Thavung language

Thavưng or Aheu is a language spoken by the Phon Sung people in Laos and Thailand. There are thought to be some 1,770 speakers in Laos, largely concentrated in Khamkeut District. A further 750 speakers live in 3 villages of Song Dao District, Sakon Nakhon Province, Thailand, namely Ban Nong Waeng (in Pathum Wapi Subdistrict), Ban Nong Charoen, and Ban Nong Muang.[2]

Thavưng
Phon Soung
Aheu
Native toLaos, Thailand
Native speakers
700 (2007)[1]
Thai
Language codes
ISO 639-3thm
Glottologaheu1239
ELP

Thavung makes a four-way distinction between clear and breathy phonation combined with glottalized final consonants. This is very similar to the situation in the Pearic languages in which, however, the glottalization is in the vowel.[3]

Phonology

Consonants[4]
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Stop plain p t c k ʔ
aspirated pʰ tʰ cʰ kʰ
voiced b d
Fricative f s h
Approximant w l j
Trill ɾ

Vowels
The vowels[5]
Front Central Back
Close i ɨ u
Close-mid e o
Mid ǝ
Open-mid ɔ
Open a

The vowels can also be long. In Thavung there are 3 Diphthongs: ia ɨa ua.

Further reading

References
  1. Thavưng at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Suwilai Premsrirat (1996). Phonological characteristics of So (Thavung), a Vietic language of Thailand. Retrieved 22. Nov. 2017.
  3. Sidwell, Paul. Vietic languages. Mon-Khmer Languages Project.
  4. Steven Moran and Daniel McCloy and Richard Wright. 2019. Thavung sound inventory (PH). In: Moran, Steven & McCloy, Daniel (eds.)
  5. "The Tower of Babel". starlingdb.org. Retrieved 2022-03-05.


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