Tai Yo ( th, ไทญ้อ), also known as Tai Mène and Nyaw, is a

Tai language The Tai or Zhuang–Tai languages ( th, ภาษาไท or , transliteration: or ) are a branch of the Kra–Dai language family. The Tai languages include the most widely spoken of the Tai–Kadai languages, including Standard Thai or S ...

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

. It is closely related to Tai Pao of

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, where it may have originated. It was once written in a unique script, the Tai Yo script, but that is no longer in use. The language is known regionally in Laos and

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

as ''Tai Mène'' and ''Tai Nyaw'' and, in

as ''Tai Do'' (old-fashioned English transcription) and ''Tai Quy Chau''. Superficially, Tai Yo appears to be a Southwestern Tai language but this is only because of centuries of language contact and it is properly classified with the

Northern Tai languages The Northern Tai languages are an established branch of the Tai languages of Southeast Asia. They include the northern Zhuang languages and Bouyei of China, Tai Mène of Laos and Yoy of Thailand. Languages Ethnologue ''Ethnologue'' distingui ...

. The ''Nyaw''/''Nyo'' spoken in central

and western

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

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 Tai Pao (''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, Nghệ An province, Vietnam (Chamberlain 1991). Tai Mène or related languages may have also been spoken in Thường Xuân District, 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 languages Liha, Phong,

Toum Salsat toum or toumya (Arabic pronunciation of 'garlic') is a garlic sauce common to the Levant. Similar to the Provençal aioli, there are many variations, a common one containing garlic, salt, olive oil or vegetable oil, and lemon juice, tra ...

, Ayoy, Maleng, 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