunnan •
Xiqi of
Huaning County, Yunnan
Nisu is classified as
Southeastern Loloish by Pelkey (2011), but is traditionally classified as a Northern Loloish language. Bradley (1997) also lists the endangered
Kathu and
Mo'ang languages of
Wenshan Prefecture,
Yunnan, China as Northern Loloish languages, but they were later classified as
Mondzish by Lama (2012) and Hsiu (2014).
Bradley (2007) Within Northern Loloish, David Bradley (2007) recognizes the
Nosoid and
Nasoid subgroups. Lama (2012) also recognizes a distinction between the Nuosu and Nasu clusters, with the Nuosu cluster including
Nuosu and Niesu, and the Nasu cluster include
Nasu,
Gepu, and Nesu. •
Nosoid •
Nuosu (Nosu) • Muhisu •
Nyisu •
Nasoid •
Nasu •
Aluo •
Naluo •
Chesu •
Gepo, Ayizi
Samei,
Samataw, and
Sanie are classified as Nasoid by Bradley (2007), but as
Kazhuoish languages by Lama (2012).
Chen (2010) Chen (2010) recognizes two
topolects (
Chinese:
fangyan 方言), namely
Nosu (Northern Yi) and
Nasu (Eastern Yi). •
Nosu 诺苏方言 •
Nasu 纳苏方言 •
Nàsū 纳苏次方言 • Nàsū 纳苏 (''''): 400,000 speakers in Luquan, Wuding, Xundian, Huize, Dongchuan, Songming, etc. • Naso, Nàsuǒ 纳索 (''''): 300,000 speakers in Zhaotong, Ludian, Yiliang, Daguan, Yanjin, Suijiang, Yongshan, Qiaojia, Huize, etc. •
Alo, Āluó 阿罗 (''''): 100,000 speakers in Wuding, Fumin, Lufeng, etc. • Mongi, Mòqí 莫其 (''''): 50,000 speakers in Wuding, Luquan, Songming, Kunming, Mile, etc. • Nersu, Nèisū 内苏次方言 • Nersu, Nèisū 内苏 (''''): 300,000 speakers in Weining, Shuicheng, Hezhang, Nayong, Yiliang, Huize, Xuanwei, Weixin, Zhenyong, etc. • Nipu, Nípǔ 尼普 (''''): 300,000 speakers in Bijie, Qianxi, Jinsha, Dafang, Zhijin, Nayong, Qingzhen, Pingba, Puding, Liuzhi, Guanling, Zhenning, etc. • Noso, Nuòsuǒ 诺索次方言 • Noso, Nuòsuǒ 诺索 (''''): 100,000 speakers in Panxian, Xingren, Pu'an, Xingyi, Qinglong, Shuicheng, Fuyuan, Luoping, etc. •
Polo, Bǔluó 补罗 (''''): 50,000 speakers in Kaiyuan, Gejiu, Mengzi, Honghe, Wenshan, Yanshan, etc. Li (2013:245) lists the following autonyms for the
Yi people of these counties. •
Xide County: '''' •
Luquan County,
Xundian County: '''' •
Shilin County: '
, '/'''' •
Weining County: '''' •
Dafang County: '''' •
Eshan County: '''' •
Luquan County: '''' •
Pan County: '''' •
Longlin County: '''' •
Liangshan County:
, Other autonyms listed by Dai (1998:218): •
Luquan County: '
(Black Yi 黑彝); '; '''' •
Mojiang County: '''' The '''' of southwestern Guizhou reside in Pingdi 坪地, Pugu 普古, and Jichangping 鸡场坪 townships, Pan County; Longchang 龙场 and Fa'er 法耳 township, Shuicheng County (Chen 1987). ==Innovations==