Mnong language

Mnong
Native to	Vietnam, Cambodia and United States
Region	throughout Tây Nguyên region, especially in Đắk Lắk, Lâm Đồng, Đắk Nông and Bình Phước provinces; Mondulkiri in Cambodia
Native speakers	130,000 (2002–2008)[1]
Language family	Austroasiatic Bahnaric South Bahnaric Sre–Mnong Mnong
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Variously: cmo – Central Mnong mng – Eastern Mnong mnn – Southern Mnong rka – Kraol
Glottolog	mnon1259[2]

The Mnong language (also known as Pnong or Bunong) belongs to the Mon–Khmer language family. It is spoken by the different groups of Mnong in Vietnam and a Mnong group in Cambodia.

Distribution

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).

Varieties

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.^[3][4]

Lê, et al. (2014:234-235)^[5] lists the following subgroups of Mnong and their respective locations.

• Mnông Gar: in northwestern Lâm Đồng Province and southern Lắk Lake.
• Mnông Nong: in Đắk Nông District and Đắk Min District
• Mnông Kuênh: in Krông Pắk District
• Mnông Pré: mainly in Đắk Nông District and Đắk Min District, and a few at Lắk Lake
• Mnông Prâng: scattered in Đắk Nông District and Đắk Min District, and a few in southern Lắc Lake and in Bản Đon, Ea Súp District.
• Mnông Rlâm: in Lắk District. Many have close relationships with the Ê-đê people.
• Mnông Bu-đâng: in Bản Đon, Ea Súp District
• Mnông Chỉl: in Lắk District. Many have close relationships with the Ê-đê people. Some also live in Lạc Dương District and Đức Trọng District of Lâm Đồng Province.
• Mnông Bu Nor: in Đắk Nông District and Đắk Min District
• Mnông Dih Bri: very small population in Đắk Nông District; Êa Krông.
• Mnông Đíp: Đắk Min District and the northern part of former Sông Bé Province.
• Mnông Biat: small population in former Sông Bé Province. Majority living around the Vietnam-Cambodia border.
• Mnông Bu Đêh: in former Sông Bé Province and Đắk Lắk Province
• Mnông Si Tô: a group of Mạ (Mạ Tô) people in Đắk Nông District who have become assimilated into the Mnông population ("Mnông-ized" Mạ people)
• Mnông K’ah: a group of Ê-đê people scattered across Đắk Nông District, Lắk District, and M'Đrăk District who have become assimilated into the Mnông population ("Mnông-ized" Ê-đê people)
• Mnông Phê Đâm: small population living only in Quảng Tín commune, Đắk Nông District.

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.

• M'Nông Preh
• Kuênh
• Mạ
• M'Nông Nâr (Bu Nâr)
• M'Nông Noong (Bu Noong)
• M'Nông R'Lâm
• M'Nông Prâng

Numerals

The following comparative numerals from various Mnong dialects are from Nguyễn & Trương (2009).

Gloss	Preh	Bu Noong	Bu Nâr	Prâng	R'Lâm	Mạ	Kuênh
1	du, ngoay, hŏ	muay	waay	dul	ju	dul	đu
2	bar	bar	ra'r	baar	bar	bar	par
3	pê	pê	per	păi	pay	pê
4	puăn	puăn	waam	puôn	puan	puôn
5	prăm	prăm	t'rơ̆m, năm	prăm, năm	năm	jorăm, sơ năm	snăm
6	prau
7	poh	poh	pops	pŏh	poh	poh	pêh
8	pham
9	dŭm, sĭn	sĭn	chĭnh	sin	dưm	sin
10	jât	jât	dư	joơt	mât	jơt

References

1. Central Mnong at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
   Eastern Mnong at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
   Southern Mnong at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
   Kraol at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
2. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian, eds. (2016). "Mnong". Glottolog 2.7. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
3. Harry Leonard Shorto; Jeremy Hugh Chauncy; Shane Davidson (1991). Austroasiatic Languages. Routledge. ISBN 0-7286-0183-4.
4. "Language Family Trees". ethnologue.com. Retrieved 2008-01-07.
5. Lê Bá Thảo, Hoàng Ma, et. al; Viện hàn lâm khoa học xã hội Việt Nam - Viện dân tộc học. 2014. Các dân tộc ít người ở Việt Nam: các tỉnh phía nam. Hà Nội: Nhà xuất bản khoa học xã hội. ISBN 978-604-90-2436-8

Further reading

• Blood, Henry Florentine. A Reconstruction of Proto-Mnong. Waxhaw, N.C.: Wycliffe-JAARS Print Shop, 1968.
• Nguyễn Kiên Trường & Trương Anh. 2009. Từ Điển Việt - M'Nông. Hà Nội: Nhà Xuất Bản Từ Điển Bách Khoa.

External links

• Mnong at www.peoplesoftheworld.org