Khmu is the language of the
Khmu people of the northern
Laos
Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
region. It is also spoken in adjacent areas of
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
,
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
and
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. Khmu lends its name to the
Khmuic branch of the
Austroasiatic language family, the latter of which also includes
Khmer and
Vietnamese. Within Austroasiatic, Khmu is often cited as being most closely related to the
Palaungic and
Khasic languages.
[Diffloth, Gérard (2005). "The contribution of linguistic palaeontology and Austroasiatic". in Laurent Sagart, Roger Blench and Alicia Sanchez-Mazas, eds. ''The Peopling of East Asia: Putting Together Archaeology, Linguistics and Genetics.'' 77–80. London: Routledge Curzon.] The name "Khmu" can also be seen
romanized
In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and transcription, ...
as Kmhmu, Khmu', Kammu, or Khamuk in various publications or alternatively referred to by the name of a local dialect.
Dialects
Khmu has several dialects but no standard variety. Dialects differ primarily in consonant inventory, existence of
register
Register or registration may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Music
* Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc.
* ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller
* Registration (organ), ...
, and the degree to which the language has been influenced by the surrounding
national language
'' ''
A national language is a language (or language variant, e.g. dialect) that has some connection— de facto or de jure—with a nation. The term is applied quite differently in various contexts. One or more languages spoken as first languag ...
(s). Dialects are, for the most part, mutually intelligible; however communication can be difficult between speakers of geographically distant dialects.
The dialects of Khmu can be broadly categorized into two groups, Western Khmu and Eastern Khmu.
*Western Kmhmu dialects have fewer consonant phonemes and instead use phonemic register contrast, as seen in other Austroasiatic languages, of "lax"
breathy register and "tense"
modal register. In at least one dialect of Western Khmu, known as ''Khmu Rook'',
tonogenesis
Tone is the use of pitch in language to distinguish lexical or grammatical meaning—that is, to distinguish or to inflect words. All oral languages use pitch to express emotional and other para-linguistic information and to convey emphasis ...
is evident as the register contrast has developed into a system of two phonetic tones with six phonemic realizations.
[SUWILAI Premsrirat, author. 2001. "Tonogenesis in Khmu dialects of SEA." '']Mon-Khmer Studies
''Mon-Khmer Studies'' was an academic journal that focused on Mon-Khmer languages. It was established in 1964 and ceased publication in 2016. From 1992 onwards, it was published by Mahidol University and SIL International
SIL Global (formerl ...
'' 31: 47–56.
*Eastern Khmu dialects show the opposite tendency. Completely lacking either register or tone distinction, these dialects utilize a three-way distinction of
stops (voiced, voiceless and aspirated voiceless) and
nasals (voiced, voiceless, and pre-glottalized) in the syllable-initial position for phonemic contrast.
[Suwilai, Premsrirat, et al. Mahidol University]
''Dictionary of Khmu in Laos''
Suwilai Premsrirat (2002)
Suwilai Premsrirat (2002)
[Premsrirat, Suwilai. 2002. ''Dictionary of Khmu in Laos''. '']Mon-Khmer Studies
''Mon-Khmer Studies'' was an academic journal that focused on Mon-Khmer languages. It was established in 1964 and ceased publication in 2016. From 1992 onwards, it was published by Mahidol University and SIL International
SIL Global (formerl ...
'', Special Publication, Number 1, Volume 3. Salaya, Thailand: Mahidol University. reports the following locations and dialects of Kmhmu' in Laos, Vietnam, China, and Thailand.
*
Laos
Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
: spoken in the 8 northern provinces of Luang Namtha, Udomsai, Bokeo, Sayaburi, Phongsali, Luang Prabang, and Xiaq kvaaq, with a few villages near Vientiane. Dialects include Kmhmu' Rook, Khmu Lw, and Kmhmu' Cwaq (also known as Kmhmu' Uu).
*
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
: Kim Hua, Sop Pot, Sop Caw and Pung Kamong Villages, Kim Da Subdistrict,
Tương Dương District,
Vinh
Vinh () is the capital of Nghệ An province and an economic and cultural center of North-Central Vietnam. A key point in the East–West economic corridor linking Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, the city is situated in the Southeast of ...
City,
Nghệ An Province. Also in
Lai Châu Province,
Sơn La Province
Sơn La is a province nestled in the Northwestern region of Vietnam.
In 2018, Sơn La ranked 31st among Vietnam's administrative units in terms of population, 40th in Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP), 49th in GRDP per capita, and 63rd in GR ...
, and
Thanh Hóa Province.
*
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
: Pung Soa village (more conservative with voicing contrasts in the initial consonants) and Om Kae village (has tonal contrasts) in
Sipsongpanna,
Yunnan
Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...
*
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
: many villages, including the representative datapoint of Huai Ian village,
Lai Ngao subdistrict,
Wiang Kaen district,
Chiang Rai province
Chiang Rai (, ; , ) is one of Thailand's seventy-six Provinces of Thailand, provinces that lies in Northern Thailand#Regional classification of northern Thailand, upper northern Thailand and is Thailand's northernmost province. It is bordered ...
(originally from Pak Bang district of Laos, where the language is called Khmu Khrong, meaning 'Mekong Khmu'). Also in
Nan province and
Lampang province.
Phonology
Consonants
The consonant inventory of Khmu' is shown in the table below. The phoneme /f/, present in dialects of both Eastern and Western Khmu', is a result of borrowings from the surrounding
Tai languages
The Tai, Zhuang–Tai, or Daic languages (Ahom language, Ahom: 𑜁𑜪𑜨 𑜄𑜩 or 𑜁𑜨𑜉𑜫 𑜄𑜩 ; ; or , ; , ) are a branch of the Kra–Dai languages, Kra–Dai language family. The Tai languages include the most widely spo ...
.
[Suwilai, Prēmsīrat. ''The Thesaurus and Dictionary Series of Khmu Dialects in Southeast Asia''. Nakorn Pathom: Institute of Language and Culture for Rural Development, Mahidol University at Salaya, Thailand, 2002. ]
# Only found in Eastern Khmu dialects.
# is a
voiceless labio-velar approximant
Vowels
The vowels of the Khmu' language show little variation across the dialects with all varieties having 19 monophthongs and three diphthongs (, and ).
Grammar
Pronouns
Syntax
Khmu uses mainly an SVO word order although an OVS order is also possible.
Vocabulary
Numeral
Comparison with Khmer
See also
*
Khmuic languages
*
Khmu people
*
List of Khmu plant common names
*
List of Khmu animal common names
References
Thomas Khammeung Manokoune (Tamong)
Further reading
*
* Prēmsīrat, Suwilai. ''The Thesaurus and Dictionary Series of Khmu Dialects in Southeast Asia''. Nakorn Pathom: Institute of Language and Culture for Rural Development, Mahidol University at Salaya, Thailand, 2002.
* Prēmsīrat, Suwilai. ''Khmu, a Minority Language of Thailand''. Papers in South-East Asian linguistics, no. 10. Canberra, A.C.T., Australia: Dept. of Linguistics, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University, 1987.
* Proschan, Frank. ''Kmhmu' Language and Language Policy: At Home and Abroad''. s.l: s.n, 1995.
* Proschan, Frank. ''Poetic Parallelism in Kmhmu Verbal Arts: From Texts to Performances''. s.l: s.n, 1988.
* Smalley, William Allen. ''Outline of Khmu structure''. American Oriental series. Essay, v.2. New Haven, Conn: American Oriental Society, 1961.
* Svantesson, Jan-Olof. ''Kammu Phonology and Morphology''. Travaux de l'Institut de linguistique de Lund, 18. Lund: CWK Gleerup, 1983.
External links
* http://projekt.ht.lu.se/rwaai RWAAI (Repository and Workspace for Austroasiatic Intangible Heritage)
*
http://hdl.handle.net/10050/00-0000-0000-0003-66EA-B@view Khmu in RWAAI Digital Archive
Database of audio recordings in Khmu – basic Catholic prayers
{{Austroasiatic languages
*
Languages of Laos