Nung language (Tai)

Not to be confused with Nung language (Sino-Tibetan).

Nùng
Native to	Vietnam
Ethnicity	Nung
Native speakers	970,000 (2009 census)
Language family	Tai–Kadai Tai Zuojiang–Southwest Nung–Thai Yang–Nung (Central Tai) Nùng
Language codes
ISO 639-3	nut
Glottolog	nung1283

Nùng is a Tai–Kadai language spoken mostly in Cao Bằng and Lạng Sơn provinces in Vietnam. It is also known as Bu-Nong, Highland Nung, Nong, Tai Nung, Tay, and Tày Nùng. Nung is the name given to the various Tai languages of northern Vietnam that are spoken by peoples classified as Nùng by the Vietnamese government.

In the 1999 census, it had about 850,000 speakers.

Varieties

Nung consists of many varieties, some of which are listed below.

• Nùng Phạn Slinh (Nohng Fạn Slihng) is spoken in eastern Lạng Sơn Province. It is spoken by approximately 100,000 people (Freiberger 1976a). Freiberger (1976a) is based on Nùng Phạn Slinh as spoken by refugees from Bắc Giang Province who had moved to Lâm Đồng Province in 1954 (then known as Tuyên Đức Province, which consisted of Đà Lạt, Đơn Dương District, Đức Trọng District, Lạc Dương District). Freiberger (1976) also reported Nùng Phạn Slinh refugees in Biên Hòa Province and Long Khánh Province, which were former administrative divisions in South Vietnam.
• Nùng Cháo is spoken around Lạng Sơn city. It is identical with William J. Gedney's Lungchow.
• Nùng Inh is spoken in western Lạng Sơn Province. It is identical with William J. Gedney's Western Nung of Mường Khương, Lào Cai Province.
• Nùng An is spoken in and around Quảng Uyên, Quảng Hòa District, Cao Bằng. Like the Long'an (隆安) speakers of Guangxi, it has a mixture of Northern and Central Tai features.
• Nùng Giang is spoken in Hà Quảng District, Cao Bằng. It is also spoken across the border in Pingmeng (平孟镇), Jingxi County, Guangxi, where it is known as Yang Zhuang.

Nùng Vên (En), a language formerly undistinguished from surrounding Central Tai (Nùng) dialects, was discovered to be a Kra language by Hoàng Văn Ma and Jerold A. Edmondson in 1998. Its speakers are classified as Nùng by the Vietnamese government.

References

• Freiberger, Nancy; Vy Thị Bé (1976a). Sẹc mạhn Slứ Nohng Fạn Slihng: Ngữ vựng Nùng Phạn Slinh (Nung Fan Slihng Vocabulary). Series 64 E72. Summer Institute of Linguistics (Viện Chuyên Khảo Ngữ Học).
• Freiberger, Nancy (1976b). Thòi củ cưhn Nohng Fạn Slihng: Phong tục tập quán của người Nùng Phạn Slinh (Culture and Folklore of the Nung Fan Slihng). Series 64 E16. Summer Institute of Linguistics (Viện Chuyên Khảo Ngữ Học), Mainland Southeast Asia Branch.
• Vy Thị Bé; Janice E. Saul; Nancy Freiberger Wilson (1982). Nung Fan Slihng - English Dictionary. Manila: Summer Institute of Linguistics (Viện Chuyên Khảo Ngữ Học).

See also

• Nong Zhuang language