Sui (Shui)

The Sui language (simplified Chinese: 水语; traditional Chinese: 水語; pinyin: Shuǐyǔ) is a Kam–Sui language spoken by the Sui people of Guizhou province in China. According to Ethnologue, it was spoken by around 300,000 people in 2007. Sui is also unique for its rich inventory of consonants, with the Sandong (三洞) dialect having as many as 70 consonants. The language also has its own script, known as "Shuishu" (水書) in Chinese, which is used for ritual purposes.

Some regionally atypical features of the Sui language include voiceless nasals (hm, hn), palatal stops, postvelar stops, prenasalized stops (mb, nd), and pre-glottalized stops and nasals (i.e. ʔb, ʔm).

Sui keel on tai-kadai keelkonna kami-sui rühma kuuluv keel, mida emakeelena räägivad suid Hiinas Guizhou provintsis.

Sui keelt räägib umbes 300 000 inimest.

Sui keel on toonikeel nagu teisedki kami-sui keeled. Sui keeles on 8 tooni, 7 vokaalfoneemi ja mõnedel andmetel kuni 70 konsonantfoneemi.

Sui keeles on kasutatud sui kirja, kuid seda kasutasid vaid šamaanid ja tavaelus seda ei kasutatud. Sui kiri on logograafiline, mõnede piktograafilise kirja elementidega, kirjamärke on umbes 500. Tänapäeval kasutatakse kirjas enamasti hiina keelt.