En (

autonym Autonym may refer to: * Autonym, the name used by a person to refer to themselves or their language; see Exonym and endonym * Autonym (botany), an automatically created infrageneric or infraspecific name See also * Nominotypical subspecies, in zo ...

: '; also known as Nùng Vên) is a

Kra language The Kra languages (also known as the Geyang 仡央 or Kadai languages) are a branch of the Kra–Dai language family spoken in southern China (Guizhou, Guangxi, Yunnan) and in northern Vietnam ( Hà Giang Province). Names The name ''Kra'' com ...

spoken in Vietnam. Before its discovery in 1998, En language was undistinguished from Nùng, which is a Central

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 Sia ...

closely related to Zhuang. In the late 1990s, Vietnamese linguist Hoàng Văn Ma had first recognized that it was not a Tai language, ultimately leading to field work distinguishing En as a separate language. Researchers have determined En to be one of the

Buyang language Buyang () is a Kra language spoken in Guangnan and Funing counties, Yunnan Province, China by the Buyang people. It is important to the reconstruction of the hypothetical macrofamily Austro-Tai as it retains the disyllabic roots characteristic ...

s. The speakers of En live in northern Vietnam near the border with

Jingxi County Jingxi (, Zhuang: Cingsae Si) is a county-level city of western Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of Baise City. Administrative divisions There are 8 towns and 11 townships in the district: Towns: *Xinjing (新靖镇), Huadong (化 ...

Guangxi Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...

. In 1998, En speakers were found 12 km to the east of Hà Quảng city in Nội Thôn village,

Hà Quảng District Hà Quảng is a rural district of Cao Bằng province Cao or CAO may refer to: Mythology *Cao (bull), a legendary bull in Meitei mythology Companies or organizations *Air China Cargo, ICAO airline designator CAO *CA Oradea, Romanian footbal ...

Cao Bằng Province Cao or CAO may refer to: Mythology *Cao (bull), a legendary bull in Meitei mythology Companies or organizations *Air China Cargo, ICAO airline designator CAO *CA Oradea, Romanian football club *CA Osasuna, Spanish football club *Canadian Associ ...

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En has 6 tones:Li Jinfang ��锦芳 2006. Studies on endangered languages in the Southwest China ��南地区濒危语言调查研究 Beijing: Minzu University. page 90. (/54, 243, 332, 33, 212, 32/).

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References

Further reading