Names
Alternative names for Kri include Karii, K i-Phoong, Kha Phoong, Coi, and Salang.Distribution
Kri speakers live in the Upper Ñrong (Nam Noy) valley of Khammouane Province,Background
The Kri call themselves ''mleeng Kri'', and their language ''meengq Kri''. They are swidden cultivators who move every 2–3 years among pre-existing village sites (Chamberlain 1998).Chamberlain, J.R. 1998,Phonology
Consonants
The consonants in Kri are:Finals
These are the consonants that may come at the end of a syllable in Kri: Do note that they are all contrastive, and that vowels, nasal consonants, and oral consonants may have checked endings. The Oral endings also may become voiceless.Vowels
Short vowels
Morphology
Kri has a few morphological features, less than Khmu but more than Vietnamese.Causative Infix
The -a- infix may be inserted into words with two initial consonants, between them. This infix turns intransitive verb into a transitive verb, adding an agent. It can also turn a noun into a verb. Here are some examples: *''praang'' - to cross over *''paraang'' - to take someone across *''slôôj'' - to be washed away by running water *''salôôj'' - to discard into flowing water, to let something be washed away *''kleeh'' - to fall off *''kaleeh'' - to pick off *''blang'' - of the eyes, to become open (like a young dog's) *''balang'' - to open one's eyes *''ckaang'' - a hand span *''cakaang'' - to measure something by hand spansNominalising Infix
The -rn- infix is placed after a single initial consonant. This infix makes a noun from a verb: *''sat'' - to get one's foot stuck *''srnat'' - a foothold *''koq'' - to live *''krnoq'' - a house This shortens to -r- when between consonants: *''kadôôlq'' - to rest the head on something *''krdôôlq'' - a pillowVerbal Morphology
There are three forms of negation: ''dêêh, laa,'' and ''cùù''. There have distinct syntactic behavior. ''Cùù'' occurs before the subject (e.g. sentence initially). Both ''dêêh'' and ''laa'' can occur before the verb (after the subject). ''Dêêh'' is distinct from ''laa'' in that ''dêêh'' can occur in responsive ellipsis environments (i.e. as a stand alone word after a questions). There are a variety of TAM markers (which supply information about the tense, aspect, or mood) of predicates.Syntax
The basic word order of Kri is SVO, although argument ellipsis and fronting of constituents is common. Further, there is no case marking or cross-referencing agreement.Verbal Domain
Serial verb constructions have an explicit marker of subordination (''kùù'').Nominal Domain
Kri pronouns displays sensitivity to the three grammatical numbers in Kri (singular, dual and plural), as well inclusive/exclusive distinction, and (for the singular) a polite/bare distinctions. A gender distinction is made only in the third person polite forms. Polite forms are used when there is appropriate social distance (e.g. by age or kinship).Classifiers
The classifier ''longq'' can be (but need not be) used to express possession. There are also numeral classifier constructions. These can be ordered Number-Classifier-Noun or Noun-Number-Classifier.References
Further reading
*External links
*http://sealsxxii.vjf.cnrs.fr/Documents/Abstract-Enfield.pdf {{Austro-Asiatic languages Severely endangered languages Vietic languages