Baima language

Baima
Region	Sichuan, China
Ethnicity	14,000 Baima people (2007)
Native speakers	10,000 (2007)
Language family	Sino-Tibetan Tibetic ? Qiangic ? Baima
Language codes
ISO 639-3	bqh
Glottolog	baim1244

Baima is a language spoken by 10,000 Baima people, of Tibetan nationality, in north central Sichuan Province, China. It has vigorous use amongst adult speakers.

Baima is spoken in:

• Pingwu County, Mianyang, Sichuan
• Baimaguhe 白马谷河, Wen County 文县, Gansu
• Wujiao 物角村, Jiuzhaigou County 九寨沟县, Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan

Baima uses subject–object–verb (SOV) word order, initial consonant word clusters and is tonal. It is unclassified within Sino-Tibetan; there are multiple layers of borrowings from Amdo, Khams, and Zhongu Tibetan, as well as lexical and grammatical connections with Qiangic languages. Basic vocabulary is about 85% Tibetic and 15% Qiangic, and the Tibetic words do not link to any established group of Tibetic languages. Chirkova (2008) suggests that the Qiangic vocabulary "might be a retention from the language originally spoken by the Báimǎ before their shift to a form of Tibetic in the 7th century." She accepts Baima as Tibetan, but as an isolate within the Tibetic languages.