| Mnong | |
| Also Known As: | Bunong, ឞូន៝ង |
| States: | Vietnam and Cambodia |
| Region: | throughout Tây Nguyên region, especially in Đắk Lắk, Lâm Đồng, Đắk Nông and Bình Phước provinces; Mondulkiri in Cambodia |
| Date: | 2002–2008 |
| Ref: | e18 |
| Familycolor: | Austro-Asiatic |
| Fam2: | Bahnaric |
| Fam3: | South Bahnaric |
| Fam4: | Sre–Mnong |
| Script: | Khmer Latin (Vietnamese alphabet) |
| Lc1: | cmo |
| Ld1: | Central Mnong |
| Lc2: | mng |
| Ld2: | Eastern Mnong |
| Lc3: | mnn |
| Ld3: | Southern Mnong |
| Lc4: | rka |
| Ld4: | Kraol |
| Glotto: | mnon1259 |
| Glottorefname: | Mnong |
| Elp: | 4045 |
| Elpname: | Central Mnong |
| Elp2: | 5337 |
| Elpname2: | Kraol |
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.
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).
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.[1] [2]
Lê, et al. (2014:234-235)[3] 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.
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | voiceless | p | t | c | k | ʔ |
| aspirated | pʰ | tʰ | cʰ | kʰ | ||
| 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 | ||||
| Front | Central | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i iː | ɨ ɨː | u uː | |
| Mid | e eː | ə əː | o oː | |
| Open | ɛ ɛː | a aː | ɔ ɔː |
The following comparative numerals from various Mnong dialects are from Nguyễn & Trương (2009).
| Gloss | Preh | Bu Noong | Bu Nâr | Prâng | R'Lăm | Mạ | Kuênh | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | du, ngoay, hŏ | muay | waay | dul | ju, ƀơn, muei | dul | đu | |
| 2 | bar | bar | ra'r | baar | bar | bar | par | |
| 3 | pê | pê | per | păi | pei | pê | ||
| 4 | puăn | puăn | waam | puô | puan, puôn | puôn | ||
| 5 | prăm | prăm | t'rơ̆m, năm | prăm, năm | prăm, pram | jorăm, sơ năm | snăm | |
| 6 | prau | pro | ||||||
| 7 | poh | poh | pops | pŏh | poh | poh | pêh | |
| 8 | pham | pham | ||||||
| 9 | dŭm, sĭn | sĭn | chĭnh | sin | sư̆n, sĭn | sin | ||
| 10 | jât | jât | dư | joơt | măt | jơt |