| Tai Dam | |
|---|---|
| Black Tai | |
| ?; ? | |
| Native to | Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, China |
| Ethnicity | Tai Dam |
Native speakers | (760,000 cited 1995-2002)[1] |
Kra-Dai
| |
| Tai Viet | |
| Official status | |
Recognised minority language in | |
| Language codes | |
blt | |
| Glottolog | taid1247 |
Tai Dam (Chinese: ; pinyin: ), also known as Black Tai (Thai: ; pronounced [p:s?: tj d?m]; "Black Tai language"; Chinese: ; pinyin: ), is a Tai language spoken by the Tai Dam in Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and China (mostly in Jinping Miao, Yao, and Dai Autonomous County).
The Tai Dam language is similar to Thai and Lao, but it is not close enough to be readily understood by most Thai and Lao speakers. In particular, the Pali and Sanskrit additions to Thai and Lao are largely missing from Tai Dam.[2]
Geographical distribution
Tai Dam is spoken in Vietnam, China, Laos, and Thailand. In central Thailand, it is known as Thai Song.
Tai Dam speakers in China are classified as part of the Dai nationality along with almost all the other Tai peoples. But in Vietnam they are given their own nationality (with the White Tai) where they are classified (confusingly for English speakers) as the Thái nationality (meaning Tai people).
In China, Tai Dam (Chinese: ) people are located in the following townships of Yunnan, with about 20,000 people in Yunnan (Gao 1999).[3]
- Maguan County : Muchang Township , Dalishu Township ?, and Pojiao Township
- Wenshan County : Dehou Township , Panzhihua Township ?
- Hekou County : Qiaotou Town (in Baihei Village and Gantianzhai )
- Yuanjiang County : Dashuiping Township ? (in Gaozhai and Yangmahe )
Official status
In Vietnam, all Tai peoples are taught a standardized Tai language based on the Tai Dam language, using the standardized Tai Viet script.[4]
Phonology
Consonants
Initials
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | lab. | ||||||
| Plosive | tenuis | [p] | [t] | [k] | [k?] | [?] | |
| aspirated | [t?] | ||||||
| voiced | [b] | [d] | |||||
| Affricate | [t] | ||||||
| Nasal | [m] | [n] | [?] | [?] | [] | ||
| Fricative | voiceless | [f] | [s] | [x] | [x?] | [h] | |
| voiced | [v] | ||||||
| Approximant | [l] | [j] | |||||
- Sounds /b/ and /d/ can fluctuate to voiced implosive sounds [?], [?]. /d/ may also fluctuate to a lateral sound [l]. /v/ can fluctuate to sounds [b~?].
- In some rare cases /j/ can be realized as a [z] sound.
Finals
- Final plosive sounds /p t k/ can be realized as unreleased [p? t? k?].
Vowels
- /?/ can tend to fluctuate to a more open sound [æ].
- /?/ fluctuates to a back unrounded sound [?].[5]
Writing system
The Tai Dam language has its own system of writing, called Tai Viet, which consists of 31 consonants and 14 vowels. Although the language is tonal, there are no tone markers, as there are in Thai and Lao. According to Thai authors, the writing system is probably derived from the old Thai writing of the kingdom of Sukhotai.[2]
Further reading
- Miyake, Marc. 2014. Black and white evidence for Vietnamese phonological history.
- Miyake, Marc. 2014. *(C).r-usters in Black Tai and Bao Yen.
- Miyake, Marc. 2014. S-implificaition in Black Tai and Bao Yen.
References
- ^ Tai Dam at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
- ^ a b Bankston, Carl L. "The Tai Dam: Refugees from Vietnam and Laos". Passage: A Journal of Refugee Education. 3 (Winter 1987): 30-31.
- ^ Gao Lishi . 1999. . (?). 1999 1 ? (96 ?).
- ^ Choowonglert, Achariya (2015). "We Do Not Want to be Inferior: Politics of Difference in Teaching and Studying Tai Languages in North-Central of Vietnam". Cite journal requires
|journal=(help) - ^ Fippinger, Jay W. and Dorothy C. (1970). Black Tai Phonemes, with Reference to White Tai. Anthropological Linguistics.
External links
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