Horpa is one of several closely related Rgyalrongic languages of China. Horpa is better understood as a cluster of closely related yet unintelligible dialect groups/languages closely related to Horpa Shangzhai or Stodsde skad. The term Stodsde skad is a Tibetan name meaning "language of the upper village".
Names
Ethnologue lists alternate names and dialect names for Horpa as Stau, Daofuhua, Bawang, Bopa, Danba, Dawu, Geshitsa, Geshiza, Geshizahua, Hor, Huo’er, Hórsók, Nyagrong-Minyag, Pawang, Rgu, Western Gyarong, Western Jiarong, Xinlong-Muya, and rTa’u.
Horpa is spoken primarily in western Sichuan province, China, including in Dasang District, Danba County of Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan. There are about 50,000 Horpa speakers in the northwestern Sichuan. It is also spoken in nearby Dawu County, where it is called 'Stau', pronounced .Ergong is a non-tonal language.
Varieties
Varieties of Horpa include Shangzhai Horpa and Gexi Horpa. Jackson Sun lists the following five varieties of Horpa.
Central Horpa is widely spoken in Rta’u County and Rongbrag County, Dkarmdzes Prefecture, as well as a few villages in western Chuchen County, Rngaba Prefecture. It consists of 3 dialects.
*Rta’u
*Dgebshesrtsa
*Upper Stongdgu
Northern Horpa is spoken in southern Dzamthang County, Rngaba Prefecture. It is the most conservative Horpa variety, and preserves many archaic morphological features. There are 3 mutually intelligible dialects. For this lect, Ethnologue lists the name sTodsde. According to Ethnologue, sTodsde is spoken in Shangzhai district, southern Rangtang County, where it is spoken in the townships of Puxi, Shili, and Zongke townships, and around the Duke and Zhongke rivers' confluence. There are 4,100 speakers as of 2004. Dialects are Dayili, Zongke, and Puxi. Phonologically, the Northern and Western dialects are similar to each other, while the Eastern dialect is divergent. Additionally, Gates considers Erkai to be a "Western rGyalrongic" language. Jackson Sun classifies Erkai as a variety of sTodsde.
*Phosul
*Yunasche
*Sili-Rtsangkhog
Western Horpa is a tonal language scattered throughout several small areas of central and southern Nyagrong County, Dkarmdzes Prefecture. Although speakers refer to themselves as Minyag, Western Horpa is not the same language as the Minyag or Muya language. There are 3 dialects that are significantly different from each other. The Nyagrong Minyag language has also been documented by Van Way.
*rGyarwagshis
*Yangslagshis
*Bangsmad
Northwestern Horpa, an endangered Horpa variety, is spoken in southern Brag’go County and adjacent areas of Rta’u County. There is heavy Tibetan influence and minor internal diversity. It is non-tonal.
Eastern Horpa is a divergent Horpa variety spoken in Dpa’bo and Nyindkar townships, eastern Rongbrag County.
Vocabulary
The following comparative table of Horpa diagnostic vocabulary items is from Sun. The Central Horpa data is from Niwan Village, Dgebshes Township, Rta’u County, Sichuan. The Rgyalrongic languages Khroskyabs and Rgyalrong are also provided for comparison, since Horpa is one of the Rgyalrongic languages. Cognates are highlighted in bold.
Gloss
Central Horpa
Northern Horpa
Western Horpa
Eastern Horpa
Northwestern Horpa
Khroskyabs
Rgyalrong
sun
ɣbə
ʁɟə̀
ɣbə̀
ʁʷbə
ɣbə
ɣnəʔ ~ ʁbjə
tɐ́-ŋɐ
water
ɣrə
grə̀
ɣrə̀
wrə
ɣrə
ɣdə
tə-ciʔ
person
vdzi
vdzì
vdzì
vdzi-sme
vdzi
vɟoʔ
kə-rnbjoʔ
mouth
jɑ
ɣmú
ɬó
ʁmo
ja
qʰo
tə-ɣmor
heart
zjar
zɟwàʶ
jzò-rdá
zdzʌr
zʒar
sjar
tə-sni
liver
sʰi
sʰə̀
sʰə̀
sʰi
si
fseʔ
tə-mtsʰi
meat
bjoŋnoŋ
bdʒànó
ntʰú
mdʒʌno
pcene
tʰəmʔ
ʃe
horse
rɣi
rì
rjí
rji
rji
breʔ
ⁿbri
chicken
ɣra
χsó-vjá
?
wə-rja
ɣə́-ra
pa-kuʔ
pɣe
yellow
rȵə-rȵə
ʁrɲə̀ʶ
rȵə̀-rȵə́
rɲə
rɲə
ʁrɲəɣ
kə-qɐ-rŋɛʔ
bitter
sȵa-sȵa
sɲáʶ
sɲà
sɲæ
sɲa
tʃʰaχ
kə-qjev
eat
ⁿgə
dzə́
dzə́
dzi
ⁿgə ~ tsə
dzeʔ
ⁿdze
ill
ŋo
ŋò
ŋú
ŋwa
ŋo
ⁿge
nⁿgiʔ
sleep
rgə
ⁿjáp ~ rgə́
rgə́
rgə
rgə
jəv
rⁿgu
one
ro
réɣ
ré
raw
rəɣ
rʌɣ
cet
ten
zʁa
zʁàʶ
zʁò
zʁa
zʁa
sɣə
sqeʔ
Jacques, et al. list the following words as lexical innovations shared by Stau and Khroskyabs, but not by the CorerGyalrong languages.
Shangzhai Horpa is a dialect of the Horpa language noted by a single consistently non-syllabic causative prefix "s-", which exerts pressure on the already elaborate onset system and triggers multiple phonological adjustments. Gexi Horpa language not only has split verbal agreement system like rGyalrong but also has a hybrid system involving a more intricate interplay of functional and syntactic factors. The verbs in the rGylarongic family are marked for person and agreement, and Horpa language also has subtype of hierarchical agreement. Stau is another name for the Horpa language. As a dialect of rGyalrong language, the Stau language follows some traits of the Tibetan language . As a Qiangic language, Horpa has unique verb inflection and morphology such as the strategy of inverting the aspiration feature in the formation of the past and progressive stem.
Examples
Verb agreement The Horpa verb agrees with its subject. For example, zbəcʰa-i , means ‘you beat’, and zbəcʰa-u , means, 'I beat’.
