Khün, or Tai Khün (Tai Khün: ᨴᩱ᩠ᨿᨡᩨ᩠ᨶ, /taj˧˧.kʰɯːn˧˨˥/; Shan: တႆးၶိုၼ် Thai: ไทเขิน [tʰaj kʰɤ̌ːn]), also known as Kengtung tai, Kengtung Shan, is the language of the Tai Khün people of Kengtung, Shan State, Myanmar.[2] It is also spoken in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand, and Yunnan Province, China.
| Khun | |
|---|---|
| Kengtung Shan Kengtung tai | |
| ᨴᩱ᩠ᨿᨡᩨ᩠ᨶ | |
| Pronunciation | /táj kʰɯ̌ːn/ |
| Native to | Myanmar (Shan State), Thailand |
| Region | Kengtung |
Native speakers | (100,000 cited 1990)[1] |
Kra–Dai
| |
| Tai Tham script, Thai script | |
| Official status | |
Recognised minority language in | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | kkh |
| Glottolog | khun1259 |
The Khün varieties share 93% to 100% lexical similarity.[2] Khun is closely related to other Tai languages. Khün shares 90% to 95% lexical similarity with Northern Thai language, 92% to 95% with Lü, 93% to 97% with Shan, and 80% to 83% with standard Thai.[2]
Geographical distribution
In China, there are about 10,000 Tai Khuen (Chinese: 傣艮/傣痕) people in the following areas of Yunnan province (Gao 1999).[3]
- Menglian County 孟连县: in Mengma Town 勐马镇, and in Meng'aba 勐阿坝 (12 villages total)
- Ximeng County 西盟县: in Mengsuo 勐梭
- Lincang Prefecture (small, scattered population)
Phonology
| Labial | Alveolar | Postalveolar / palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | [m] | [n] | [ɲ] | [ŋ] | ||
| Plosive & Affricate | aspirated | [pʰ] | [tʰ] | [tɕʰ] | [kʰ] | |
| tenuis | [p] | [t] | [tɕ] | [k] | [ʔ][a] | |
| voiced | [b] | [d] | ||||
| Fricative | [f] | [s] | [h] | |||
| Trill | [r][b] | |||||
| Approximant | [l] | [j] | [w] | |||
Tones
There are contrastive five or six tones in Khün.[4] The varieties spoken in Keng Tung City, Kang Murng, and Kat Fah have five tones, and the variety spoken in Murng Lang has six tones.[4] Keng Tung City, Kang Murng, and Murng Lang are part of Kengtung Township.[4]
Smooth syllables
The table below presents the tones in the varieties spoken in Keng Tung City, Kang Murng, Kat Fah, and Murng Lang. These tones occur in smooth syllables which are open syllables or closed syllables ending in a sonorant sound, such as /m/, /n/, /ŋ/, /w/, or /j/.
| Keng Tung City, Kang Murng, and Kat Fah | Murng Lang | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Tone letters | Example(s)[4] | Name | Tone letters | Example[4] |
| falling rising | 325 or ˧˨˥ | /kaː˧˨˥/ ᨠᩣ "crow" | falling rising | 215 or ˨˩˥ | /kaː˨˩˥/ ᨠᩣ "crow" |
| mid | 33 or ˧˧ | /kaː˧˧/ ᨣᩤ "car" | high | 44 or ˦˦ | /kaː˦˦/ ᨣᩤ "car" |
| low | 22 or ˨˨ | /kaː˨˨/ ᨠ᩵ᩣ "charm" /kaː˨˨/ ᨣ᩵ᩤ "cost" | low rising | 13 or ˩˧ | /kaː˩˧/ ᨠ᩵ᩣ "charm" |
| low | 22 or ˨˨ | /kaː˨˨/ ᨣ᩵ᩤ "cost" | |||
| mid glottalized | 33ʔ or ˧˧ʔ | /kaː˧˧ʔ/ ᨠ᩶ᩣ "to dance" | mid glottalized | 33ʔ or ˧˧ʔ | /kaː˧˧ʔ/ ᨠ᩶ᩣ "to dance" |
| high falling | 41 or ˦˩ | /kaː˦˩/ ᨣ᩶ᩤ "to trade" | high falling | 51 or ˥˩ | /kaː˥˩/ ᨣ᩶ᩤ "to trade" |
Checked syllables
Three of the five or six phonemic tones occur in checked syllables[4] which are closed syllables ending in a glottal stop (/ʔ/) or an obstruent sound, such as /p/, /t/, or /k/. The table below presents the three tones in the varieties spoken in Keng Tung City, Kang Murng, and Kat Fah.
| Tone | Vowel length | Example(s)[4] |
|---|---|---|
| mid | short | /kap˧˧/ ᨠᩢ᩠ᨷ "with" |
| high falling | /kap˦˩/ ᨣᩢ᩠ᨷ "tight" | |
| low | long | /kaːp˨˨/ ᨠᩣ᩠ᨷ "coconut husk" /kaːp˨˨/ ᨣᩤ᩠ᨷ "to grip in teeth" |
See also
References
- Owen, R. Wyn. 2012. "A tonal analysis of contemporary Tai Khuen varieties". Journal of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society (JSEALS) 5:12–31.
- Petsuk, Rasi (1978). General characteristics of the Khün language. Mahidol University MA thesis.
