Kháng language explained

Kháng language should not be confused with Tay Khang language.

Kháng
Nativename:	Mang U’
States:	Vietnam
Region:	Sơn La and Lai Châu provinces
Ethnicity:	Khang
Date:	2009 census
Ref:	e18
Familycolor:	Austro-Asiatic
Fam2:	Khasi–Palaungic
Fam3:	Palaungic
Fam4:	Bit–Khang
Iso3:	kjm
Lc1:	xao
Ld1:	Khao
Glotto:	khan1274
Glottorefname:	Khang

Kháng, also known as Mang U’, is an Austroasiatic language of Vietnam.^[1] It is closely related to the Bumang language of southern Yunnan, China.

Classification

Paul Sidwell (2014)^[2] classifies Khang as Palaungic, although Jerold Edmondson (2010) suggests it is Khmuic.

Kháng is most closely related to Bumang (Edmondson 2010).

Distribution

Kháng speakers are an officially recognized ethnic group in Vietnam,^[3] and officially numbered 10,272 in 1999.

The Kháng are distributed in the following districts of northwest Vietnam in Sơn La Province and Lai Châu Province:^[4]

• Sơn La Province (along the Black River)
  • Thuận Châu (including Bản Ná Lai village)
  • Quỳnh Nhai
  • Mường La
• Lai Châu Province
  • Phong Thổ
  • Mường Tè
  • Than Uyên
• Điện Biên Province
  • Mường Lay (alternatively Mường Chà)
  • Tuần Giáo

Tạ (2021) contains a phonology and word list of the Kháng dialect of Nậm Mu village, Phình Sáng commune, Tuần Giáo district, Điện Biên province.^[5]

Phonology

Consonants!!Labial!Alveolar!Palatal!Velar!Glottal

Plosive	pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/
Implosive	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/
Fricative		pronounced as /link/			pronounced as /link/
Nasal	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/
Approximant	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/

Vowels!!Front!Central!Back

High	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/
Mid-high	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/
Mid-low	pronounced as /link/		pronounced as /link/
Low		pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/

Additionally, the following diphthongs can be found: /iɤ/, /ɯɤ/, /uɤ/.

Kháng also has eight tones in total, six of which appear on "live syllables" - open syllables or syllables ending with sonorants, and the other two are limited to "dead syllables" - syllables ending in the oral stops /p t k/.^[5] Each tone also carries with it a specific register affecting the phonation of the syllable.

The live syllable tones are as follows:

• [˥ ] - high, level, modal voice
• [˩ˀ] - low, level, ending in a glottal stop
• [˧˥ˀ] - high-rising, ending in a glottal stop
• [˧˩ˀ] - low-falling, ending in a glottal stop
• [˧˨˧ ] - mid-dipping, modal voice
• [˨˩˨ ] - low-dipping, creaky voice

The dead syllable tones are as follows:

• [˦˧ ] - high-falling
• [˩˨ ] - low-rising

Further reading

• Dao, Jie 刀洁. 2007. Bumang yu yanjiu 布芒语研究 [A study of Bumang]. Beijing: Minzu University.
• Ferlus, Michel. 1996. Langues et peuples viet-muong [Viet-Muong languages and peoples]. Mon-Khmer Studies 26. 7–28
• Mikami, Naomitsu. 2003. "A Khang phonology and wordlist." Reports on Minority Languages in Mainland Southeast Asia, ed. by Ueda Hiromi, 1–42. Endangered Languages of the Pacific Rim. Osaka: Faculty of Informatics, Osaka Gakuin University.
• Schliesinger, Joachim. 1998. Hill tribes of Vietnam. Vol. Vol. 2. 2 vols. Bangkok: White Lotus Co. Ltd.
• Tạ, Quang Tùng. 2023. Ngữ âm tiếng Kháng và phương án chữ viết cho người Kháng ở Việt Nam. Thái Nguyên: Nhà xuất bản đại học Thái Nguyên.
• Thông Tấn Xã Việt Nam [Vietnam News Agency]. 2006. Việt Nam Hình Ảnh Cộng Dồng 54 Dân Tộc [Vietnam Image of the Community of 54 Ethnic Groups]. Hanoi: The Vna Publishing House.

External links

• https://web.archive.org/web/20131202221448/http://cema.gov.vn/modules.php?name=Content&op=details&mid=508
• http://projekt.ht.lu.se/rwaai RWAAI (Repository and Workspace for Austroasiatic Intangible Heritage)
• http://hdl.handle.net/10050/00-0000-0000-0003-93F5-2@view Khang in RWAAI Digital Archive

Notes and References

1. Hammarström (2015) Ethnologue 16/17/18th editions: a comprehensive review: online appendices
2. Sidwell, Paul. 2014. "Khmuic classification and homeland ". Mon-Khmer Studies 43.1:47-56
3. Web site: Documenting and Preserving the Khang Language in Vietnam. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. 2016-08-29.
4. Book: Edmondson, Jerold A. . 2010 . The Kháng language of Vietnam in comparison to Ksingmul (Xinh-mun) . 140 . Kenneth A. . McElhanon . Ger . Reesink . A Mosaic of languages and cultures: studies celebrating the career of Karl J. Franklin . SIL e-Books . 19 . SIL International, Dallas . http://www.sil.org/system/files/reapdata/37/69/41/37694131869962083547185786582610831574/52537.pdf.
5. Tạ. Quang Tùng. A Phonology and Lexicon of Khang in Vietnam. Journal of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society. 14. 2. 2021. 1836-6821. 2023-06-30. 10524/52487.