Hmong language

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Cleanup lang Template:Template otherTemplate:Main other Template:Contains special characters Hmong or Mong (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell; RPA: , CHV: Hmôngz, Nyiakeng Puachue: , Pahawh: , ) is a dialect continuum of the West Hmongic branch of the Hmongic languages spoken by the Hmong people of Southwestern China, northern Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos. There are an estimated 4.5 million speakers of varieties that are largely mutually intelligible, including over 280,000 Hmong Americans as of 2013. Over half of all Hmong speakers speak the various dialects in China, where the Dananshan dialect forms the basis of the standard language. However, Hmong Daw and Mong Leng are widely known only in Laos and the United States; Dananshan is more widely known in the native region of Hmong.

Varieties

Mong Leng () and Hmong Daw () are part of a dialect cluster known in China as Template:Transliteration (Template:Lang-zh), called the "Chuanqiandian cluster" in English (or "Miao cluster" in other languages) since West Hmongic is also called Template:Transliteration. The variety spoken from Sichuan in China to Thailand and Laos is referred to in China as the "First Local Variety" () of the cluster. Mong Leng and Hmong Daw are just those varieties of the cluster that migrated to Laos. The names Mong Leng, Hmong Dleu/Der, and Hmong Daw are also used in China for various dialects of the cluster.

Ethnologue once distinguished only the Laotian varieties (Hmong Daw, Mong Leng), Sinicized Miao (Hmong Shua), and the Vietnamese varieties (Hmong Dô, Hmong Don). The Vietnamese varieties are very poorly known; population estimates are not even available. In 2007, Horned Miao, Small Flowery Miao, and the Chuanqiandian cluster of China were split off from Mong Leng [blu].

These varieties are as follows, along with some alternative names.

• Hmong/Mong/Chuanqiandian Miao macrolanguage (China, Laos, also spoken by minorities in Thailand and the United States), including:
  • Hmong Daw (Hmong Der, , , , 'White Hmong'; Chinese: , Template:Transliteration, 'White Miao'),
  • Mong Leng (, , , 'Blue/Green Hmong'; Chinese: , Template:Transliteration, 'Blue-Green Miao'),
  • Hmong Shua (; 'Sinicized Miao'),
  • Hmo or A-Hmo (Chinese: , Template:Transliteration, 'Horned Miao'),
  • Small Flowery Miao,
  • and the rest of the Chuanqiandian Miao cluster located in China.
• Hmong languages of Vietnam, not considered part of the China/Laos macrolanguage and possibly forming their own distinct macrolanguage — they are still not very well classified even if they are described by Ethnologue as having vigorous use (in Vietnam) but without population estimates; they have most probably been influenced by Vietnamese, as well as by French (in the former Indochina colonies) and later American English, and they may be confused with varieties spoken by minorities living today in the United States, Europe or elsewhere in Asia (where their varieties may have been assimilated locally, but separately in each area, with other Hmong varieties imported from Laos and China):
  • Hmong Dô (Vietnam),
  • Hmong Don (Vietnam, assumed).

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that the White and Leng dialects "are said to be mutually intelligible to a well-trained ear, with pronunciation and vocabulary differences analogous to the differences between British and American English."

Several Chinese varieties may overlap with or be more distinct than the varieties listed above:

• Dananshan Miao (, ; called in Northern Hmong), the basis of the Chinese standard of the Chuanqiandian cluster
• Black Miao (subgroups: , /; Chinese: , Template:Transliteration)
• Southern Hmong (subgroups: , , , ; includes Mong Leng)
• Northern Hmong (subgroups: , /, )
• Western Sichuan Miao (Chinese: , Template:Transliteration)

In the 2007 request to establish an ISO code for the Chuanqiandian cluster, corresponding to the "first local dialect" () of the Chuanqiandian cluster in Chinese, the proposer made the following statement on mutual intelligibility:

A colleague has talked with speakers of a number of these closely-related lects in the US, in Thailand and in China, and has had many discussions with Chinese linguists and foreign researchers or community development workers who have had extensive contact with speakers of these lects. As a result of these conversations this colleague believes that many of these lects are likely to have high inherent mutual intelligibility within the cluster. Culturally, while each sub-group prides itself on its own distinctives, they also recognize that other sub-groups within this category are culturally similar to themselves and accept the others as members of the same general ethnic group. However, this category of lects is internally varied and geographically scattered and mixed over a broad land area, and comprehensive intelligibility testing would be required to confirm reports of mutual intelligibility throughout the cluster.

Varieties in Laos

According to the CDC, "although there is no official preference for one dialect over the other, White Hmong seems to be favored in many ways": the Romanized Popular Alphabet (RPA) most closely reflects that of White Hmong (Hmong Daw); most educated Hmong speak White Hmong because White Hmong people lack the ability to understand Mong Leng; and most Hmong dictionaries only include the White Hmong dialect. Furthermore, younger generations of Hmong are more likely to speak White Hmong, and speakers of Mong Leng are more likely to understand White Hmong than speakers of White Hmong are.

Varieties in the United States

Most Hmong in the United States speak White Hmong (Hmoob Dawb) and Mong Leng (Moob Leeg), with around 60% speaking White Hmong and 40% Mong Leng. The CDC states that "though some Hmong report difficulty understanding speakers of a dialect not their own, for the most part, Mong Leng seem to do better when understanding both dialects."

Phonology

The three dialects described here are Hmong Daw (also called White Miao or Hmong Der), Mong Leeg (also called Blue/Green Miao or Mong Leng), and Dananshan (Standard Chinese Miao). Hmong Daw and Mong Leeg are the two major dialects spoken by Hmong Americans. Although mutually intelligible, the dialects differ in both lexicon and certain aspects of phonology. For instance, Mong Leeg lacks the voiceless/aspirated of Hmong Daw (as exemplified by their names) and has a third nasalized vowel, ; Dananshan has a couple of extra diphthongs in native words, numerous Chinese loans, and an eighth tone.

Vowels

The vowel systems of Hmong Daw and Mong Leeg are as shown in the following charts. (Phonemes particular to Hmong DawTemplate:Dagger and Mong LeegTemplate:Double-dagger are color-coded and indicated by a dagger or double dagger respectively.)

1. 1st Row: IPA, Hmong RPA
2. 2nd Row: Nyiakeng Puachue
3. 3rd Row: Pahawh

Monophthongs

	Front		Central		Back
	oral	nasal	oral	nasal	oral	nasal
Close	File:I - Hmong word.wav Template:IPA link ⟨i⟩ Template:Script		File:W - Hmong word.wav Template:IPA link ⟨w⟩ Template:Script		File:U - Hmong word.wav Template:IPA link ⟨u⟩ Template:Script
Mid	File:E - Hmong word.wav Template:IPA link ⟨e⟩ Template:Script	File:Ee - Hmong word.wav Template:IPA link~ ⟨ee⟩ Template:Script			File:O - Hmong word.wav Template:IPA link ⟨o⟩ Template:Script	File:Oo - Hmong word.wav Template:IPA link~ ⟨oo⟩ Template:Script
Open			File:A - Hmong word.wav Template:IPA link ⟨a⟩ Template:Script	File:Aa - Green Hmong word.wav Template:IPA link~ ⟨aa⟩ Template:ScriptTemplate:Double-dagger

Diphthongs

	Closing	Centering
Close component is front	File:Ai - Hmong word.wav ⟨ai⟩ Template:Script Template:Script	File:Ia - Hmong word.wav ⟨ia⟩ Template:Script Template:ScriptTemplate:Dagger
Close component is central	File:Aw - Hmong word.wav ⟨aw⟩ Template:Script Template:Script
Close component is back	File:Au - Hmong word.wav ⟨au⟩ Template:Script Template:Script	File:Ua - Hmong word.wav ⟨ua⟩ Template:Script Template:Script

The Dananshan standard of China is similar. Phonemic differences from Hmong Daw and Mong Leeg are color-coded and marked as absent or added.

Dananshan Miao vowels

	Front		Central		Back
	oral	nasal	oral	nasal	oral	nasal
Close	Template:IPA link		(Template:IPA link) (added)		Template:IPA link
Mid	Template:IPA link				Template:IPA link
Open			Template:IPA link

Diphthongs

	Closing	Centering
Close component is front	Template:Angbr	(absent)
Close component is back	Template:Angbr	Template:Angbr
	Template:Angbr Template:Angbr (added)

Dananshan occurs only after non-palatal affricates, and is written Template:Angbr, much like Mandarin Chinese. is pronounced after palatal consonants. There is also a triphthong Template:Angbr, as well as other i- and u-initial sequences in Chinese borrowings, such as .

Consonants

Hmong makes a number of phonemic contrasts unfamiliar to English speakers. All non-glottal stops and affricates distinguish aspirated and unaspirated forms, and most also distinguish prenasalization independently of this. The consonant inventory of Hmong is shown in the chart below. (Consonants particular to Hmong DawTemplate:Dagger and Mong LeegTemplate:Double-dagger are color-coded and indicated by a dagger or double dagger respectively.)

1. 1st Row: IPA, Hmong RPA
2. 2nd Row: Nyiakeng Puachue
3. 3rd Row: Pahawh

Hmong Daw and Mong Leeg consonants

		Labial		Alveolar			Retroflex		Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
		plain	lateral*	plain	sibilant	lateral*	plain	sibilant
Nasal	voiceless	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:ScriptTemplate:Dagger	(Template:IPA link) Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:ScriptTemplate:Dagger	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:ScriptTemplate:Dagger					Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:ScriptTemplate:Dagger
	voiced	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	(Template:IPA link) Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script					Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	(Template:IPA link Template:Angbr marginalTemplate:Sfn)	Template:Script
Plosive/ Affricate	tenuis	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	(Template:IPA link) Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	(Template:IPA link) Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:ScriptTemplate:Double-dagger	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr*** Template:Script	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script
	aspirated	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	(Template:IPA link) Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	(Template:IPA link) Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:ScriptTemplate:Double-dagger	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script
	voiced			Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:ScriptTemplate:Dagger
	murmured			Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:ScriptTemplate:Dagger
	prenasalized**	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	(Template:IPA link) Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	(Template:IPA link) Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:ScriptTemplate:Double-dagger	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script
		Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	(Template:IPA link) Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	(Template:IPA link) Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:ScriptTemplate:Double-dagger	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script
Continuant	voiceless	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script		Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script		Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script		Template:IPA link ~ Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script			Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script
	voiced	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script				Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script		Template:IPA link ~ Template:IPA link Template:Angbr Template:Script Template:Script
Approximant							Template:Script

The Dananshan standard of China is similar. (Phonemic differences from Hmong Daw and Mong Leeg are color-coded and marked as absent or added. Minor differences, such as the voicing of prenasalized stops, or whether is an affricate or is velar, may be a matter of transcription.) Aspirates, voiceless fricatives, voiceless nasals, and glottal stop only occur with yin tones (1, 3, 5, 7). Standard orthography is added in angled brackets. The glottal stop is not written; it is not distinct from a zero initial. There is also a , which occurs only in foreign words.

Dananshan Miao consonants

		Labial		Alveolar			Retroflex		Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
		plain	lateral*	plain	sibilant	lateral*	plain	sibilant
Nasal	voiceless	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	(absent)	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr					Template:IPA link Template:Angbr
	voiced	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	(absent)	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr					Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr (added)
Plosive/ Affricate	tenuis	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	(Template:IPA link) Template:Angbr	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	(Template:IPA link) Template:Angbr	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	(Template:IPA link)
	aspirated	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	(Template:IPA link) Template:Angbr	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	(Template:IPA link) Template:Angbr	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr
	voiced			(absent)
	prenasalized**	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	(Template:IPA link) Template:Angbr	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	(absent)	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr
		Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	(Template:IPA link) Template:Angbr	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	(absent)	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr
Continuant	voiceless	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr		Template:IPA link Template:Angbr		Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr		Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr
	voiced	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr				Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr		Template:IPA link ~ Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	(Template:IPA link)

^* The status of the consonants described here as single phonemes with lateral release is controversial. A number of scholars instead analyze them as biphonemic clusters with as the second element. The difference in analysis (e.g., between and ) is not based on any disagreement in the sound or pronunciation of the consonants in question, but on differing theoretical grounds. Those in favor of a unit-phoneme analysis generally argue for this based on distributional evidence (i.e., if clusters, these would be the only clusters in the language, although see below) and dialect evidence (the laterally released dentals in Mong Leeg, e.g. , correspond to the voiced dentals of White Hmong), whereas those in favor of a cluster analysis tend to argue on the basis of general phonetic principles (other examples of labial phonemes with lateral release appear extremely rare or nonexistent).

^** Some linguists prefer to analyze the prenasalized consonants as clusters whose first element is . However, this cluster analysis is not as common as the above one involving .

^*** Only used in Hmong RPA and not in Pahawh Hmong, since Hmong RPA uses Latin script and Pahawh Hmong does not. For example, in Hmong RPA, to write , the order Consonant + Vowel + Tone (CVT) must be followed, so it is k + ee + b = , but in Pahawh Hmong, it is just "Template:Script" (3rd-Stage Version).

Syllable structure

Hmong syllables have simple structure: all syllables have an onset consonant (except in a few particlesTemplate:Sfn), nuclei may consist of a monophthong or diphthong, and the only coda consonants that occur are nasals. In Hmong Daw and Mong Leeg, nasal codas have become nasalized vowels, though they may be accompanied by weakly articulated .Template:Sfn Similarly, a short may accompany the low-falling creaky tone.

Dananshan has a syllabic (written Template:Angbr) in Chinese loans, such as 'two' and 'child'.

Tones

Hmong is a tonal language and makes use of seven (Hmong Daw and Mong Leeg) or eight (Dananshan) distinct tones.

Tone	Hmong Daw example	Hmong/Mong RPA spelling	Vietnamese Hmong spelling	Nyiakeng Puachue	Pahawh Hmong	Hmong Pronunciation
High	'ball'	pob	poz	Template:Script	Template:Script	File:Pob - Hmong word.wav
Mid	'spleen'	po	po	Template:Script	Template:Script	File:Po - Hmong word.wav
Low	'thorn'	pos	pos	Template:Script	Template:Script	File:Pos - Hmong word.wav
High-falling	'female'	poj	pox	Template:Script	Template:Script	File:Poj - Hmong word.wav
Mid-rising	'to throw'	pov	por	Template:Script	Template:Script	File:Pov - Hmong word.wav
Low checked (creaky) tone (phrase final: long low rising )	'to see'	pom	pov	Template:Script	Template:Script	File:Pom - Hmong word.wav
Mid-falling breathy tone	'grandmother'	pog	pol	Template:Script	Template:Script	File:Pog - Hmong word.wav

The Dananshan tones are transcribed as pure tone. However, given how similar several of them are, it is likely that there are also phonational differences as in Hmong Daw and Mong Leeg. Tones 4 and 6, for example, are said to make tenuis plosives breathy voiced (), suggesting they may be breathy/murmured like the Hmong g-tone. Tones 7 and 8 are used in early Chinese loans with entering tone, suggesting they may once have marked checked syllables.

Because voiceless consonants apart from tenuis plosives are restricted to appearing before certain tones (1, 3, 5, 7), those are placed first in the table:

Dananshan Miao tone

Tone	IPA	Orthography
1 high falling	43	b
3 top	5	d
5 high	4	t
7 mid	3	k
2 mid falling	31	x
4 low falling (breathy)	21	l
6 low rising (breathy)	13	s
8 mid rising	24	f

So much information is conveyed by the tones that it is possible to speak intelligibly using musical tunes only; there is a tradition of young lovers communicating covertly playing a Jew's harp to convey vowel sounds.

Orthography

Robert Cooper, an anthropologist, collected a Hmong folktale saying that the Hmong used to have a written language, and important information was written down in a treasured book. The folktale explains that cows and rats ate the book, so, in the words of Anne Fadiman, author of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, "no text was equal to the task of representing a culture as rich as that of the Hmong." Therefore, the folktale states that the Hmong language was exclusively oral from that point onwards.

Natalie Jill Smith, author of "Ethnicity, Reciprocity, Reputation and Punishment: An Ethnoexperimental Study of Cooperation among the Chaldeans and Hmong of Detroit (Michigan)", wrote that the Qing Dynasty had caused a previous Hmong writing system to die out when it stated that the death penalty would be imposed on those who wrote it down.

Since the end of the 19th century, linguists created over two dozen Hmong writing systems, including systems using Chinese characters, the Lao alphabet, the Cyrillic script, the Thai alphabet, and the Vietnamese alphabet. In addition, in 1959 Shong Lue Yang, a Hmong spiritual leader from Laos, created an 81 symbol writing system called Pahawh. Yang was not previously literate in any language. Chao Fa, an anti-Laotian government Hmong group, uses this writing system.

In the 1980s, Nyiakeng Puachue Hmong script was created by a Hmong Minister, Reverend Chervang Kong Vang, to be able to capture Hmong vocabulary clearly and also to remedy redundancies in the language as well as address semantic confusions that was lacking in other scripts. Nyiakeng Puachue Hmong script was mainly used by United Christians Liberty Evangelical Church, a church also founded by Vang, although the script have been found to be in use in Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, France, and Australia. The script bears strong resemblance to the Lao alphabet in structure and form and characters inspired from the Hebrew alphabets, although the characters themselves are different.

Other experiments by Hmong and non-Hmong orthographers have been undertaken using invented letters.

The Romanized Popular Alphabet (RPA), the most widely used script for Hmong Daw and Mong Leeg, was developed in Laos between 1951 and 1953 by three Western missionaries. In the United States Hmong do not use RPA for spelling of proper nouns, because they want their names to be easily pronounced by people unfamiliar with RPA. For instance Hmong in the U.S. spell Hmoob as "Hmong," and Liab Lis is spelled as Lia Lee.

The Dananshan standard in China is written in a pinyin-based alphabet, with tone letters similar to those used in RPA.

Correspondence between orthographies

The following is a list of pairs of RPA and Dananshan segments having the same sound (or very similar sounds). Note however that RPA and the standard in China not only differ in orthographic rules, but are also used to write different languages. The list is ordered alphabetically by the RPA, apart from prenasalized stops and voiceless sonorants, which come after their oral and voiced homologues. There are three overriding patterns to the correspondences: RPA doubles a vowel for nasalization, whereas pinyin uses Template:Angle bracket; RPA uses Template:Angle bracket for aspiration, whereas pinyin uses the voicing distinction of the Latin script; pinyin uses Template:Angle bracket (and Template:Angle bracket) to derive the retroflex and uvular series from the dental and velar, whereas RPA uses sequences based on Template:Angle bracket vs. Template:Angle bracket for the same.

Vowels

RPA	Pinyin	Vietnamese	Pahawh
a			Template:Script
aa	ang		Template:Script
ai			Template:Script
au		âu	Template:Script
aw	–	ơư	Template:Script
e		ê	Template:Script
ee	eng	ênh	Template:Script
–	eu	–	–
i			Template:Script
ia	–	iê	Template:Script
o			Template:Script
oo	ong	ông	Template:Script
–	ou	–	–
u		u	Template:Script
ua		uô	Template:Script
w	i	ư	Template:Script

Consonants

RPA	Dananshan	Vietnamese	Pahawh
c	j	ch	Template:Script
ch	q		Template:Script
nc	nj	nd	Template:Script
nch	nq		Template:Script
d	–	đ	Template:Script
dh	–	đh	Template:Script
dl		đr	Template:Script
dlh	tl	đl	Template:Script
ndl	–	nđr	Template:Script
ndlh	–	nđl	Template:Script
f		ph	Template:Script
h			Template:Script
k	g	c	–
kh	k	kh	Template:Script
nk	ng	g	Template:Script
nkh	nk	nkh	Template:Script
l			Template:Script
hl			Template:Script
m			Template:Script
hm			Template:Script
ml	–	mn	Template:Script
hml	–	hmn	Template:Script
n			Template:Script
hn		hn	Template:Script
–	ngg	–	–
ny	ni	nh	Template:Script
hny	hni	hnh	Template:Script
p	b	p	Template:Script
ph	p	ph	Template:Script
np	nb	b	Template:Script
nph	np	mf	Template:Script
pl	bl	pl	Template:Script
plh	pl	fl	Template:Script
npl	nbl	bl	Template:Script
nplh	npl	mfl	Template:Script
q	gh	k	Template:Script
qh	kh	qh	Template:Script
nq	ngh	ng	Template:Script
nqh	nkh	nkr	Template:Script
r	dr	tr	Template:Script
rh	tr	rh	Template:Script
nr	ndr	r	Template:Script
nrh	ntr	nr	Template:Script
s	sh	s	Template:Script
t	d	t	Template:Script
th	t	th	Template:Script
nt	nd	nt	Template:Script
nth	nt	nth	Template:Script
ts	zh	ts	Template:Script
tsh	ch	tsh	Template:Script
nts	nzh	nts	Template:Script
ntsh	nch	ntsh	Template:Script
tx	z	tx	Template:Script
txh	c	cx	Template:Script
ntx	nz	nz	Template:Script
ntxh	nc	nx	Template:Script
v			Template:Script
–	w	–	–
x	s	x	Template:Script
xy	x	sh	Template:Script
y		z	Template:Script
z	r	j	Template:Script

There is no simple correspondence between the tone letters. The historical connection between the tones is as follows. The Chinese names reflect the tones given to early Chinese loan words with those tones in Chinese.

Tone class	Tone number	Dananshan orthog.	RPA		Vietnamese Hmong
			Hmoob	Moob
平 or A	1	b	b		z
	2	x	j		x
上 or B	3	d	v		r
	4	l	s	g	s
去 or C	5	t	(unmarked)
	6	s	g		l
入 or D	7	k	s		s
	8	f	m ~ d		v ~ k

Tones 4 and 7 merged in Hmoob Dawb, whereas tones 4 and 6 merged in Mong Leeg.

Example: lus Hmoob /̤ lṳ˧˩ m̥̥õ˦ / Template:Script / (White Hmong) / lug Moob / Template:Script / (Mong Leng) / lol Hmongb (Dananshan) / lus Hmôngz (Vietnamese) "Hmong language".

Grammar

Hmong is an analytic SVO language in which adjectives and demonstratives follow the noun.

Nouns

Noun phrases can contain the following elements (parentheses indicate optional elements):

(possessive) + (quantifier) + (classifier) + noun + (adjective) + (demonstrative)

The Hmong pronominal system distinguishes between three grammatical persons and three numbers – singular, dual, and plural. They are not marked for case, that is, the same word is used to translate both "I" and "me", "she" and "her", and so forth. These are the personal pronouns of Hmong Daw and Mong Leeg:

1. 1st Row: IPA, Hmong RPA
2. 2nd Row: Vietnamese Hmong
3. 3rd Row: Pahawh Hmong
4. 4th Row: Nyiakeng Puachue

White Hmong Pronouns

Number:	Singular	Dual	Plural
First	kuv cur Template:Script	wb ưz Template:Script	peb pêz Template:Script
Second	koj cox Template:Script	neb nêz Template:Script	nej nêx Template:Script
Third	nws nưs Template:Script	nkawd gơưk Template:Script	lawv lơưr Template:Script

Green Hmong Pronouns

Number:	Singular	Dual	Plural
First	kuv cur Template:Script	ib iz Template:Script	peb pêz Template:Script
Second	koj cox Template:Script	meb mêz Template:Script	mej mêx Template:Script
Third	nwg nưs Template:Script	ob tug oz tus Template:Script	puab puôz Template:Script

Classifiers

Classifiers are one of the features recurrently found in languages of Southeast Asia.Template:Sfn In Hmong, the noun does not directly follow a numeral, and a classifier or an adjective is required to count objects. Here are examples from Mong Leeg (Green Hmong):Template:Sfn

Also, classifiers may occur with a noun without any numerals for definite and/or specific reference in Hmong.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The following examples are again from Green Hmong:Template:Sfn

Moreover, nominal possessive phrases are expressed with a classifier;Template:Sfn however, it may be omitted when the referent of the possessed noun is inalienable from the possessor as shown in the following Hmong Daw (White Hmong) phrases:Template:Sfn

Relativization is also expressed with classifiers.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Although absent in Mandarin Chinese, definite reference by bare classifier constructions are found in Cantonese (Sinitic) and Zhuang (Kra-dai), which is the case for possessive classifier constructions as well.Template:Sfn

Verbs

Hmong is an isolating language in which most morphemes are monosyllables. As a result, verbs are not overtly inflected. Tense, aspect, mood, person, number, gender, and case are indicated lexically.

Serial verb construction

Hmong verbs can be serialized, with two or more verbs combined in one clause. It is common for as many as five verbs to be strung together, sharing the same subject.

Here is an example from White Hmong:

Tense

Because the verb form in Hmong does not change to indicate tense, the simplest way to indicate the time of an event is to use temporal adverb phrases like "last year," "today," or "next week."

Here is an example from White Hmong:

Aspect

Aspectual differences are indicated by a number of verbal modifiers. Here are the most common ones:

Progressive: (Mong Leeg) taab tom + verb, (White Hmong) tab tom + verb = situation in progress

Taab/tab tom + verb can also be used to indicate a situation that is about to start. That is clearest when taab/tab tom occurs in conjunction with the irrealis marker yuav. Note that the taab tom construction is not used if it is clear from the context that a situation is ongoing or about to begin.

Perfective: sentence/clause + lawm = completed situation

Lawm at the end of a sentence can also indicate that an action is underway:

Another common way to indicate the accomplishment of an action or attainment is by using tau, which, as a main verb, means 'to get/obtain.' It takes on different connotations when it is combined with other verbs. When it occurs before the main verb (i.e. tau + verb), it conveys the attainment or fulfillment of a situation. Whether the situation took place in the past, the present, or the future is indicated at the discourse level rather than the sentence level. If the event took place in the past, tau + verb translates to the past tense in English.

Tau is optional if an explicit past time marker is present (e.g. nag hmo, last night). Tau can also mark the fulfillment of a situation in the future:

When tau follows the main verb (i.e. verb + tau), it indicates the accomplishment of the purpose of an action.

Tau is also common in serial verb constructions that are made up of a verb, followed by an accomplishment: (White Hmong) nrhiav tau, to look for; caum tau, to chase; yug tau, to give birth.

Mood

The grammatical marker is analyzed by some scholars as a future tense markerTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn when it appears preceding a verb:

File:Kuv yuav moog.wav

Kuv yuav moog.

can also be analyzed as a marker of irrealis mood, for situations that are unfulfilled or unrealized.Template:Sfn That includes hypothetical or non-occurring situations with past, present, or future time references:

Vocabulary

Overview

Hmong vocabulary comes from several sources: native Hmongic words, Chinese borrowings, and Tibeto-Burman borrowings,Template:Sfn as well as additional borrowings from the national languages where Hmong communities live outside China, including borrowings from Thai/Lao and English.Template:Sfn

Domains

Colors

Many Hmong and non-Hmong people who are learning the Hmong language tend to use the word (a borrowing from Thai/Lao) as the word for 'color', while the native Hmong word for 'color' is . For example, appears in the sentence with the meaning "Red is the color of danger / The red color is of danger".

List of colors:

The following color terms are given as in Hmong Daw (HD; White Hmong) and Mong Leeg (ML; Green Hmong). Template:Gallery items

Several of the Hmong terms for colors are native roots that date back to at least the Proto-Hmongic period, such as 'black', 'white', and 'red', while 'yellow' was a very early borrowing from Chinese.Template:Sfn Several other terms are more recent innovations.

Numbers

Numeral	Hmong Numeral	Pahawh Hmong	Hmong RPA	Hmong Loanwords	Pahawh Symbols
0	Template:Script	Template:Script	Ntxaiv	Xoom (term from Thai/Lao)Template:Sfn	Template:Script (Ones)
1	Template:Script	Template:Script	Ib
2	Template:Script	Template:Script	Ob
3	Template:Script	Template:Script	Peb
4	Template:Script	Template:Script	Plaub
5	Template:Script	Template:Script	Tsib
6	Template:Script	Template:Script	Rau
7	Template:Script	Template:Script	Xya
8	Template:Script	Template:Script	Yim
9	Template:Script	Template:Script	Cuaj
10	Template:Script	Template:Script	Kaum		Template:Script (Tens)
11	Template:Script	Template:Script	Kaum ib
20	Template:Script	Template:Script	Nees nkaum
21	Template:Script	Template:Script	Nees nkaum ib
30	Template:Script	Template:Script	Peb caug
31	Template:Script	Template:Script	Peb caug ib
40	Template:Script	Template:Script	Plaub caug
41	Template:Script	Template:Script	Plaub caug ib
50	Template:Script	Template:Script	Tsib caug
51	Template:Script	Template:Script	Tsib caug ib
60	Template:Script	Template:Script	Rau caum
61	Template:Script	Template:Script	Rau caum ib
70	Template:Script	Template:Script	Xya caum
71	Template:Script	Template:Script	Xya caum ib
80	Template:Script	Template:Script	Yim caum
81	Template:Script	Template:Script	Yim caum ib
90	Template:Script	Template:Script	Cuaj caum
91	Template:Script	Template:Script	Cuaj caum ib
100	Template:Script	Template:Script	Ib puas		Template:Script (Hundreds)
1,000	Template:Script	Template:Script	Ib txhiab	Ib phav (Thai/Lao word)	Template:Script (Thousands)
10,000	Template:Script	Template:Script	Kaum txhiab	Kaum phav (Thai/Lao word)	Template:Script (Ten thousand)
100,000	Template:Script	Template:Script	Ib puas txhiab	Ib puas phav (Thai/Lao word)	Template:Script (Hundred Thousands)
1,000,000	Template:Script	Template:Script	Ib roob	Ib lab (Thai/Lao word)	Template:Script (Millions)
10,000,000	Template:Script	Template:Script	Kaum roob	Kaum lab (Thai/Lao word)	Template:Script (Ten Millions)
100,000,000	Template:Script	Template:Script	Ib puas roob	Ib puas lab (Thai/Lao word)	Template:Script (Hundred Millions)
1,000,000,000	Template:Script	Template:Script	Ib kem	Ib phav lab (Thai/Lao word)	Template:Script (Billions)
10,000,000,000	Template:Script	Template:Script	Kaum kem	Kaum phav lab (Thai/Lao word)	Template:Script (Ten Billions)
100,000,000,000	Template:Script	Template:Script	Ib puas kem	Ib puas phav lab (Thai/Lao word)	Template:Script (Hundred Billions)
1,000,000,000,000	Template:Script	Template:Script	Ib tas	Ib lab lab (Thai/Lao word)	Template:Script (Trillions)

The number 57023 would be written as Template:Script.

Days of the week

Days	Pahawh Hmong	Hmong RPA	Hmong Loanwords (from Thai/Lao)
Sunday	Template:Script	Zwj hnub	Vas thiv
Monday	Template:Script	Zwj hli	Vas cas
Tuesday	Template:Script	Zwj quag	Vas as qhas
Wednesday	Template:Script	Zwj feeb	Vas phuv
Thursday	Template:Script	Zwj teeb	Vas phab hav
Friday	Template:Script	Zwj kuab	Vas xuv
Saturday	Template:Script	Zwj cag	Vas xom ~ Vas xaum

A sentence like "Today is Monday", using only non-borrowed, non-calqued terms, would be said , rather than in Hmong. However, Hmong speakers in English-speaking countries sometimes use Thai/Lao loanwords or English terms for the days of the week instead, as in Mong Leng 'before Saturday'.Template:Sfn

Months of the year

Months	Pahawh Hmong (Formal)	Hmong RPA	Informal
January	Template:Script	Yeej ceeb	[Lub] Ib hlis
February	Template:Script	Kub xeeb	[Lub] Ob hlis
March	Template:Script	Yaj kiav	[Lub] Peb hlis
April	Template:Script	Keem com	[Lub] Plaub hlis
May	Template:Script	Kub nuj	[Lub] Tsib hlis
June	Template:Script	Tov liaj	[Lub] Rau hlis
July	Template:Script	Huaj xeeb	[Lub] Xya hlis
August	Template:Script	Ceeb cua	[Lub] Yim hlis
September	Template:Script	Tsiab kub leej	[Lub] Cuaj hlis
October	Template:Script	Peem tshais	[Lub] Kaum hlis
November	Template:Script	Looj keev txheem	[Lub] Kaum ib hlis
December	Template:Script	Npuag cawb	[Lub] Kaum ob hlis

Worldwide usage

Presence in community and education

The Hmong language has found a significant presence in the United States, particularly in Minnesota. The Hmong people first arrived in Minnesota in late 1975 following the communist seizure of power in Indochina. Many educated Hmong elites with leadership experience and English-language skills were among the first to be welcomed by Minnesotans. These elites worked to solidify the social services targeted to refugees, attracting others to migrate to the region. The first Hmong family arrived in Minnesota on 5 November 1975.

The Hmong language program in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Minnesota is one of the first programs in the United States to teach language-accredited Hmong classes.

Translation

In February 2012, Microsoft released "Hmong Daw" as an option in Bing Translator. In May 2013, Google Translate introduced support for Hmong Daw (referred to only as Hmong).

Research in nursing shows that when translating from English to Hmong, the translator must take into account that Hmong comes from an oral tradition and equivalent concepts may not exist. For example, the word and concept for "prostate" does not exist.

Sample texts

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Hmong:

Pahawh Hmong:

Nyiakeng Puachue:

Hmong RPA:

Txhua tus neeg yug los muaj kev ywj pheej thiab sib npaug zos hauv txoj cai. Lawv xaj nrog lub laj thawj thiab lub siab thiab ib leeg yuav tsum coj ua ke ntawm ib leeg ntawm txoj kev ua kwv tij.

Vietnamese Hmong:

Cxuô tus nênhl zul los muôx cêr zưx fênhx thiêz siz npâul jôs hâur txox chai. Lơưr xax ndol luz lax thơưx thiêz luz siêz thiêz iz lênhl zuôr tsuv chox uô cê ntơưv iz lênhl ntơưv txôx cêr uô cưr tiz.

Hmong IPA:

tsʰuə˧ tu˩ neŋ˧˩̤ ʝu˧˩̤ lɒ˩ muə˥˧ ke˧˧˦ ʝɨ˥˧ pʰeŋ˥˧ tʰiə˦ ʂi˦ ᵐbau˧˩̤ ʐɒ˩ hau˧˦ tsɒ˥˧ cai˧. Laɨ˧˦ sa˥˧ ᶯɖɒ˧˩̤ lu˦ la˥˧ tʰaɨ˥˧ tʰiə˦ lu˦ ʂiə˦ tʰiə˦ i˦ leŋ˧˩̤ ʝuə˧˦ tʂu˩̰ cɒ˥˧ uə˧ ke˧ ⁿdaɨ˩̰ i˦ leŋ˧˩̤ ⁿdaɨ˩̰ tsɒ˥˧ ke˧˧˦ uə˧ kɨ˧˦ ti˥˧.

English:

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Sample text in Hmong RPA, Pahawh Hmong, and Hmong IPA:

Hmong RPA:

Hmoob yog ib nywj keeb neeg uas yeej nrog ntiaj teb neeg tib txhij tshwm sim los. Niaj hnoob tam sim no tseem muaj nyob thoob plaws hauv ntiaj teb, xws: es xias, yus lauv, auv tas lias, thiab as mes lis kas. Hom neeg Hmoob no yog thooj li cov neeg nyob sab es xias. Tab sis nws muaj nws puav pheej teej tug, moj kuab, txuj ci, mooj kav moj coj, thiab txheeb meem mooj meej kheej ib yam nkaus li lwm haiv neeg. Hmoob yog ib hom neeg uas nyiam txoj kev ncaj ncees, nyiam kev ywj pheej, nyiam phooj ywg, muaj kev cam hwm, muaj txoj kev sib hlub, sib pab thiab sib tshua heev.

Pahawh Hmong:

Hmong IPA:

mɒŋ˦ ʝɒ˧˩̤ i˦ ɲɨ˥˧ keŋ˦ neŋ˧˩̤ uə˩ ʝeŋ˥˧ ᶯɖɒ˧˩̤ ⁿdiə˥˧ te˦ neŋ˧˩̤ ti˦ tsʰi˥˧ tʂʰɨ˩̰ ʂi˩̰ lɒ˩. Niə˥˧ n̥ɒŋ˦ ta˩̰ ʂi˩̰ nɒ˧ tʂeŋ˩̰ muə˥˧ ɲɒ˦ tʰɒŋ˦ pˡaɨ˩ hau˧˦ ⁿdiə˥˧ te˦, sɨ˩: e˩ siə˩, ʝu˩ lau˧˦, au˧˦ ta˩ li˧ə˩, tʰiə˦ a˩ me˩ li˧˩ ka˩. Hɒ˩̰ neŋ˧˩̤ M̥ɒŋ˦ nɒ˧ ʝɒ˧˩̤ tʰɒŋ˥˧ li˧ cɒ˧˦ neŋ˧˩̤ ɲɒ˦ ʂa˦ e˩ siə˩. Ta˦ ʂi˩ nɨ˩ muə˥˧ nɨ˩ puə˧˦ pʰeŋ˥˧ teŋ˥˧ tu˧˩̤, mɒ˥˧ kuə˦, tsu˥˧ ci˧, mɒŋ˥˧ ka˧˦ mɒ˥˧ cɒ˥˧, tʰiə˦ tsʰeŋ˦ meŋ˩̰ mɒŋ˥˧ meŋ˥˧ kʰeŋ˥˧ i˦ ʝa˩̰ ᵑɡau˩ li˧ lɨ˩̰ hai˧˦ neŋ˧˩̤. M̥ɒŋ˦ ʝɒ˧˩̤ i˦ Hɒ˩̰ neŋ˧˩̤ uə˩ ɲiə˩̰ tsɒ˥˧ ke˧˦ ᶮɟa˥˧ ᶮɟeŋ˩, ɲiə˩̰ ke˧˦ ʝɨ˥˧ pʰeŋ˥˧, ɲiə˩̰ pʰɒŋ˥˧ ʝɨ˧˩̤, muə˥˧ ke˧˦ ca˩̰ hɨ˩̰, muə˥˧ tsɒ˥˧ ke˧˦ ʂi˦ l̥u˦, ʂi˦ pa˦ tʰiə˦ ʂi˦ tʂʰuə˧ heŋ˧˦.

In popular culture

The 2008 film Gran Torino by Clint Eastwood features a large American Hmong speaking cast. The screenplay was written in English and the actors improvised the Hmong parts of the script. The decision to cast Hmong actors received a positive reception in Hmong communities. The film also gained recognition and collected awards such as the Ten Best Films of 2008 from the American Film Institute and a César Award in France for Best Foreign Film.

Films

The following films feature the Hmong language:

• 2008 – "Gran Torino". Directed by Clint Eastwood; produced by Clint Eastwood, Bill Gerber, Robert Lorenz. The story follows Walt Kowalski, a recently widowed Korean War veteran alienated from his family and angry at the world. Walt's young neighbor, Thao Vang Lor, is pressured by his cousin into trying to steal Walt's prized 1972 Ford Torino for his initiation into a gang. Walt thwarts the theft and subsequently develops a relationship with the boy and his family.
• 2011 – "Bittersweet Tears (Kua Muag Iab)". Directors by Kelly Vang & Mandy Xiong; Writer: Kelly Vang. Bittersweet Tears is a romantic comedy about a vengeful and bittersweet love between Gaomao (Jenny Lor) and Vong (Beng Hang). Vong is the only son of Chong Yee (Billy Yang). Having lost everything Gaomao swears vengeance on Chong Yee, the man whom she claims to be responsible for her loss. Will Gaomao be able to overcome her own heart and take her revenge?
• 2016 – "1985". Director and writer by Kang Vang. When an adventurous Hmong teen discovers a secret map to a mythical dragon, he and his three best friends decide to go on a quest that leads them on a journey filled with danger, excitement, and self-discovery.

See also

• Hmong people
• Nyiakeng Puachue Hmong
• Pahawh Hmong
• Romanized Popular Alphabet

Notes

^a Ethnologue uses the term "Hmong" as a "macrolanguage", i.e., along the lines of the Chinese 苗语 Miáoyǔ "Miao language", to handle the fact that some mainland Chinese academic sources lump many individual languages together into single "language" categories, while international sources almost universally keep these languages distinct. As the current article is focused on the Hmong language proper as found in international published sources, the population figure here reflects this. Ethnologue (17th edition) lists the population of the larger macrolanguage at 8.1 million.

Bibliography

• Template:Cite thesis
• Template:Cite thesis

Further reading

• Enwall, Joakim. Hmong Writing Systems in Vietnam: A Case Study of Vietnam's Minority Language Policy. Stockholm, Sweden: Center for Pacific Asian Studies, 1995.
• Lyman, Thomas Amis (Chulalongkorn University). "The Mong (Leeg Miao) and their Language: A Brief Compendium" (Archive). p. 63–66.
• Miyake, Marc. 2011. Unicode 6.1: the Old Miao script.
• Miyake, Marc. 2012. Anglo-Hmong tonology.

External links

• White Hmong Vocabulary List (from the World Loanword Database)
• White Hmong Swadesh List on Wiktionary (see Swadesh list)
• Lomation's Hmong Text Reader – free online program that can read Hmong words/text.
• Online Hmong dictionary (including audio clips)
• Mong Literacy: consonants, vowels, tones of Mong Njua and Hmong Daw
• Hmong Resources
• Hmong basic lexicon at the Global Lexicostatistical Database
• Hmong text reader
• 1. CVT — Romanized Popular Alphabet 0.0.1 documentation Romanized Popular Alphabet
• English-Hmong Phrasebook with Useful Wordlist (for Hmong Speakers), Center for Applied Linguistics, Washington, DC.