Hongshui He Zhuang (Baima dialect)

Zhuang (ISO 639-3, zha) is a group of languages belonging to the Tai language family (Diller, Edmondson & Luo 2008: 7), spoken by the Zhuang people, who form the largest minority group in China with a population of approximately 17 million. 1 Most Zhuang speakers live in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, with over 14.4 million permanent residents. 2 It is estimated that more than 20 million people speak a variety of Zhuang (Wei, Qin & Wei 2009: 7), including some other ethnic minorities, such as the Yao and Maonan, who live in the same regions as the Zhuang. A small number of Zhuang speakers inhabit regions in provinces adjacent to Guangxi, like Wenshan (Yunnan province) and Lianshan, in the northwest of Guangdong province (see the map in Figure 1).