Thavưng or Aheu is a language spoken by the Phon Sung people in

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

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 ...

. There are thought to be some 1,770 speakers in Laos, largely concentrated in Khamkeut District. A further 750 speakers live in 3 villages of Song Dao District, Sakon Nakhon Province, Thailand, namely Ban Nong Waeng (in Pathum Wapi Subdistrict), Ban Nong Charoen, and Ban Nong Muang.Suwilai Premsrirat (1996)
Phonological characteristics of So (Thavung), a Vietic language of Thailand
Retrieved 22. Nov. 2017. Thavung makes a four-way distinction between clear and breathy phonation combined with glottalized final consonants. This is very similar to the situation in the

Pearic languages The Pearic languages (alternatively called the Chongic languages) are a group of endangered languages of the Eastern Mon–Khmer branch of the Austroasiatic language family, spoken by Pear people (the ''Por'', the ''Samré'', the ''Samray'', th ...

in which, however, the glottalization is in the vowel.Sidwell, Paul
Vietic languages
Mon-Khmer Languages Project.

Phonology

Vowels

The vowels can also be long. In Thavung there are 3 Diphthongs: ia ɨa ua.

References

Languages of Laos Vietic languages Languages of Thailand {{AustroAsiatic-lang-stub

Phonology

Vowels

Further reading

References