Kuy, also known as Kui, Suay or Kuay ( th, ภาษากูย; km, ភាសាកួយ), is a Katuic language, part of the larger Austroasiatic family spoken by the

Kuy people The Kuy ( km, កួយ, th, กูย) are an indigenous ethnic group of mainland Southeast Asia. The native lands of the Kuy range from the southern Khorat Plateau in northeast Thailand east to the banks of the Mekong River in southern Laos and ...

of Southeast Asia. Kuy is one of the

Katuic languages The fifteen Katuic languages form a branch of the Austroasiatic languages spoken by about 1.3 million people in Southeast Asia. People who speak Katuic languages are called the Katuic peoples. Paul Sidwell is the leading specialist on the Katuic ...

within the Austroasiatic family. It is spoken in

Isan Northeast Thailand or Isan ( Isan/ th, อีสาน, ; lo, ອີສານ; also written as Isaan, Isarn, Issarn, Issan, Esan, or Esarn; from Pali ''īsānna'' or Sanskrit ईशान्य ''īśānya'' "northeast") consists of 20 prov ...

, Thailand by about 300,000 people, in Salavan,

Savannakhet Savannakhet (ສະຫວັນນະເຂດ), officially named Kaysone Phomvihane ( lo, ໄກສອນ ພົມວິຫານ; th, ไกสอน พมวิหาน) since 2005 and previously known as ''Khanthaboury'' (ຄັນທະ ...

and Sekong Provinces of Laos by about 64,000; and in Preah Vihear, Stung Treng and Kampong Thom Provinces of northern Cambodia by 15,500 people.

Names

Spelling variants and varieties include the following (Sidwell 2005:11). *Kui *Kuy *Kuay *Koay *Souei. The term "Souei" is also applied to other groups, such as a Pearic community in

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 ...

. *Yeu *Nanhang *Kouy. A textbook in French is published for this variant
Parlons Kouy
.

Dialects

Van der haak & Woykos (1987-1988) identified two major Kui varieties in Surin and Sisaket provinces of eastern Thailand, Kuuy and Kuay. Van der haak & Woykos also identified the following ''divergent'' Kui varieties in Sisaket Province, Thailand. *Kui Nhə: Sisaket District (10 villages), Phraibung District (5 villages), Rasisalai District (4 villages). About 8,000 people. *Kui Nthaw (Kui M'ai): Rasisalai District (5 villages), Uthumphornphisai District (9 villages). All villages mixed with Lao/Isaan. *Kui Preu Yai: Prue Yai Subdistrict, Khukhan District. Mann & Markowski (2005) reported the following four Kuy dialects spoken in north-central

. *Ntua *Ntra: includes the subdialects of Auk and Wa *Mla: 567 speakers in the single village of Krala Peas, Choam Ksan District, Preah Vihear Province *"Thmei" A variety of Kui/Kuy called Nyeu (''ɲə'') is spoken in the villages of Ban Phon Kho, Ban Khamin, Ban Nonkat, Ban Phon Palat, and Ban Prasat Nyeu in Sisaket Province, Thailand. The Nyeu of Ban Phon Kho claim that their ancestors had migrated from Muang Khong, Amphoe Rasisalai, Sisaket Province. In Buriram Province, Kuy is spoken in the 4 districts of Nong Ki, Prakhon Chai, Lam Plai Mat, and Nong Hong (Sa-ing Sangmeen 1992:14). Within Nong Ki District, Kuy villages are located in the southern part of Yoei Prasat (เย้ยปราสาท) Subdistrict and in the western part of Mueang Phai (เมืองไผ่) Subdistrict (Sa-ing Sangmeen 1992:16).

Phonology

The following is the phonology of the Kui (Surin) language:

Consonants

Vowels

Vowel sounds may also be distinguished using breathy voice:

Locations

The following list of Kuy village locations in Sisaket Province is from Van der haak & Woykos (1987-1988:129). Asterisks (placed before village names) denote ethnically mixed villages, in which ethnic Kuy reside with ethnic Lao or Khmer.

Kui Nhə

* Mueang District เมือง **''Tambon Phonkho'' โพนค้อ: Phonkho โพนค้อ, Nong, Yanang, Klang, Non **''Tambon Thum'' ทุ่ม: Khamin * Phayu District พยุห์ **''Tambon Phayu'' พยุห์: *Nongthum **''Tambon Phromsawat'' พรหมสวัสดิ์: Samrong, Khothaw **''Tambon Nongphek'' โนนเพ็ก: *Khokphek โคกเพ็ก * Phraibung District ไพรบึง **''Tambon Prasatyae'' ปราสาทเยอ: Prasatyaenua ปราสาทเยอเหนือ, Prasatyaetai ปราสาทเยอใต้, Khawaw, Phonpalat, Cangun * Rasisalai District ราษีไศล **''Tambon Mueangkhong'' เมืองคง: Yai ใหญ่ * Sila Lat District ศิลาลาด **''Tambon Kung'' กุง: Kung กุง, Muangkaw เมืองเก่า, *Chok

Kui Nthaw/M'ai

All Kui Nthaw/M'ai live in mixed villages. * Rasisalai District ราษีไศล **''Tambon Nong Ing'' หนองอึ่ง: *Tongton, *Huai Yai ห้วยใหญ่, *Dnmuang, *Kokeow, *Hang * Uthumphornphisai District อุทุมพรพิสัย **''Tambon Khaem'' แขม: *Phanong, *Sangthong, *Sawai, *Nongphae, *Phae * Pho Si Suwan District โพธิ์ศรีสุวรรณ **''Tambon Naengma'' หนองม้า: *Nongma หนองม้า, *Songhong, *Songleng, *Nongphae

Kuay Prue Yai

* Khukhan District ขุขันธ์ **''Tambon Prueyai'' ปรือใหญ่: Preu Yai, Makham, Pruekhan, and village no.12

Notes

References

*Mann, N., & Markowski, L. (2004). ''A rapid appraisal survey of Kuy dialects spoken in Cambodia''. Chiang Mai: Dept. of Linguistics, Graduate School, Payap University. *Mann, N., & Markowski, L. (2005)
''A rapid appraisal survey of Kuy dialects spoken in Cambodia''
SIL International. *Sidwell, Paul. (2005).
The Katuic languages: classification, reconstruction and comparative lexicon
'. LINCOM studies in Asian linguistics, 58. Muenchen: Lincom Europa. {{Authority control Languages of Cambodia Languages of Laos Languages of Thailand Katuic languages Ethnic groups in Cambodia Ethnic groups in Laos Ethnic groups in Thailand