Bru language

Bru
Bruu
Native toLaos, Vietnam, Thailand
EthnicityBru, Katang
Native speakers
(300,000 cited 1991–2006)
Latin, Lao, Thai
Language codes
ISO 639-3Variously:
bru – Eastern Bru
brv – Western Bru
sss – Sô
xhv – Khua
ncq – Northern Katang
sct – Southern Katang
Glottologbrou1236

Bruu (also spelled Bru, B'ru, Baru, Brou) is a Mon–Khmer dialect continuum spoken by the Bru people of mainland Southeast Asia. Sô and Khua are dialects.

Names

There are various local and dialect designations for Bru (Sidwell 2005:11).

Distribution

The distribution of the Bru language spreads north and northeast from Salavan, Laos, through Savannakhet, Khammouane, and Bolikhamsai, and over into neighboring Thailand and Vietnam (Sidwell 2005:11). In Vietnam, Brâu (Braò) is spoken in Đắk Mế, Bờ Y commune, Đắk Tô District, Kon Tum Province.

Dialects

Thailand has the following Western Bru dialects (Choo, et al. 2012).

The following Bru subgroups are found in Quảng Bình Province (Phan 1998).

Below is a comparative vocabulary of Vân Kiêu, Măng Coong, Tri, and Khùa from Phan (1998:479-480), with words transcribed in Vietnamese orthography.

GlossVân KiêuMăng CoongTriKhùaVietnamese
onemuimuôimột
twobarhai
threepeiba
fourponbốn
fiveshăngt'shăngnăm
hairsoktóc
eyematmắt
noselyumumũi
skyplanggiangtrời
groundkutekatekk'tekđất
waterdơdonước
fishsiacá
birdchamchim
water buffalotricktrâu
cattlentrotrobò

Phonology

Consonants

The consonant sounds in both East and West dialects consist of the following:

Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive/
Affricate		 voiceless p t tɕ k ʔ
aspirated pʰ tʰ kʰ
voiced b d
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Liquid rhotic r
lateral l
Fricative w s h
Approximant j
Final consonants
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive p t k ʔ
Nasal m n ŋ
Fricative h
Rhotic r
Approximant plain w l j
aspirated wʰ jʰ
glottalized wˀ jˀ

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i iː ɨ ɨː u uː
Close-mid e eː ə əː o oː
Open-mid ɛ ɛː ɜ ɜː ɔ ɔː
Open a aː ɒ̈ ɒ̈ː
Vowels in the Western Bru dialect
Front Central Back
Close i iː ɯ ɯː u uː
Close-mid e eː ɤ ɤː o oː
Open-mid ɛ ɛː ʌ ʌː ɔ ɔː
Open a aː ɒ̈ ɒ̈ː

Breathy vowels

Vowel sounds may also be distinguished using breathy voice:

Breathy vowels
Front Central Back
Close i̤ i̤ː ɨ̤ ɨ̤ː ṳ ṳː
Close-mid e̤ e̤ː ə̤ ə̤ː o̤ o̤ː
Open-mid ɛ̤ ɛ̤ː ɜ̤ ɜ̤ː ɔ̤ ɔ̤ː
Open a̤ a̤ː ɒ̤̈ ɒ̤̈ː
Breathy vowels in the Western Bru dialect
Front Central Back
Close i̤ i̤ː ɯ̤ ɯ̤ː ṳ ṳː
Close-mid e̤ e̤ː ɤ̤ ɤ̤ː o̤ o̤ː
Open-mid ɛ̤ ɛ̤ː ʌ̤ ʌ̤ː ɔ̤ ɔ̤ː
Open a̤ a̤ː ɒ̤̈ ɒ̤̈ː

Nasal vowels

Nasal vowel sounds may occur in the Western Bru dialect:

Nasal vowels in the Western Bru dialect
Front Central Back
Close ĩː ɯ̃ ũ ũː
Open-mid ɛ̃ ɛ̃ː ʌ̃ː ɔ̃ ɔ̃ː
Open ã ãː ɒ̈̃ ɒ̈̃ː

References

  1. ↑ Eastern Bru at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Western Bru at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Sô at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Khua at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Northern Katang at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Southern Katang at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ↑ "Mon-Khmer Classification (Draft)".
  3. ↑ 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. Ha Noi: Nhà xuất bản khoa học xã hội. ISBN 978-604-90-2436-8
  4. ↑ Engelkemier, Jennifer M. (2010). Aspects of Bru Khok Sa-at grammar based on narrative texts (PDF) (M.A. thesis). Payap University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-11-17. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  5. 1 2 Phan Hữu Dật. 1998. "Về tên gọi các tộc người nói ngôn ngữ Môn-Miên ở miền tây tỉnh Quảng Bình." In Một số vấn đề về dân tộc học Việt Nam, p.476-482. Hà Nội: Nhà xuất bản Đại Học Quốc Gia Hà Nội.
  6. ↑ Miller, Carolyn P. (2017). Eastern Bru Grammar Sketch. SIL Language and Culture Archives.
  7. ↑ Thongkum, Theraphan L. (1980). "The distribution of the sounds of Bruu". Mon-Khmer Studies. 8: 221–293.

Further reading