Mnong
Bunong, ឞូន៝ង
Native toVietnam, Cambodia and United States
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.

  • M'Nông Preh
  • Kuênh
  • Mạ
  • M'Nông Nâr (Bu Nâr)
  • M'Nông Noong (Bu Noong)
  • M'Nông R'Lâm
  • M'Nông Prâng

Phonology

Consonants

Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive voiceless p t c k ʔ
aspirated
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
  • Implosives /ʄ, ɠ/ may vary across dialects.[6]

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).

GlossPrehBu NoongBu NârPrângR'LămMạKuênh
1du, ngoay, hŏmuaywaaydulju, ƀơn, mueidulđu
2barbarra'rbaarbarbarpar
3perpăipei
4puănpuănwaampuôpuan, puônpuôn
5prămprămt'rơ̆m, nămprăm, nămprăm, pramjorăm, sơ nămsnăm
6praupro
7pohpohpopspŏhpohpohpêh
8phampham
9dŭm, sĭnsĭnchĭnhsinsư̆n, sĭnsin
10jâtjâtjoơtmătjơt

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.
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