View source for Mlabri language

{{Short description|Austroasiatic language spoken in Laos and Thailand}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Mlabri
| nativename       = 
| states           = [[Thailand]], [[Laos]]
| speakers         = 130
| date             = 2007
| ref              = e18
| familycolor      = Austroasiatic
| fam2             = [[Khmuic languages|Khmuic]]
| fam3             = 
| nation           = 
| iso3             = mra
| glotto           = mlab1235
| glottorefname    = Mlabri
| notice           = IPA
| altname          = Yumbri
}}

'''Mlabri''' is a language spoken by the [[Mlabri people]] in the border area between [[Thailand]] and [[Laos]].

It is usually classified as a [[Khmuic languages|Khmuic language]], a subgroup of the [[Austroasiatic languages]]. [[Linguistics|Linguist]] [[Jørgen Rischel]] has studied the language and described its peculiarities in several works.  He divides the language into three varieties: one spoken by a small group in Laos and previously called ''Yumbri'', and two others spoken by larger groups in Thailand. They differ in [[Intonation (linguistics)|intonation]] and in [[lexicon]].

Although it is possible to count up to ten in Mlabri, only the numerals one and two may be used to modify a noun, and the word for 'two' has uses closer to 'pair' or 'couple' in English than a numeral.

==Phonology==
Mlabri distinguishes rounding in its [[back vowel]]s. It does not have the [[register (phonology)|register]] systems of some other Austroasiatic languages.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! rowspan="2" |
! rowspan="2" |[[Front vowel|Front]]
! colspan=2|[[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! <small>unrounded</small>
! <small>rounded</small>
|-
![[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPAlink|i}} || {{IPAlink|ɯ}} || {{IPAlink|u}}
|-
![[Close-mid vowel|Close-mid]]
| {{IPAlink|e}} || {{IPAlink|ɤ}} || {{IPAlink|o}}
|-
![[Open-mid vowel|Open-mid]]
| {{IPAlink|ɛ}} || {{IPAlink|ʌ}} || {{IPAlink|ɔ}}
|-
![[Open vowel|Open]]
| {{IPAlink|a}}
|
|
|}
All vowels occur [[vowel length|long and short]]. /a/ is fronted after palato-alveolar consonants, and may approach {{IPA|[ɛ]}}. There is also a very short vowel {{IPA|/ɪ/}} that has limited distribution. Schwas occur in pre-tonic syllables, but may be [[epenthetic]]. There are several diphthongs.

Consonants include the two implosive stops /ɓ/ and /ɗ/, attested in words such as ''ɓuʔ'' 'slow' and ''ɗɤŋ'' 'can'.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Baetscher|first=Kevin|year=2015|title=Mlabri|journal=The Handbook of Austroasiatic Languages|volume=2|pages=1003–1030}}</ref> These apparent implosive stops could be analyzed as pre-glottalized stops, as pre-glottalization is also a used for sonorants. Consonants also include voiceless sonorants, as in ''m̥ɛʔ'' 'new', ''n̥taʔ'' 'tail', ''ŋ̊uh'' 'sit', ''l̥ak'' '(there is) none', or ''w̥ep'' 'shoulder'. Arguably, these could be analyzed as a sequence of /h/ and a sonorant.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Initial consonants
!colspan=2| !! [[Labial consonant|Labial]]!! [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]!! [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]!! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]!! [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
!rowspan=4|[[Obstruent]]
!<small>aspirated</small>
| {{IPAlink|pʰ}} || {{IPAlink|tʰ}} || {{IPAlink|cʰ}} ~ {{IPAlink|s}} || {{IPAlink|kʰ}} || {{IPAlink|h}}
|-
!<small>tenuis</small>
| {{IPAlink|p}} || {{IPAlink|t}} || {{IPAlink|c}} || {{IPAlink|k}} || {{IPAlink|ʔ}}
|-
!<small>voiced</small>
| {{IPAlink|b}} || {{IPAlink|d}} || {{IPAlink|ɟ}} || {{IPAlink|ɡ}} ||
|-
!<small>glottalized</small>
| {{IPAlink|ˀb}} ~ {{IPAlink|ɓ}} || {{IPAlink|ˀd}} ~ {{IPAlink|ɗ}} || || ||
|-
!rowspan=2|[[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
!<small>voiced</small>
| {{IPAlink|m}} || {{IPAlink|n}} || {{IPAlink|ɲ}} || {{IPAlink|ŋ}} ||
|-
!<small>voiceless</small>
| {{IPAlink|m̥}} || {{IPAlink|n̥}} || {{IPAlink|ɲ̥}} || {{IPAlink|ŋ̊}} ||
|-
!rowspan=3|[[Sonorant]]
!<small>voiced</small>
| {{IPAlink|w}} || {{IPAlink|l}}, {{IPAlink|r}} || {{IPAlink|j}}, {{IPAlink|j̊}} || ||
|-
!<small>voiceless</small>
| {{IPAlink|w̥}} || {{IPAlink|l̥}}, ({{IPAlink|r̥}})|| || ||
|-
!<small>glottalized</small>
| {{IPAlink|ˀw}} || || {{IPAlink|ˀj}} ||
|}

{{IPA|/r̥/}} is only attested in [[minor syllable]]s.

Mlabri has a different set of consonants which occur at the ends of syllables, including aspirated sonorants {{IPA|/lʰ, rʰ, jʰ/}}.{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}}{{fix|text=are these voiceless or murmured?}} The second is a trill, and the third more post-alveolar than palatal. Other final consonants are {{IPA|/p t c k ʔ m n ɲ ŋ h l r j w/}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* [[Jørgen Rischel|Rischel, Jørgen]], ''Minor Mlabri. A Hunter-Gatherer Language of Northern Indochina'', 1995, {{ISBN|87-7289-294-3}}.
* [[Jørgen Rischel|Rischel, Jørgen]], ''Pan-dialectal databases: Mlabri, an oral Mon–Khmer language'', 2004 May, [[Lexicography Conference]], [[Chiangmai]].
* Schliesinger, Joachim, ''Ethnic Groups of Laos, vol. 2'', White Lotus 2000, {{ISBN|974-480-036-4}}

==External links==
* [[Jørgen Rischel]], ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20080910210310/http://www.ostas.lu.se/ICSTLL/abstracts/55_Rischel.pdf In what sense is Mlabri a West Khmuic language?]''
* http://projekt.ht.lu.se/rwaai RWAAI (Repository and Workspace for Austroasiatic Intangible Heritage)
* [[hdl:10050/00-0000-0000-0003-66E5-6@view|http://hdl.handle.net/10050/00-0000-0000-0003-66E5-6@view]] Mlabri in RWAAI Digital Archive

{{Languages of Laos}}
{{Languages of Thailand}}
{{Austroasiatic languages}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mlabri Language}}
[[Category:Languages of Thailand]]
[[Category:Khmuic languages]]
[[Category:Languages of Laos]]
[[Category:Endangered Austroasiatic languages]]


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