1. Introduction

Rgyalrong is a group of four languages spoken in Sìchuān province, People's Republic of China. These languages, along with Lavrung and Horpa/Rtau, belong to the Rgyalrongic branch of the Sino-Tibetan family (Sun 2000); they are likely to be closely related to other languages such as Pumi, Muya, Tangut, Queyu and Qiang within a larger Qiangic branch. The four Rgyalrong languages are known by various names, as some sch…