Katu language

Katu, or Low Katu, is a Katuic language of eastern Laos and central Vietnam.

Katu
Low Katu, West Katu
Native to	Laos, Central Vietnam
Ethnicity	Katu
Native speakers	23,000 (2005 census)[1]
Language family	Austroasiatic Katuic Katu languages Katu
Dialects	Triw[2] Dakkang Kantu Kalum
Writing system	Lao (Laos), Latin (Vietnam)
Language codes
ISO 639-3	kuf
Glottolog	west2398
ELP	Dakkang
	Triw[3]

In Vietnam, it is spoken in Huế city, including in A Lưới district. According to the 2009 Vietnamese census, there are 61,588 Katu people.^[4]

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Plosive	voiceless	p	t	c	k	ʔ
	aspirated	pʰ	tʰ	cʰ	kʰ
	voiced	b	d	ɟ	ɡ
	implosive	ɓ	ɗ	ʄ
Nasal		m	n	ɲ	ŋ
Liquid	rhotic		r
	lateral		l
Fricative			(s)			h
Approximant		w		j

• /ʄ/ can also be heard as a preglottal affricate sound [ʔdʒ] or glide [ʔj].
• /cʰ/ can range to an alveolar fricative [s].^[5]

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i iː	ɨ ɨː	u uː
Close-mid	e eː	ə əː	o oː
Open-mid	ɛ ɛː	ʌ ʌː	ɔ ɔː
Open		a aː	ɒ ɒː

• Diphthongs occur as /ia, ɨa, ua/.^[6]