Pela

BXD

shifting

Alternate Names: Bela, Bola, Bula, Pala, Polo

Dialects: Reportedly similar to Zaiwa ,. Considered by some a Zaiwa dialect.

Status Notes: Language of recognized nationality: Jingpo.

Genealogy:

Sino-Tibetan
Tibeto-Burman
Ngwi-Burmese
Burmish
Northern

Demographics: 400 (2000 D. Bradley). Ethnic population: 1,000 (2001 J. Edmondson).

Language Use: Home. Used by half the children. Neutral attitudes. All are multilingual, speaking other languages from within the cluster natively, as well as some Chinese and a local Tai language (Bradley 2007).

Typology: SOV; only voiceless affricates and stops; no consonant clusters; palatalized and nonpalatalized series of labials and velars; nasal and stop codas; tense-lax and nasal unnasalized vowels; Chinese, Jingpo, Dai, and Burmese loans; tonal, 4 tones, tone sandhi.

Nation of Origin: China

Other Comments: Live among the Jingpo majority and wear Jingpo clothing. They regard themselves as different from Zaiwa and Jingpo and have different traditions. Traditional religion.