Tai Nuea language
Kra–Dai language spoken in Southeast Asia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tai Nuea or Tai Nüa (Chinese: 傣那语; pinyin: Dǎinàyǔ; Burmese: တိုင်းလေ; Thai: ภาษาไทเหนือ, pronounced [pʰāːsǎː tʰāj nɯ̌a]), also called Dehong Tai (Chinese: 德宏傣语; pinyin: Déhóng Dǎiyǔ; Thai: ภาษาไทใต้คง, pronounced [pʰāːsǎː tʰāj tâːj.kʰōŋ]) and Chinese Shan, is one of the languages spoken by the Dai people in China, especially in the Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture in the southwest of Yunnan Province. It is closely related to the other Tai languages and could be considered a dialect of Shan. It should not be confused with Tai Lü (Xishuangbanna Dai).
 | This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (January 2012) |
| Tai Nuea | |
|---|---|
| ᥖᥭᥰ ᥘᥫᥴ Tai Le | |
| Pronunciation | [tai˥.lə˧] |
| Native to | China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos |
| Region | Southwest China |
| Ethnicity | Tai Nua, Dai |
Native speakers | (720,000 cited 1983–2007)[1] |
Kra–Dai
| |
| Tai Le script | |
| Official status | |
Official language in | China (Dehong, co-official) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | tdd |
| Glottolog | tain1252 Tai Nua |
| ELP | Tai Neua |
| |
Names
Most Tai Nuea people call themselves Tai Le (ᥖᥭᥰ ᥘᥫᥴ, Tai Nüa pronunciation: [tai˥.lə˧]), which means 'Upper Tai' or 'Northern Tai'. Note that this is different from Tai Lue, which is pronounced [tai˥.lɪ˦˧] in Tai Nuea.
Another autonym is [tai˥ taɯ˧˩ xoŋ˥] (ᥖᥭᥰ ᥖᥬᥲ ᥑᥨᥒᥰ), where [taɯ˧˩] means 'bottom, under, the lower part (of)' and [xoŋ˥] means 'the Hong River' (Luo 1998). Dehong is a transliteration of the term [taɯ˧˩ xoŋ˥].
The language is also known as Tai Mau, Tai Kong and Tai Na.[2]
Dialects
Zhou (2001:13) classifies Tai Nuea into the Dehong (德宏) and Menggeng (孟耿) dialects. Together, they add up to a total of 541,000 speakers.
- Dehong dialect 德宏土语: 332,000 speakers
- Menggeng dialect 孟耿土语: 209,000 speakers
- Pu'er City 普洱市 / Simao District 思茅地区: Menglian 孟连, Jinggu 景谷, Lancang 澜沧, Zhenyuan 镇沅, Ximeng 西盟, Jingdong 景东, Simao 思茅, Pu'er 普洱, Mojiang 墨江
- Baoshan District 保山地区: Changning 昌宁
- Lincang District 临沧地区: Gengma 耿马, Lincang 临沧, Shuangjiang 双江, Cangyuan 沧源, Yongde 永德, Zhenkang 镇康, Yunxian 云县, Fengqing 风庆. A separate traditional script has been developed in Mengding Township 勐定镇, Lincang 临沧, and is different from the one used in the Dehong area — see Zhou (2001:371).
Phonology
Summarize
Perspective
Tai Nuea is a tonal language with a very limited inventory of syllables with no consonant clusters. 16 syllable-initial consonants can be combined with 84 syllable finals and six tones.
Consonants
Initials
Notes:
1. *(kʰ) and (tsʰ) occur in loanwords.
2. The consonant [l] and [n] merged to [l] in the initial position in Mangshi (芒市) dialect but not in Menglian (孟连) dialect.
3. The consonant [pʰ] and [f] merged to [pʰ] in Menglian (孟连) dialect but not in Mangshi (芒市) dialect.
Finals
Vowels
Tai Nuea has ten vowels and 13 diphthongs:
Diphthong
◌ IPA: [a]
|
ᥣ IPA: [aː]
|
ᥤ IPA: [i]
|
ᥥ IPA: [e]
|
ᥦ IPA: [ɛ]
|
ᥧ IPA: [u]
|
ᥨ IPA: [o]
|
ᥩ IPA: [ɔ]
|
ᥪ IPA: [ɯ]
|
ᥫ IPA: [ə]
|
◌ᥭ IPA: [ai]
|
ᥣᥭ IPA: [aːi]
|
ᥧᥭ IPA: [ui]
|
ᥨᥭ IPA: [oi]
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ᥩᥭ IPA: [ɔi]
|
ᥪᥭ IPA: [ɯi]
|
ᥫᥭ IPA: [əi]
| |||
ᥝ IPA: [au]
|
ᥣᥝ IPA: [aːu]
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ᥤᥝ IPA: [iu]
|
ᥥᥝ IPA: [eu]
|
ᥦᥝ IPA: [ɛu]
|
ᥪᥝ IPA: [ɯu]*
|
ᥫᥝ IPA: [əu]
| |||
ᥬ IPA: [aɯ]*
|
* Only in Mangshi dialect.
Tones
Unchecked syllables
Tai Nuea has six tones:
| Classification | Mangshi | Menglian | Tai Le | Tai Le (1963) | Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 阴平 | 35 [˧˥] | 55 [˥] | ◌ᥴ | ◌́ | 1 |
| 阳平 | 55 [˥] | 53 [˥˧] | ◌ᥰ | ◌̈ | 2 |
| 阴上 | 31 [˧˩] | 11 [˩] | ◌ᥲ | ◌̀ | 3 |
| 阳上 | 53 [˥˧] | 31 [˧˩] | ◌ᥳ | ◌̇ | 4 |
| 阴去 | 11 [˩] | 35 [˧˥] | ◌ᥱ | ◌̌ | 5 |
| 阳去 | 33 [˧] | ◌ | ◌ | 6 | |
Checked syllables
Syllables with [p], [t], and [k] final can have only one of three tones in Mangshi (芒市) Dialect or four tones in Menglian (孟连) Dialect.
| Description | Contour | Tai Le | Tai Le (1963) | Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| rising | 35 [˧˥] | ◌ᥴ | ◌́ | 7 |
| high falling | 53 [˥˧] | ◌ᥳ | ◌̇ | 8 |
| ◌ | ◌ | |||
| low | 11 [˩] or 21 [˨˩] | ◌ᥱ | ◌̌ | 9 |
In Mangshi (芒市) Dialect, the high falling tone mark (◌ᥳ) is usually left unmarked.
| Description | Contour | Tai Le | Tai Le (1963) | Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| high | 55 [˥] | ◌ᥴ | ◌́ | 7 |
| low falling | 31 [˧˩] | ◌ᥳ | ◌̇ | 8 |
| rising | 35 [˧˥] | ◌ᥱ | ◌̌ | 9 |
| mid | 33 [˧] | ◌ | ◌ | 10 |
Comparison
| Tai Le | Mangshi (芒市) | Menglian (孟连) | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| ᥜᥣᥳ | fa4 | pʰa4 | sky |
| ᥘᥣᥝ | laːu6 | lau6 | star |
| ᥢᥛᥳ | lam4 | nɑm4 | water |
| ᥑᥭᥱ | xai5 | xɑi5 | egg |
| ᥢᥣᥰ | la2 | na2 | field |
| ᥜᥨᥢᥴ | fon1 | pʰon1 | rain |
| ᥛᥨᥭᥴ | moi1 | məi1 | frost |
| ᥙᥣᥲ ᥖᥬᥲ | pa3 taɯ3 | pɑ3 tɑ3 | under |
Checked syllable
Due to the irregular checked tones correspondence, the Tai Le used will be written in Mangshi dialect.
| Tai Le | Mangshi (芒市) | Menglian (孟连) | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| ᥖᥙᥴ | tap7 | tɑp7 | liver |
| ᥘᥨᥐ | lok8 | lok8 | bird |
| ᥞᥐ | hak8 | hɑk8 | love |
| ᥛᥩᥐᥱ | mɔk9 | mɔk9 | flower |
| ᥔᥨᥙᥱ | sop9 | sop9 | mouth |
| ᥚᥐᥴ | pʰak7 | pʰɑk10 | vegetable |
| ᥒᥫᥐ | ŋək8 | ŋək10 | dragon |
| ᥓᥫᥐ | tsək8 | tsək10 | rope |
| ᥓᥥᥙᥱ | tsep9 | tsep10 | pain |
| ᥚᥥᥖᥱ | pʰet9 | pʰet10 | spicy |
| ᥙᥥᥖᥱ | pet9 | pet10 | duck |
| ᥘᥧᥐᥴ | luk7 | luk9 | bone |
| ᥞᥧᥖᥴ | hut7 | hut9 | inhale |
| ᥐᥣᥙ | kaːp8 | kap9 | bite |
Writing system
Summarize
Perspective
The Tai Le script is part of the Mon-Burmese family of writing systems and is closely related to the Ahom script. The script is thought to date back to the 14th century.
The original Tai Nuea spelling did not generally mark tones and failed to distinguish several vowels. It was reformed to make these distinctions, and diacritics were introduced to mark tones. The resulting writing system was officially introduced in 1956. In 1988, the spelling of tones was reformed; special tone letters were introduced instead of the earlier Latin diacritics.
The modern script has a total of 35 letters, including the five tone letters.
The transcription below is given according to the Unicode tables.
Consonants
ᥐ k IPA: [k]
|
ᥑ x IPA: [x]
|
ᥒ ng IPA: [ŋ]
|
ᥓ ts IPA: [ts]
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ᥔ s IPA: [s]
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ᥕ y IPA: [j]
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ᥖ t IPA: [t]
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ᥗ th IPA: [tʰ]
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ᥘ l IPA: [l]
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ᥙ p IPA: [p]
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ᥚ ph IPA: [pʰ]
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ᥛ m IPA: [m]
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ᥜ f IPA: [f]
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ᥝ v IPA: [w]
|
|
ᥞ h IPA: [h]
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ᥟ q IPA: [ʔ]
|
|
ᥠ kh IPA: [kʰ]
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ᥡ tsh IPA: [tsʰ]
|
ᥢ n IPA: [n]
|
Vowels and diphthongs
Consonants that are not followed by a vowel letter are pronounced with the inherent vowel [a]. Other vowels are indicated with the following letters:
ᥣ a IPA: [aː]
|
ᥤ i IPA: [i]
|
ᥧ u IPA: [u]
|
ᥥ ee IPA: [e]
|
ᥨᥝ oo IPA: [o]
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ᥦ eh IPA: [ɛ]
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ᥩ o IPA: [ɔ]
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ᥪ ue IPA: [ɯ]
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ᥫ e IPA: [ə]
|
ᥬ aue IPA: [aɯ]
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ᥭ ai IPA: [ai]
|
Diphthongs are formed by combining some vowel letters with the consonant ᥝ [w] and some vowel letters with ᥭ [ai]/[j].
Tones
In the Thai and Tai Lü writing systems, the tone value in the pronunciation of a written syllable depends on the tone class of the initial consonant, vowel length and syllable structure. In contrast, the Tai Nuea writing system has a very straightforward spelling of tones, with one letter (or diacritic) for each tone.
Tone marks were presented via the third reform (1963) as diacritics. Then the fourth reform (1988) changed them into tone letters. A tone mark is put at the end of syllable whatever it is consonant or vowel. Examples in the table show the syllable [ta] in different tones.
| Number | New (1988) | Old (1963) | Pitch |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | ᥖᥴ | ᥖ́ | 35 |
| 2. | ᥖᥰ | ᥖ̈ | 55 |
| 3. | ᥖᥱ | ᥖ̌ | 11 |
| 4. | ᥖᥲ | ᥖ̀ | 42 |
| 5. | ᥖᥳ | ᥖ̇ | 54 |
| 6. | ᥖ | ᥖ | 33 |
The sixth tone (mid level) is not marked. And if a syllable with -p, -t, -k finals have the fifth tone, the tone mark is not written.
Grammar
Summarize
Perspective
Pronouns
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mangshi | Menglian | Menglian (formal) | Mangshi | Mangshi | Menglian | ||
| 1st person | exclusive | ᥐᥝ (kau6) | ᥐᥬ (kɑ6) | ᥖᥧ ᥑᥬᥲ (tu6 xɑ3) | ᥞᥣᥒᥰ ᥞᥫᥴ (haːŋ2 xə1) | ᥖᥧ (tu6) | ᥖᥧ (tu6) |
| inclusive | ᥞᥣᥒᥰ ᥞᥣᥰ (haːŋ2 ha2) | ᥞᥝᥰ (hau2) | ᥞᥝᥰ (hɑu2) | ||||
| 2nd person | ᥛᥬᥰ (maɯ2) | ᥛᥬᥰ (mɑ2) | ᥔᥧᥴ ᥓᥝᥲ (su1 tsɑu3) | ᥔᥩᥒᥴ ᥞᥫᥴ (sɔŋ1 xə1) | ᥔᥧᥴ (su1) | ᥔᥧᥴ (su1) | |
| 3rd person | ᥛᥢᥰ (man2) | ᥛᥢᥰ (mɑn2) | ᥔᥩᥒᥴ ᥞᥣᥴ (sɔŋ1 xa1) | ᥑᥝᥴ (xau1) | ᥑᥬᥴ (xɑ1) | ||
| Mangshi | Menglian | |
|---|---|---|
| Reflexive | ᥙᥪᥴ ᥓᥝᥲ (pɯ1 tsau3) | ᥐᥩᥭᥰ ᥘᥥᥝ (kɔi2 leu6) |
| Interrogative | ᥚᥬᥴ (pʰaɯ1) | ᥙᥧᥱ ᥘᥬ (pu5 lɑ6) |
| Everyone | ᥙᥫᥝ (pən6) | ᥙᥫᥝ (pən6) |
| Other people | ᥖᥒᥰ ᥘᥣᥭᥴ (taŋ2 laːi1) | ᥖᥒᥰ ᥘᥣᥭᥴ (tɑŋ2 lai1) |
Syntax
Tai Nuea uses an SVO word order.
Demonstrative
| Mangshi | Menglian | |
|---|---|---|
| This | ᥢᥭᥳ (lai4) | ᥢᥭᥳ (nɑi4) |
| That | ᥢᥢᥳ (lan4) | ᥢᥢᥳ (nɑn4) |
| Here | ᥖᥤ ᥢᥭᥳ (ti6 lai4) | ᥖᥤ ᥢᥭᥳ (ti6 nɑi4) |
| There | ᥖᥤ ᥢᥢᥳ (ti6 lan4) | ᥖᥤ ᥢᥢᥳ (ti6 nɑn4) |
Adverb
| Mangshi | Menglian | |
|---|---|---|
| What | ᥔᥒᥴ (saŋ1) | ᥖᥤ ᥔᥒᥴ (ti6 sɑŋ1) |
| Why | ᥐᥩᥙ ᥖᥤ ᥔᥒᥴ (kɔp6 ti6 saŋ1) | |
| Who | ᥚᥬᥴ (pʰaɯ1) | ᥙᥧᥱ ᥘᥬ (pu5 lɑ6) |
| Where | (ᥖᥤ) ᥗᥬᥴ (ti6 thaɯ1) | ᥖᥤᥴ ᥘᥬ (ti1 lɑ6) |
| Which | ᥘᥬ (laɯ6) | ᥘᥬ (lɑ6) |
| How much | ᥑᥬ (xaɯ6) | ᥑᥬ ᥘᥬ (xɑ6 lɑ6) |
| How many | ᥐᥤᥱ (ki5) | ᥐᥤᥱ (ki5) |
Numeral
| Mangshi | Menglian | |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | ᥘᥤᥢᥳ (lin4) | ᥘᥤᥢᥳ (lin4) |
| 1 | ᥢᥫᥒ (ləŋ6) | ᥢᥫᥒ (nəŋ6) |
| ᥟᥥᥖᥱ (et9) | ᥟᥥᥖ (et10) | |
| 2 | ᥔᥩᥒᥴ (sɔŋ1) | ᥔᥩᥒᥴ (sɔŋ1) |
| 3 | ᥔᥣᥛᥴ (saːm1) | ᥔᥣᥛᥴ (sam1) |
| 4 | ᥔᥤᥱ (si5) | ᥔᥤᥱ (si5) |
| 5 | ᥞᥣᥲ (ha3) | ᥞᥣᥲ (ha3) |
| 6 | ᥞᥨᥐᥱ (hok9) | ᥞᥨᥐ (hok10) |
| 7 | ᥓᥥᥖᥱ (tset9) | ᥓᥥᥖ (tset10) |
| 8 | ᥙᥦᥖᥱ (pɛt9) | ᥙᥦᥖᥱ (pɛt9) |
| 9 | ᥐᥝᥲ (kau3) | ᥐᥝᥲ (kɑu3) |
| 10 | ᥔᥤᥙᥴ (sip7) | ᥔᥤᥙ (sip10) |
| 11 | ᥔᥤᥙᥴ ᥟᥥᥖᥱ (sip7 et9) | ᥔᥤᥙ ᥟᥥᥖ (sip10 et10) |
| 20 | ᥔᥣᥝᥰ ᥢᥫᥒ (saːu2 ləŋ6) | ᥔᥣᥝᥰ ᥢᥫᥒ (sau2 nəŋ6) |
| 21 | ᥔᥣᥝᥰ ᥟᥥᥖᥱ (saːu2 et9) | ᥔᥣᥝᥰ ᥟᥥᥖ (sau2 et10) |
| 25 | ᥔᥣᥝᥰ ᥞᥣᥲ (saːu2 ha3) | ᥔᥣᥝᥰ ᥞᥣᥲ (sau2 ha3) |
| 30 | ᥔᥤᥙᥴ ᥔᥣᥛᥴ (saːm1 sip7) | ᥔᥤᥙ ᥔᥣᥛᥴ (sam1 sip10) |
| 100 | ᥙᥣᥐᥱ (paːk9) | ᥙᥣᥐᥱ (pak9) |
| 1000 | ᥞᥥᥒᥴ (heŋ1) | ᥞᥥᥒᥴ (heŋ1) |
| 10000 | ᥛᥧᥢᥱ (mun5) | ᥛᥧᥢᥱ (mun5) |
| 1st | ᥐᥨᥳ ᥞᥨᥴ (ko4 ho1) | ᥗᥨᥢᥲ ᥢᥫᥒ (tʰon3 nəŋ6) |
| 2nd | ᥐᥨᥳ ᥖᥛᥰ (ko4 tam2) | ᥗᥨᥢᥲ ᥔᥨᥒᥴ (tʰon3 soŋ1) |
| 3rd | ᥐᥨᥳ ᥔᥣᥛᥴ (ko4 saːm1) | ᥗᥨᥢᥲ ᥔᥣᥛᥴ (tʰon3 sam1) |
| last | ᥐᥨᥳ ᥔᥧᥖᥴ (ko4 sut7) | ᥗᥨᥢᥲ ᥔᥧᥖ (tʰon3 sut10) |
Text sample
ᥛᥬᥰ
maɯ55
you
ᥐᥤᥢ
kin33
eat
ᥑᥝᥲ
xau42
rice
ᥕᥝᥳ
jau54
PERF.PTC
ᥞᥪᥴ?
hi35
INTERR.PTC
Have you eaten? (a common greeting)
ᥐᥝ
kau33
I
ᥛᥨᥝᥴ
mou35
can
ᥖᥣᥢᥲ
taan42
speak
ᥑᥣᥛᥰ
xaam55
language
ᥖᥭᥰ
tai55
Tai
ᥖᥬᥲ
taɯ42
De
ᥑᥨᥒᥰ
xong55
hong
I can speak Dehong Tai/ Tai Nuea.
Language use
Tai Nuea has official status in some parts of Yunnan (China), where it is used on signs and in education. Yunnan People's Radio Station (Yúnnán rénmín guǎngbō diàntái 云南人民广播电台) broadcasts in Tai Nuea. On the other hand, however, very little printed material is published in Tai Nuea in China. However, many signs of roads and stores in Mangshi are in Tai Nuea.
In Thailand, a collection of 108 proverbs was published with translations into Thai and English.[3]
References
Bibliography
External links
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