Nuosu (or
Nosu) (
Nuosu: Pronunciation:
Nuosuhxop), also known as
Northern Yi,
Liangshan Yi, and
Sichuan Yi, is the
prestige language of the
Yi people; it has been chosen by the Chinese government as the standard Yi language (in Mandarin:
Yí yǔ, 彝語/彝语) and, as such, is the only one taught in schools, both in its oral and written forms. It is spoken by two million people and is increasing; 60% are monolingual. Nuosu is the native Nuosu/Yi name for their own language and is not used in
Mandarin Chinese; although it may sometimes be spelled out for pronunciation (
nuòsū yǔ 诺苏语/諾蘇語), the Chinese characters for
nuòsū have no meaning.