Brao language

Brao
Brao
Native to	Cambodia, Laos
Native speakers	59,000 (2005–2008)
Language family	Austroasiatic Bahnaric West Brao; ; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Variously:; brb – Lave; krr – Krung; krv – Kavet
Glottolog	lave1249
ELP	Lave
	Kravet
	Kru'ng 2

Brao is a Mon–Khmer language of Cambodia and Laos.

Phonology

Consonants^[2]
	Labial	Coronal	Palatal	Velar	Dorsal
Nasals	ʰm m	ʰn n	ɲ	ʰŋ ŋ
Obstruents	pʰ p b ʔb	tʰ t d ʔd	ç c ɟ ʔɟ	kʰ k ɡ ʔɡ	ħ ʔ
Trill		r
Approximant		l	j	w

Varieties

According to Ethnologue, there are four distinct but mutually intelligible varieties, sometimes considered separate languages: Lave (Brao proper), Kru’ng (Kreung), and Kavet (Kravet), the latter spoken by only a couple thousand.

Sidwell (2003) also lists four communities of speakers, three of which are in Cambodia.

Laveh (Lave, Rawe): spoken in Attapeu Province, Laos south of the capital city of Attapeu. Laveh is the official designation given by the Laotian government.
Krung (Krüng, "Krung 2"): spoken around Ban Lung in Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia
Kavet (Kravet): spoken in Voeun Sai District, Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia
Brao (Brou, Palaw, Preou): spoken in and around the town of Taveng in Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia

Lun, spoken in Stung Treng Province, Cambodia, is related to Lave and Kavet (Philip Lambrecht 2012).^[3]

Demographics

Sidwell (2003) suggests the possibility of a total of 50,000 speakers, while Bradley (1994:161) gives an estimate of 35,000. All estimates below are drawn from Sidwell (2003:30).

Laos: The 1995 Laotian census places the Laveh population at 17,544.
Cambodia: The Asian Development Bank gave an estimate of 29,500 speakers as of the early 2000s.
Vietnam: About 300 Brau live in Đắc Mế village, Bờ Y commune, Ngọc Hồi district, Kon Tum province (Đặng, et al. 2010:112).^[4] Parkin (1991:81) also estimates several hundred Brao in Vietnam.
Thailand: Parkin (1991:81) estimates a Brao population of 2,500 in Thailand.

References

^ Lave at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Krung at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Kavet at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
^ Keller, Charles E. (April 1999). "Brao-Krung Phonology" (PDF). Mon-Khmer Studies. 31. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
^ http://li.payap.ac.th/images/stories/survey/khmer_khes_report_final.pdf
^ Đặng Nghiêm Vạn, Chu Thái Sơn, Lưu Hùng. 2010. Ethnic Minorities in Vietnam. Hà Nội: Thế Giới Publishers.

Sidwell, Paul (2003). A Handbook of comparative Bahnaric, Vol. 1: West Bahnaric. Pacific Linguistics, 551. Canberra: Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University.

Phonology

Varieties

Demographics

References

Further reading