Sun (1983) Sun Hongkai (1983) proposes two branches, northern and southern: •
Qiangic • Northern •
Northern Qiang (Máwō) •
Pumi (Prinmi) •
Muya (Minyag) •
Tangut (extinct; attested 1036–1502) • Southern •
Southern Qiang (Táopíng) Sun groups other, poorly described Qiangic languages as: •
Ersu (Tosu),
Shixing,
Namuzi (Namuyi) •
Guiqiong (2–3 varieties with low intelligibility) •
Zhaba,
Queyu Matisoff (2004) Matisoff (2004) also notes that "brightening" is a defining innovation in Proto-Ersuic, the reconstructed ancestor of the
Ersuic languages.
Thurgood and La Polla (2003) Thurgood and La Polla (2003) state that the inclusion of Qiang,
Prinmi, and
Muya is well supported, but that they do not follow Sun's argument for the inclusion of Tangut. Matisoff (2004), however, claims Tangut demonstrates a clear relationship. The unclassified language
Baima may also be Qiangic or may retain a Qiangic substratum after speakers shifted to Tibetan. Some other lesser-known, unclassified Qiangic peoples and languages include the following: •
Bolozi 玻璃哦子/博罗子: 2,000 people; in Xiao Heshui Village 小河水村, west of
Songpan; also as far south as Wenchuan Township 汶川乡. Sun Hongkai (2013:80–82) identifies Bolozi 博罗子 as a
Northern Qiang variety, belonging to the Cimulin 茨木林 dialect. •
Ming 命: 10,000 people; mixed Chinese in
Mao County and
Wenchuan County, Sichuan •
Xiangcheng 乡城: 10,000 people in and around Xiangcheng Township 乡城,
Garzê Prefecture Sun (2001) Sun Hongkai (2001) groups the Qiangic languages are follows. •
Qiangic • Northern •
Tangut 西夏 • Qiang •
Qiang 羌 (
Northern and
Southern) •
Prinmi 普米 •
Minyak 木雅 •
rGyalrongic •
rGyalrong 嘉绒 •
Ergong 尔龚 •
Lavrung 拉乌戎 • Southern •
Ersu 尔苏 •
Guiqiong 贵琼 •
Shixing 史兴 •
Namuyi 纳木依 •
Choyo 却隅 •
nDrapa 扎巴
Jacques & Michaud (2011) Guillaume Jacques &
Alexis Michaud (2011) argue for a Na–Qiangic branch which itself forms a
Burmo-Qiangic branch together with
Lolo–Burmese. Na–Qiangic comprises three primary branches, which are Ersuish (or Ersuic),
Naic (or Naxish), and [core] Qiangic. Similarly,
David Bradley (2008) also proposed an Eastern Tibeto-Burman branch that includes Burmic (
Lolo-Burmese) and Qiangic. The position of
Guiqiong is not addressed. •
Na–Qiangic •
Ersuish •
Ersu •
Lizu •
Tosu •
Naic •
Namuyi •
Shixing •
Naish •
Naxi •
Na (
Mosuo) •
Laze • Qiangic •
Queyu •
Zhaba (?) •
Tangut •
Pumi •
Northern Pumi •
Southern Pumi •
Muya •
Northern Muya •
Southern Muya •
Qiang •
Northern Qiang •
Southern Qiang •
rGyalrongic •
rGyalrongish •
Situ •
Japhug •
Tshobdun •
Zbu •
Lavrung •
Thugsrjechenmo •
Njorogs •
Horpa •
Rtau •
Stodsde Chirkova (2012) However, Chirkova (2012) casts doubt on the validity of Qiangic as a coherent branch, instead considering Qiangic to be a diffusion area. She considers the following four languages to be part of four separate Tibeto-Burman branches: •
Lizu (
Ersu group) •
Shixing ("
Naic") •
Namuzi ("
Naic") •
Pumi Both
Shixing and
Namuzi are both classified as
Naic (Naxi) by Jacques & Michaud (2011), but Naic would not be a valid genetic unit in Chirkova's classification scheme since Shixing and Namuzi are considered by Chirkova to not be part of a single branch.
Yu (2012) Yu (2012:218) notes that
Ersuic and
Naish languages share some forms that are not found in Lolo-Burmese or "core" Qiangic (Qiang,
Prinmi, and
Minyak). As a result, "Southern Qiangic" (Ersuic,
Namuyi, and
Shixing) may be closer to Naish than it is to "core" Qiangic. Together, Southern Qiangic and Naish could form a wider "Naic" group that has links to both Lolo-Burmese to the south and other Qiangic languages to the north. ==Obsolete names==