Chong language

Chong, Western Chong
ภาษาชอง
Native to Cambodia and into Thailand
Region Pursat Province, Chantaburi
Ethnicity 1,500 in Cambodia (2015)[1]
Native speakers
 500 (2007)[2]
Austroasiatic
  • Pearic
    • Chong languages
      • Chong, Western Chong
Dialects
  • Trat Chong, Kasong, and Chung dialects are closer to other Pearic languages that to Western Chong
Thai, Khmer
Language codes
ISO 639-3 cog
Glottolog chon1284[3]

Chong, (Thai: ภาษาชอง) or more specifically Western Chong (also spelled Chawng, Shong, Xong), is an endangered language spoken in Cambodia and southeastern Thailand. It is a Western Pearic language in the Mon–Khmer language family.[3] Chong is currently the focus of a language revitalization project in Thailand.

The Chong language is marked by its unusual four-way contrast in register. Its grammar has not been extensively studied, but it is unrelated to the Thai language which is in the Tai–Kadai language family. Chong had no written form until 2000, when researchers at Mahidol University used a simplified version of standard Thai characters to create a Chong writing system, after which the first teaching materials in the language appeared.[4] Chong is currently considered to be at stage 7 in Joshua Fishman's Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (GIDS), where stage 8 is the closest to extinction.[5]

The Chong community in Thailand is primarily located in and around Chanthaburi.[4] While the language spoken in Thailand has been studied recently, the Chong language in Cambodia has not been investigated yet.

Classification

A number of Pearic languages are called "Chong", and they all do not constitute a single language. Chong proper consists of the majority of varieties which Sidwell (2009) labeled "Western Chong". This includes the main dialect around Chanthaburi Province (mostly in southern Khao Khitchakut District and western Pong Nam Ron District[6]). on the Thai–Cambodian border. These should not be confused with the variety called "Chong" in Trat Province of western Thailand, nor with "Kasong" Chong, both of which were classified as "Central Chong" along with Samre, and so should perhaps be considered dialects of Samre rather than of Chong. Similarly, the languages called "Chung" in Kanchanaburi Province and in Cambodia are dialects of Sa'och, and were classified as "Southern Chong" along with Suoi. The Western Chong dialects (Chong proper) are as follows:[7]

  • Chong of Chantaburi (Baradat ms.)
  • (Branch)
    • Chong həəp (Martin 1974)
    • Khlong Phlu Chong (Siripen Ungsitibonporn 2001)
  • (Branch)
    • Chong lɔɔ (Martin 1974)
    • Wang Kraphrae Chong (Siripen Ungsitibonporn 2001)
    • Chong (Huffman 1983)

Isara Choosri (2002) lists the following dialects of Chong spoken in Chanthaburi Province.[6]

  • Takhian Thong ตะเคียนทอง (Northern Chong): in Ban Khlong Phlu คลองพลู (northernmost location); Ban Nam Khun, Ban Takhian Thong ตะเคียนทอง, Ban Cham Khloh. This is the northernmost dialect; in the past, Chong speakers used to settle as far north as Ban Chankhlem จันทเขลม. A few thousand speakers. Formerly grouped as part of the western dialect also known as Chong lɔɔ.
  • Phluang พลวง (Southern Chong): in Ban Krathing, Ban Thung Saphan, Ban Thung Ta-In, Ban Phang Kalaeng. Hundreds of speakers. Formerly grouped as part of the western dialect also known as Chong lɔɔ.
  • Pong Nam Ron โป่งน้ำร้อน (Eastern Chong): in Ban Wang Kraphrae. A few dozen speakers left. Eastern dialect also known as Chong həəp.

Phonology

Consonants

[8] [9]

  Bilabial Labiodental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
plain aspirated plain aspirated plain aspirated plain aspirated
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Stop voiceless p pʰ t tʰ c cʰ k kʰ ʔ
voiced b d
Fricative f s h
Approximant w l j
Trill r

Vowels (Dicanio, 2009)

[8]

Vowel phonemes of Chong
Front Central Back Unrounded Back Rounded
Close i, ii u, uu
Close-Mid e, ee ə, əə ɤ, ɤɤ o, oo
Open-mid ɛ, ɛe ɔ, ɔɔ
Open a, aa
Diphthongs iə, iu ai, ao ɤə uə

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ Chong at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. ↑ "Chong". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
  3. 1 2 Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Chong". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  4. 1 2 Lim Li Min (October 23, 2006). "Saving Thailand's Other Languages". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2006-10-24.
  5. ↑ "Chong Language Revitalization Project (PDF)" (PDF). June 2005. Retrieved 2006-10-24.
  6. 1 2 Choosri, Isara. 2002. Mapping dialects of Chong in Chanthaburi province, Thailand: an application of Geographical Information System (GIS). M.A. dissertation, Mahidol University.
  7. ↑ Sidwell, Paul (2009). Classifying the Austroasiatic languages: history and state of the art. LINCOM studies in Asian linguistics, 76. Munich: Lincom Europa.
  8. 1 2 Dicanio, C. T., The Phonetics of Register in Takhian Thong Chong; http://www.linguistics.berkeley.edu/~dicanio/Chong_phonation.pdf%5Bpermanent+dead+link%5D
  9. ↑ Suwilai Premsrirat, Chong Language Revitalization Project; http://www.mekongwatch.org/PDF/Suwilai_Part1.pdf
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