| Sre | |
| Nativename: | Kơho |
| States: | Vietnam |
| Date: | 2019 census |
| Ref: | e18 |
| Familycolor: | Austro-Asiatic |
| Fam2: | Bahnaric |
| Fam3: | South |
| Fam4: | Sre–Mnong |
| Lc1: | kpm |
| Ld1: | Kơho |
| Lc2: | cma |
| Ld2: | Maa |
| Glotto: | koho1243 |
| Glottorefname: | Koho-Maa |
| Script: | Latin script |
Koho or K'Ho is a South Bahnaric language spoken by the Koho people and Mạ people, mainly in the Lâm Đồng Province of Vietnam. It is very close to the Mnong language.
The autonym of the Kơho people is kon cau (pronounced as /kɔn.caw/) while Koho (pronounced as /kəˈhɔ/) is a Cham exonym.[1]
There are at least twelve Kơho dialect groups for the area: Chil (Cil, Til); Kalop (Tulop); Kơyon (Kodu, Co-Don); Làc (Làt, Lach); Mà (Mạ, Maa); Nồp (Nop, Xre Nop, Noup); Pru; Ryông Tô (Riồng, Rion); Sop, Sre (Chau Sơre, Xrê); Talà (To La); and Tring (Trinh). Although Mạ/Maa is a Koho dialect group, the Mạ people identify as a separate ethnic group.[2]
Data below are from Olsen (2015).
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | Voiceless | pronounced as /p/ | pronounced as /t/ | pronounced as /c/ | pronounced as /k/ | pronounced as /ʔ/ |
| Aspirated | pronounced as /pʰ/ | pronounced as /tʰ/ | pronounced as /cʰ/ | pronounced as /kʰ/ | ||
| Voiced | pronounced as /b/ | pronounced as /d/ | pronounced as /ɟ/ | pronounced as /g/ | ||
| Implosive | pronounced as /ɓ/ | pronounced as /ɗ/ | ||||
| Nasal | pronounced as /m/ | pronounced as /n/ | pronounced as /ɲ/ | pronounced as /ŋ/ | ||
| Fricative | pronounced as /s/ | pronounced as /h/ | ||||
| Rhotic | pronounced as /r/ | |||||
| Approximant | pronounced as /w/ | pronounced as /l/ | pronounced as /j/ | |||
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | pronounced as /p/ | pronounced as /t/ | pronounced as /c/ | pronounced as /k/ | pronounced as /ʔ/ | |
| Nasal | pronounced as /m/ | pronounced as /n/ | pronounced as /ɲ/ | pronounced as /ŋ/ | ||
| Fricative | pronounced as /s/ | pronounced as /h/ | ||||
| Rhotic | pronounced as /r/ | |||||
| Approximant | pronounced as /w/ | pronounced as /l/ | pronounced as /j/ | |||
| Front | Central | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | pronounced as //i// | pronounced as //ɨ~ɯ// | pronounced as //u// | |
| Close-mid | pronounced as //e// | pronounced as //ǝ// | pronounced as //o// | |
| Open-mid | pronounced as //ɛ// | pronounced as //ɔ// | ||
| Low | pronounced as //a// | pronounced as //ɑ// |
Compounding is a common way of coining new words in Koho. Some examples:
One of the more productive prefixes in Sre is the causative tơn- pronounced as /[tən-]/, converts intransitiveverbs to causative verbs. If the prefixed verbs have a nasal initial, then the nasal cluster avoidance rule applied.
| Word | Meaning | Prefixed form | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| duh pronounced as /[duh]/ | to be hot | tơnduh pronounced as /[tənduh]/ | to make hot | |
| chơt pronounced as /[cʰət]/ | to die | tơnchơt pronounced as /[təncʰət]/ | to kill | |
| ring pronounced as /[riŋ]/ | to be flat, level, equal | tơnring pronounced as /[tənriŋ]/ | to equalize, make right | |
| mut pronounced as /[mut]/ | to enter | tơmut pronounced as /[təmut]/ | to make enter | |
| muu pronounced as /[muː]/ | to descend, go down | tơmuu pronounced as /[təmuː]/ | to make descend, to lower |