Mnong
Bunong, ឞូន៝ង
Native toVietnam and Cambodia
Regionthroughout Tây Nguyên region, especially in Đắk Lắk, Lâm Đồng, Đắk Nông and Bình Phước provinces; Mondulkiri in Cambodia
Native speakers
130,000 (2002–2008)[1]
Austroasiatic
Khmer
Latin (Vietnamese alphabet)
Language codes
ISO 639-3Variously:
cmo – Central Mnong
mng – Eastern Mnong
mnn – Southern Mnong
rka – Kraol
Glottologmnon1259
ELPCentral Mnong
 Kraol[2]

The Mnong language (also known as Pnong or Bunong) (Bunong: ឞូន៝ង) belongs to the Austro-Asiatic language family. It is spoken by the different groups of Mnong in Vietnam and a Pnong group in Cambodia.

Distribution

In Vietnam, Mnong is spoken in the districts of Đăk Song, Đăk Mil, Đăk R'Lấp, Krông Nô, Gia Nghĩa, and other nearby locations in Đắk Nông Province (Nguyễn & Trương 2009).

Varieties

According to Ethnologue, four major dialects exist: Central, Eastern and Southern Mnong (all spoken in Vietnam), and Kraol (spoken in Cambodia). Within a dialect group, members do not understand other dialects. The Mnong language was studied first by the linguist Richard Phillips in the early 1970s.[3][4]

Lê, et al. (2014:234-235)[5] lists the following subgroups of Mnong and their respective locations.

Other minor Mnong ethnic groups include the Mnông Rơ Đe, Mnông R’Ông, and Mnông K’Ziêng.

Nguyễn & Trương (2009) cover the following M'Nông dialects.

Phonology

Consonants

Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive voiceless p t c k ʔ
aspirated pʰ tʰ cʰ kʰ
prenasal ᵐp ⁿt ᶮc ᵑk
implosive ɓ ɗ (ʄ) (ɠ)
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Fricative ç h
Rhotic r
Approximant plain w l j
preglottal ʔw ʔj

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i iː ɨ ɨː u uː
Mid e eː ə əː o oː
Open ɛ ɛː a aː ɔ ɔː

Numerals

The following comparative numerals from various Mnong dialects are from Nguyễn & Trương (2009).

Gloss Preh Bu Noong Bu Nâr Prâng R'Lăm Mạ Kuênh
1 du, ngoay, hŏ muay waay dul ju, ƀơn, muei dul đu
2 bar bar ra'r baar bar bar par
3 pê pê per păi pei pê
4 puăn puăn waam puô puan, puôn puôn
5 prăm prăm t'rơ̆m, năm prăm, năm prăm, pram jorăm, sơ năm snăm
6 prau pro
7 poh poh pops pŏh poh poh pêh
8 pham pham
9 dŭm, sĭn sĭn chĭnh sin sư̆n, sĭn sin
10 jât jât dư joơt măt jơt

References

  1. ^ Central Mnong at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Eastern Mnong at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Southern Mnong at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Kraol at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Endangered Languages Project data for Kraol.
  3. ^ Harry Leonard Shorto; Jeremy Hugh Chauncy; Shane Davidson (1991). Austroasiatic Languages. Routledge. ISBN 0-7286-0183-4.
  4. ^ "Language Family Trees". ethnologue.com. Retrieved 2008-01-07.
  5. ^ Lê Bá Thảo, Hoàng Ma, et al.; Viện hàn lâm khoa học xã hội Việt Nam - Viện dân tộc học. 2014. Các dân tộc ít người ở Việt Nam: các tỉnh phía nam. Hà Nội: Nhà xuất bản khoa học xã hội. ISBN 978-604-90-2436-8
  6. ^ Butler, Becky (2015). Bunong. In Paul Sidwell and Mathias Jenny (eds.), The Handbook of Austroasiatic Languages: Leiden: Brill. pp. 719–745.

Further reading

  • Blood, Henry Florentine. A Reconstruction of Proto-Mnong. Waxhaw, N.C.: Wycliffe-JAARS Print Shop, 1968.
  • Nguyễn Kiên Trường & Trương Anh. 2009. Từ Điển Việt - M'Nông. Hà Nội: Nhà Xuất Bản Từ Điển Bách Khoa.

External links

Languages of Cambodia
Austroasiatic languages
Category