Yei Zhuang is a Northern Tai language complex spoken in Wenshan Prefecture, Yunnan, China. Its speakers are also known as the Sha (æ²ÂæÂÂ), a subgroup of the Zhuang.
In Yunnan, Yei Zhuang dialects are spoken in Funing and Guangnan counties (also in Guangxi to the east and north), as well as Qiubei (probably also in Qujing Municipality to the north). The largest concentrations of Yei Zhuang speakers are found in Qiubei (80% of total Zhuang population) and Funing (50% of total Zhuang population) counties (Johnson 2011a:43).
Po-ai, a Tai language of Funing County described by Fang-kuei Li in the mid-1900s, was determined by Johnson (2011b) to be a Yei Zhuang dialect.
Below are various names (both autonyms and exonyms) for speakers of Yei Zhuang (Johnson 2011a:43).
Many of these are names of Bouyei as well.
There are no palatalized consonants in Qiubei Zhuang. /pj/ in standard Zhuang is /p/, as in /pja1/ "fish", pjak7 "vegetable" is /pa/1, /pak/7. /mj/ is m or nï¼Âfor example mjaÃÂk3 "slippery", mjaÃÂi2 "saliva" as /ma6/, /naÃÂi2/. /kj/ is merged into k or tï¼Âfor example kjaÃÂà Â1 "middle", kja4(orphan) is /kaÃÂà Â3/, /tsa4/. The consonant k before i, e is changed to ts, for instance ki3 "several", kiÃÂà Â2 (triangular cooker), ke5 "old" as /tÃÂi1/, /tÃÂiÃÂà Â2/, /tÃÂes/.