Luoji language

Luoji (autonym: luo31 dʑi33)^[1] is a moribund Loloish language of Weining County, Guizhou, China that is spoken by the Qixingmin people. There are a few semi-fluent elderly speakers in Shejie Village 蛇街村, Yangjie Town 羊街镇, Weining County, with no fluent speakers remaining.^[1][2]

The Qixingmin speak a language closely related to the local Yi language, which is intermediate between the Western and Eastern Yi dialects of Weining County (Weining 1997:328).^[3] Some vocabulary items differ, such as the word for 'chili pepper' (Chinese: 辣椒), which is "zi 自" in the Western Yi dialect, "shapo 傻迫" in the Eastern Yi dialect, and "boji 薄几" in Qixingmin.^[3]

However, the Qixingmin claim that they are distinct from the Yi, and that their ancestors spoke a non-Yi language that had become extinct centuries ago.^[1]

Qixingmin is geographically located between the Western Yi and Eastern Yi areas. These languages are spoken in:^[3]

• Qixingmin ("Qixingmin Liangzi" 七姓民梁子): Xiangshui 响水, Jinhai 金海, Sandaohe 三道河, Shejie 蛇街, Yangjie 羊街, and Yanjia 严家
• Western Yi: Guanfenghai 观风海, Niupeng 牛棚, Dajie 大街, and Longjie 龙街
• Eastern Yi: Yancang 盐仓, Jinzhong 金钟, and Ertang 二塘