Nung language (Sino-Tibetan) explained

Anung
Also Known As:Anong, Nung
Pronunciation:pronounced as /ɑ˧˩ nuŋ˧˥/
States:China, Myanmar
Region:Fugong County
Ethnicity:(Southern) Anung of Nu nationality
Speakers:450
Date:2000–2007
Ref:e18
Speakers2:7,000 in China
Familycolor:Sino-Tibetan
Fam2:Nungish
Iso3:nun
Glotto:nung1282
Glottorefname:Nung (Myanmar)
Notice:IPA

Southern Anung (autonym: pronounced as /ɑ˧˩ nuŋ˧˥/; ; script=Latn|Fuche Naw) is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Nung people in Fugong County, China, and Kachin State, Myanmar. The Anung language is closely related to the Derung and Rawang languages. Most of the Anung speakers in China have shifted to Lisu, although the speakers are classified as Nu people. The Northern Anung people speak a dialect of Derung, which is also called Anung (pronounced as /[ə˧˩ nuŋ˥˧]/), but is not the same Anung discussed in this article.

The Burmese and Chinese dialects of Anung have 87% lexical similarity with each other.[1] Anung has 73-76% lexical similarity with Derung, and 77-83% lexical similarity with the Matwang dialect of Rawang.

Demographics

Besides China and Myanmar, there are Anong people in Thailand and India.

China

Anong is spoken by over 7,000 people in China in the following townships.[2]

Myanmar

The majority of Anong speakers in Myanmar are found in Kachin State, specifically Myitkyina, Putao, Naungmun, Machanbaw, Tannai, and Khaunglangphu. There are over 5000 Naw (Anong) people in Kachin State, Myanmar.

In Myitkyina and Putao, there are literacy and language trainings every year.

Some Naw people live in Shan State, but it is not clear whether they still use Anong or not. There are also many living in cities such as Yangon, Khamti, and Taunggyi. Naw people are still mixed with the Lisu population.

Phonology

Consonants

Nung has 43 single consonants.

LabialAlveolarRetroflexPalatalVelarGlottal
Nasalvoicelesspronounced as /m̥/pronounced as /n̥/pronounced as /ɳ̥/pronounced as /ɲ̥/pronounced as /ŋ̊/
voicedpronounced as /m/pronounced as /n/pronounced as /ɳ/pronounced as /ɲ/pronounced as /ŋ/
Plosiveaspiratedpronounced as /pʰ/pronounced as /tʰ/pronounced as /ʈʰ/pronounced as /kʰ/
tenuispronounced as /p/pronounced as /t/pronounced as /ʈ/pronounced as /k/pronounced as /ʔ/
voicedpronounced as /b/pronounced as /d/pronounced as /ɖ/pronounced as /ɡ/
Affricateaspiratedpronounced as /tsʰ/pronounced as /tʂʰ/pronounced as /tɕʰ/
tenuispronounced as /ts/pronounced as /tʂ/pronounced as /tɕ/
voicedpronounced as /dz/pronounced as /ɖʐ/pronounced as /dʑ/
Fricativevoicelesspronounced as /f/pronounced as /s/pronounced as /ʂ/pronounced as /ɕ/pronounced as /x/pronounced as /h/
voicedpronounced as /v/pronounced as /z/pronounced as /ʐ/pronounced as /ʑ/pronounced as /ɣ/
Lateralvoicelesspronounced as /l̥/
voicedpronounced as /l/pronounced as /ɭ/
Rhoticvoicedpronounced as /ɹ/

References

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2016 . Myanmar . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20161010180533/http://www.ethnologue.com/country/MM/languages . 2016-10-10 . Ethnologue: Languages of the World.
  2. Book: 孙宏开 . 刘光坤 . zh:阿侬语研究 . A Grammar of Anong . 民族出版社 . 北京 . 2005 . 978-7-105-06814-2.