Khmu[kʰmuʔ] is the language of theKhmu people of the northernLaos region. It is also spoken in adjacent areas ofVietnam,Thailand andChina. Khmu lends its name to theKhmuic branch of theAustroasiatic language family, the latter of which also includesKhmer andVietnamese. Within Austroasiatic, Khmu is often cited as being most closely related to thePalaungic andKhasic languages.[5] The name "Khmu" can also be seenromanized as Kmhmu, Khmu', Kammu, or Khamuk in various publications or alternatively referred to by the name of a local dialect.
Khmu has several dialects but no standard variety. Dialects differ primarily in consonant inventory, existence ofregister, and the degree to which the language has been influenced by the surroundingnational language(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 andEastern Khmu.
Western Khmu 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 asKhmu Rook,tonogenesis is evident as the register contrast has developed into a system of two phonetic tones with six phonemic realizations.[6]
Eastern Khmu dialects show the opposite tendency. Completely lacking either register or tone distinction, these dialects utilize a three-way distinction ofstops (voiced, voiceless and aspirated voiceless) andnasals (voiced, voiceless, and pre-glottalized) in the syllable-initial position for phonemic contrast.[7]
Suwilai Premsrirat (2002)[8] reports the following locations and dialects of Kmhmu' in Laos, Vietnam, China, and Thailand.
Laos: 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 includeKmhmu' Rook,Khmu Lw, andKmhmu' Cwaq (also known asKmhmu' Uu).
China: Pung Soa village (more conservative with voicing contrasts in the initial consonants) and Om Kae village (has tonal contrasts) inSipsongpanna,Yunnan
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 surroundingTai languages.[9]
The vowels of the Khmu' language show little variation across the dialects with all varieties having 19 monophthongs and three diphthongs (/iə/,/ɨə/ and/uə/).[6]
^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.
^abSUWILAI Premsrirat, author. 2001. "Tonogenesis in Khmu dialects of SEA."Mon-Khmer Studies 31: 47–56.
^Premsrirat, Suwilai. 2002.Dictionary of Khmu in Laos.Mon-Khmer Studies, Special Publication, Number 1, Volume 3. Salaya, Thailand: Mahidol University.
^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.ISBN9740501125
Premsirat, Suwilai (1991)."Aspects Inter-Clausal Relations in Khmu". In Davidson, Jeremy H. C. S.; Shorto, H. L. (eds.).Austroasiatic Languages: Essays in Honour of H.L. Shorto. University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies. pp. 123–140.ISBN0728601834. Retrieved9 June 2014.
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.ISBN9740501125
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.ISBN0-85883-365-4
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.ISBN91-40-04870-5
