Khir language

Khir
Khir
Laya
Native to	Laos
Region	Phongsaly province
Native speakers	3,200 (2023)[1]
Language family	Sino-Tibetan (Tibeto-Burman) Lolo–Burmese Loloish Southern Siloid Khir; ; ; ; ; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	None (mis)
Glottolog	None

Khir (Lao: ເຄີ; autonym: ka55 ɯ21 or la21 ja21) is a Loloish language of northern Laos. It is closely related to Cosao.[2]

Khir is spoken in Nyot U District, Phongsaly Province, including in Kang village.[3]

Names

The autonym is ka55 ɯ21. A less commonly used autonym, la21 ja21, is an autonym elicited in Khir Tai language.[1]

The exonym is pronounced khɯ but is officially spelled Khir (Lao: ເຄີ).[1]

As of 2023, the ethnic Khir population is 3,200.[1]

There are 6 dialects of Khir, all of which are mutually intelligible with each other. Each dialcet has 300 to 800 speakers.[1]

Kang: described by Kato (2008) and is mainly spoken in Kangnamlae (formerly Kang) and Phiangsaeng Villages. 600 people.
Khir: spoken in Khir Neua, Khir Tai, and Chompho Villages. 440 people.
Ka: spoken in Ka and Chompho Villages. 560 people.
Hin: mainly spoken in Hin and Palan Villages, with 5 or 6 households in Somheuang Village. 460 people.
Paek: spoken in Paek Village. 300 people.
Somheuang: spoken in Somheuang and Nakong Villages. 860 people.

Below is a comparison of lexical differences among each of the six Khir dialects.[1]

Gloss	Kang	Somheuang	Khir	Hin	Ka	Paek
eye	mla33sɯ21	mja33sɯ21	mɛ33sɯ21	ma33nɯ̰33	mɛ33hɯ21	mɛ33nɯ̰33
chicken	a33	ha33	ha33ɕḭ33	a21ɕḭ33	ja33ʨḭ33	ja33ʨḭ33
language	sɯ21to21	mi33	ne21bu21	to21ma33	tɔ21	tɔ21
bee	blə21	pja21	pɛ21ɔ21	i21ɕi55	pja21	pja21
face	mla33phlo21	mja33phlo21	ma33phɔ21	ma33phɔ21	mɛ33phɔ21	mɛ33phɔ21
full (not empty)	a21blɯ33	a21blɯ33	bɯ33	pɯ33	pɯ33	pɯ33
sweat	tsha55qhi21	ʨhɛ55khli21	sɛ55khi21	sɛ55khi21	khɛ21su21	khi21ʨha55

Kato, Takashi (2023). Linguistic varieties of Khir in Laos. 56th International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages and Linguistics, 10-12 October 2023. Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok.
Hsiu, Andrew. 2016. The classification of Cosao: a Lolo-Burmese language of China and Laos. Presented at the 22nd Himalayan Languages Symposium, Guwahati, India.
Kato, Takashi. 2008. Linguistic Survey of Tibeto-Burman languages in Lao P.D.R. Tokyo: Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA).

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