Tai Yo ( th, ไทญ้อ), also known as Tai Mène and Nyaw, is a Tai language of Southeast Asia. It is closely related to

Tai Pao Tai Pao, known in Vietnamese sources as Tai Hang Tong (''Hàng Tổng''), is a Tai language of Vietnam and Laos. In Laos, it is spoken in Khamkeut District, Pakkading District, and Viengthong District of Bolikhamxai Province. Two dialects of ...

of Vietnam, where it may have originated. It was once written in a unique script, the

Tai Yo script The Lai Tay script, ( vi, Chữ Thái Lai Tay), is a writing system used by the Tai Yo people of Quỳ Châu District, to write the Tai Yo language. Names The Lai Tay script means "the script of the Tai". It is also known by various other names ...

, but that is no longer in use. The language is known regionally in

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

and Thailand as ''Tai Mène'' and ''Tai Nyaw'' and, in Vietnam as ''Tai Do'' (old-fashioned English transcription) and ''Tai Quy Chau''. Superficially, Tai Yo appears to be a

Southwestern Tai language The Southwestern Tai, Southwestern Thai or Thai languages are a branch of the Tai languages of Southeast Asia. Its dialects include Siamese (Central Thai), Lanna, Lao, Shan and others. Classification The internal classification of the Southwe ...

but this is only because of centuries of

language contact Language contact occurs when speakers of two or more languages or varieties interact and influence each other. The study of language contact is called contact linguistics. When speakers of different languages interact closely, it is typical for th ...

and it is properly classified with the Northern Tai languages. The ''Nyaw''/''Nyo'' spoken in central Thailand and western Cambodia is not the same as Tai Yo.Thananan (2014)

Tai Mène (Tai Maen)

The Mène people of Laos claim to be from Xieng Mène (also Xieng My) in Vietnam. These two names correspond to the following two towns in Nghệ An Province, Vietnam, located near Quỳ Châu (Chamberlain 1998). *Xiềng Líp: located at the Nam Lip and Nam Chou (Houay Cha Ha) confluence, near the Cha Ha and Nam Ngoen (Ngân) confluence (which converge to form the Nam Souang or Houay Nguyên). *Bản Pốt: located further east on the Nam Ngân. Tai Mène appears to be related to

(''paaw 4'' < *''baaw A''),See Proto-Tai language#Tones for an explanation of the tone codes. whose speakers claim to have originated from

Tương Dương District ''Tương'' (, Chữ Hán: 醬) is the name applied to a variety of condiments, a kind of fermented bean paste made from soybean and commonly used in Vietnamese cuisine. Originally, the term ''tương'' refers to a salty paste made from fermented ...

, Nghệ An province, Vietnam (Chamberlain 1991). Tai Mène or related languages may have also been spoken in

Thường Xuân District Chang () is the pinyin romanization of the Chinese surname (''Cháng''). It was listed 80th among the Song-era ''Hundred Family Surnames''. "Chang" is also the Wade-Giles romanization of two Chinese surnames written Zhang in pinyin: one extrem ...

, Thanh Hóa, Vietnam by the Yo (Do) people (Robequain 1929).

Distribution

Tai Mène is spoken in Borikhamxay Province, in many villages of Khamkeut District and several villages in Vieng Thong District (Chamberlain 1998). The

Vietic The Vietic languages are a branch of the Austroasiatic language family, spoken by the Vietic peoples in Laos and Vietnam. The branch was once referred to by the terms ''Việt–Mường'', ''Annamese–Muong'', and ''Vietnamuong''; the term '' ...

languages Liha, Phong, Toum, Ayoy,

Maleng Maleng, also known as Pakatan and Bo, is a Vietic language of Laos and Vietnam. Maleng has the four-way register Register or registration may refer to: Arts entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or rang ...

, and Thaveung are spoken nearby. *Lak Xao subdistrict: Ban Phon Hong, Ban Houay Keo *Khamkeut subdistrict: Ban Phon Sa-at, Ban Phon Meuang Noy *Na Heuang subdistrict: Lak 10, Lak 12, Na Khi *Nam Sak subdistrict: Ban Phon Ngam, Ban Sop Khi *Sop Chat subdistrict: Ban Sop Chat, Ban Sop Mong, Ban Phon Keo, Ban Sène Sy, Ban Tham Bing, Ban Phiang Pone *Ka'ane subdistrict: Ban Thène Kwang, Ban Pha Poun, Ban Phiang Phô, Ban Sane, Ban Kok Feuang *Phon Thoen subdistrict: Keng Kwang, Ban Kătô', Ban Kane Nha, Ban Keng Bit, Ban Sop Gnouang, Ban Vang Xao, Ban Tha Bak, Ban Kăpap *Sop Pone subdistrict: Ban Sot, Ban Tha Sala, Ban Boung Kham *Tha Veng subdistrict: Ban Phon Xay, Ban Kong Phat, Ban Xam Toey, Ban Na Khwan, Ban Phou Viang

Notes

References

*Chamberlain, James R. 1983. ''The Tai Dialects of Khammouan Province: Their Diversity and Origins''. 16th International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Language and Linguistics, 16–18 September (Seattle, Washington, 1983) *Chamberlain, James R. 1991.
Mène: A Tai dialect originally spoken in Nghệ An (Nghệ Tinh), Vietnam -- preliminary linguistic observations and historical implications.
''Journal of the Siam Society'' 79(2):103-123. *Chamberlain, James R. 1998.
The Origin of the Sek: Implications for Tai and Vietnamese History
. ''Journal of the Siam Society'' 86.1 & 86.2: 27-48. *Finot, Louis. 1917. ''Recherches sur la Littérature Laotienne''. BEFEO 17.5. *Robequain, Charles. 1929. ''Le Thanh Hoá''. EFEO, Paris et Bruxelles. *Thananan, Trongdee. 2014.
The Lao-speaking Nyo in Banteay Meanchey Province of Cambodia
. In ''Research Findings in Southeast Asian Linguistics, a Festschrift in Honor of Professor Pranee Kullavanijaya''. ''Manusya'', Special Issue 20. Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University Press.

External links

"Preliminary Proposal to encode the Yo Lai Tay Script"
{{Tai-Kadai languages Tai languages Languages of Thailand Languages of Laos Languages of Vietnam

Tai Mène (Tai Maen)

Distribution

Notes

Further reading

References

External links