Universal Declaration of Human Rights
PDF Version
Yi
Source: United Nations Development Programme, China
Profile
Native Name
None
Total Speakers
1,600,000 (1991)
Usage By Country
Officially Recognized Language: China
Background
Yi (also Moso, Lolo, Noso, etc.) is a family of closely related tonal Tibeto-Burman languages spoken by the Yi people. Although linguists still use the term Lolo or Loloish, the Yi people themselves regard it as pejorative. In fact, people supposedly belonging to the Yi nationality speak six different languages, all part of the Tibeto-Burman linguistic family, but which hold only 25 to 50 percent of words in common. One of these languages has been chosen as the standard "Yi" language and, as such, is the only one taught in school, both in its oral and written form.
Received 8/3/1999
Posted 1/11/2000
Checked