| Tai Dam | |
| Also Known As: | Black Tai |
| States: | Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, China |
| Ethnicity: | Tai Dam |
| Speakers: | 760,000 |
| Date: | 1995–2002 |
| Ref: | e18 |
| Familycolor: | Kradai |
| Fam2: | Tai |
| Fam3: | Southwestern (Thai) |
| Fam4: | Chiang Saen |
| Script: | Tai Viet |
| Minority: | |
| Iso3: | blt |
| Glotto: | taid1247 |
| Glottorefname: | Tai Dam |
| Notice: | Indic |
Tai Dam, also known as Black Tai (Thai: ภาษาไทดำ; in Thai pronounced as /pʰāː sǎː tʰāj dām/; Vietnamese: tiếng Thái Đen; 'Black Tai language';), is a Tai language spoken by the Tai Dam in Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and China (mostly in Jinping Miao, Yao, and Dai Autonomous County).
The Tai Dam language is similar to Thai and Lao (including Isan), but it is not close enough to be readily understood by most Thai and Lao (Isan) speakers. In particular, the Khmer, Pali and Sanskrit additions to Thai and Lao (Isan) are largely missing from Tai Dam.[1]
Tai Dam is spoken in Vietnam, China, Laos, and Thailand. In central and western Thailand, it is known as Thai Song.
Tai Dam speakers in China are classified as part of the Dai nationality along with almost all the other Tai peoples. But in Vietnam they are given their own nationality (with the White Tai) where they are classified (confusingly for English speakers) as the Thái nationality (meaning Tai people).
In China, Tai Dam people are located in the following townships of Yunnan, with about 20,000 people in Yunnan (Gao 1999).[2]
In Vietnam, all Tai peoples are taught a standardized Tai language based on the Tai Dam language, using the standardized Tai Viet script.[3]
| Labial | Dental/ Alveolar | (Alveolo-) Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | lab. | |||||||
| Plosive | tenuis | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| aspirated | pronounced as /link/ | |||||||
| voiced | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||||||
| Affricate | pronounced as /link/ | |||||||
| Nasal | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |||
| Fricative | voiceless | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| voiced | pronounced as /link/ | |||||||
| Approximant | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||||||
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| Nasal | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |||
| Approximant | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ |
| Front | Central-Back | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ ~ pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |
| Glide | pronounced as /iə̯/ | pronounced as /ɨə̯ ~ ɯə̯/ | pronounced as /uə̯/ | |
| Mid | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ ~ pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |
| Open | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ |
The Khmer, Pali and Sanskrit additions to Thai and Lao (Isan) are generally absent from Tai Dam.[1] Tai Dam lacks many of the Khmer and Indic (via Khmer) loanwords found in Thai, Lao and Isan.
| Isan | Lao | Thai | Tai Dam | Gloss | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ទន្លេ tônlé | /tɔːn leː/ | ทะเล thale | /tʰàʔ.le᷇ː/ | ທະເລ thalé | /tʰāʔ.léː/ | ทะเล thale | /tʰáʔ.lēː/ | noang luang | /nɔŋ˨.luə̯ŋ˨/ | 'sea' | |||
| រៀន reăn | /riən/ | เฮียน hian | /hi᷇an/ | ຮຽນ hian | /hían/ | เรียน rian | /rīan/ | ʼaep | /ʔɛp̚˦˥/ | 'to learn' | |||
| भाषा bhāṣā | /bʱaːʂaː/ | ភាសា pheăsa | /pʰiə saː/ | ภาษา phasa | /pʰa᷇ː.săː/ | ພາສາ phasa | /pʰáː.săː/ | ภาษา phasa | /pʰāː.săː/ | kwaam | /kʷaːm˥/ | 'language' | |
| राज rāja | /raːdʒaː/ | រាជា reăcheă | /riə ɕiə/ | ราชา racha | /la᷇ː.sa᷇ː/ | ຣາຊາ raxa | /láː.sáː/ | ราชา racha | /rāː.tɕʰāː/ | pua | /puə̯˨/ | 'king' | |
| वेला velā | /ʋe laː/ | វេលា véreǎ | /veː liːə/ | เวลา wela | /we᷇ː.la᷇ː/ | ເວລາ véla | /wéː.láː/ | เวลา wela | /wēː.lāː/ | nyaam | /ɲaːm˥/ | 'time' | |
| សប្បាយ sǎpbay | /sap baːj/ | สบาย sabai | /sáʔ.bāːj/ | ສບາຽ/ສະບາຍ sabay | /sáʔ.bàːj/ | สบาย sabai | /sàʔ.bāːj/ | xan doa | /xan˧˩.dɔː˨/ | 'to be well' | |||
| រាក់ raek | /raːk/ | ฮัก hak | /hàk/ | ຮັກ hak | /hāk/ | รัก rak | /rák/ | hak | /hak˥/ | 'love' | |||
| Pronoun | Formal | Informal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | ꪄ꫁ꪮꪤ (xɔy3) | ꪀꪴ (ku1) | |
| We | ꪏꪴꪙ ꪄ꫁ꪮꪤ (sun4 xɔy3) | ꪏꪴꪣ ꪠꪴ (sum4 fu1) | |
| You | ꪹꪊ꫁ꪱ (caw3) | ꪣꪳꪉ (mueng4) | |
| You (plural) | ꪏꪴꪙ ꪹꪊ꫁ꪱ (sun4 caw3) | ꪎꪴ (su1) | |
| He/ she | ꪹꪝ꪿ꪙ (puean5) | ꪣꪽ (man4) | |
| They | ꪏꪴꪙ ꪹꪝ꪿ꪙ (sun4 puean5) | ꪹꪎꪱ (saw1) |
| Pronoun | Formal | Informal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| My | ꪄꪮꪉ ꪄ꫁ꪮꪤ (xɔng1 xɔy3) | ꪄꪮꪉ ꪀꪴ (xɔng1 ku1) | |
| Our | ꪄꪮꪉ ꪏꪴꪙ ꪄ꫁ꪮꪤ (xɔng1 sun4 xɔy3) | ꪄꪮꪉ ꪏꪴꪣ ꪠꪴ (xɔng1 sum4 fu1) | |
| Your | ꪄꪮꪉ ꪹꪊ꫁ꪱ (xɔng1 caw3) | ꪄꪮꪉ ꪣꪳꪉ (xɔng1 mueng4) | |
| Your (plural) | ꪄꪮꪉ ꪏꪴꪙ ꪹꪊ꫁ꪱ (xɔng1 sun4 caw3) | ꪄꪮꪉ ꪎꪴ (xɔng1 su1) | |
| His/ her | ꪄꪮꪉ ꪹꪝ꪿ꪙ (xɔng1 puean5) | ꪄꪮꪉ ꪣꪽ (xɔng1 man4) | |
| Their | ꪄꪮꪉ ꪏꪴꪙ ꪹꪝ꪿ꪙ (xɔng1 sun4 puean5) | ꪄꪮꪉ ꪹꪎꪱ (xɔng1 saw1) |
Tai Dam uses an SVO word order.
The Tai Dam language has its own system of writing, called Tai Viet, which consists of 31 consonants and 14 vowels. At the beginning, there was no tone marker although the language is tonal. Tone markers emerge in the 1970s in two sets: combining marks like Thai/Lao, and modifiers like New Tai Lue/Tai Nuea which are now less popular. According to Thai authors, the writing system is probably derived from the old Thai writing of the kingdom of Sukhotai.