Jarai language

Jarai
Native to	Vietnam, Cambodia
Region	Central Highlands
Native speakers	260,000 (2007–2008)
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Nuclear Malayo-Polynesian Malayo-Sumbawan Chamic Highlands Jarai
Writing system	Vietnam: modified Vietnamese alphabet; Cambodia: none
Official status
Recognised minority language in	Vietnam
Language codes
ISO 639-3	jra
Glottolog	jara1266

The Jarai language is a Malayo-Polynesian language spoken by the Jarai people of Vietnam and Cambodia. The speakers of Jarai number approximately 332,557. They are the largest of the upland ethnic groups of Vietnam's Central Highlands known as Degar or Montagnards.

The language is in the Chamic subgroup of the Malayo-Polynesian languages, and is thus related to the Cham language of central Vietnam.

A number of Jarai also live in the United States, having resettled there following the Vietnam War.

Subdivisions

Dao (1998) lists the following subgroups of Jarai and their respective locations.

• Jarai Pleiku: in the Pleiku area
• Jarai Cheoreo: in AJunPa (Phú Bổn)
• Jarai ARáp: in northwestern Pleiku, southwestern Kon Tum
• Jarai H’dRung: in northeastern Pleiku, southeastern Kon Tum
• Jarai Tbuan: western Pleiku

Other related groups include:

• HRoi: in western Phú Yên, southern Bình Định. Mixed Ede and Jarai people.
• M’dhur: in southern Phú Yên. Mixed Ede and Jarai people.
• Hàlang: in southwestern Kon Tum, and some in Laos and Cambodia. Mixed Sedang and Jarai people.

Phonology

Influenced by the surrounding Mon–Khmer languages, words of the various Chamic languages of Southeast Asia, including Jarai, have become disyllabic with the stress on the second syllable. Additionally, Jarai has further evolved in the pattern of Mon–Khmer, losing almost all vowel distinction in the initial syllable. While trisyllabic words do exist, they are all loanwords. The typical Jarai word may be represented:

(C)(V)-C(C)V(V)(C)

where the values in parentheses are optional and "(C)" in the cluster "C(C)" represents a liquid consonant /l/, /r/ or a semivowel /w/, /j/. In Jarai dialects spoken in Cambodia, the "(C)" in the cluster "C(C)" can also be the voiced velar fricative /ɣ/, a phoneme used by the Jarai in Cambodia, but not attested in Vietnam. The vowel of the first sylable in disyllabic words is most often the mid-central unrounded vowel, /ə/, unless the initial consonant is the glottal stop /ʔ/. The second vowel of the stressed syllable produces a diphthong.

Further reading

• Lafont, Pierre-Bernard & Nguyễn Văn Trọng (1968). Lexique jarai, français, viêtnamien, parler de la province de Plei Ku. Publications de l'Ecole française d'Extrême-Orient, v 63. Paris: École française d'Extrême-Orient.
• Pittman, R. S. (1957). Jarai as a member of the Malayo-Polynesian family of languages. Fargo, N.D.: Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota.
• Reed, R. (1976). Jorai primer, guide and writing book. Vietnam education microfiche series, no. VE55-01/08/04. Huntington Beach, Calif: Summer Institute of Linguistics.
• Rơmah Dêl (1977). Từ Diển Việt - Gia Rai [Vietnamese - Jarai dictionary]. Hà Nội: Nhà xuất bản khoa học xã hội.
• Tong Nang, N. (1975). An outline of Jarai grammar. Vietnam data microfiche series, no. VD55-01. Huntington Beach, Calif: Summer Institute of Linguistics.
• Siu, Lap M. (2009), Developing the First Preliminary Dictionary of North American Jarai. Master of Arts thesis in Anthropology, Texas Tech University.

External links

• A Preliminary Jarai - English Online Dictionary
• Preliminary research on Jarai phonology in Cambodia
• Fairly comprehensive bibliography of Jarai language research