{{Short description|Austroasiatic language spoken in Southeast Asia}} {{redirect|Tho (Vietnam)|other languages in Vietnam named ''Thổ''|Tho language (disambiguation){{!}}Tho language}} {{cleanup lang|date=June 2021}} {{Infobox language |name=Cuói |altname= |nativename=Thổ |states=Vietnam, Laos |ethnicity=Thổ |speakers={{sigfig|70,600|2}} |date=1999 census |ref=e18 |familycolor=Austro-Asiatic |fam2=Vietic |dia1=Cuối Chăm |dia2=Làng Lỡ |script= |lc1=tou|ld1=Tho |lc2=hnu|ld2=Hung |glotto=cuoi1242 |glottorefname=Cuoi |lingua=46-EAD-a }}
'''Cuối''', also known as '''Thổ''',<ref>{{cite web|title=The Vietic Branch|url=http://sealang.net/mk/vietic.htm|website=sealang.net}}</ref> is a dialect cluster spoken by around 70,000 people in Vietnam. It is also spoken by a couple thousand people in Laos—mainly in the provinces of Bolikhamsai and Khammouane.
==Phonology==
===Làng Lỡ dialect=== ====Consonants==== The consonant inventory of the Làng Lỡ dialect, as cited by Michel Ferlus:<ref name="Ferlus">{{harvnb|Ferlus|2015|loc = I.2}}</ref> :{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center |+ Initial consonants of Cuối Làng Lỡ |- ! colspan=2| ! Bilabial ! Labiodental ! Alveolar ! Retroflex ! Palatal ! Velar ! Glottal |- ! colspan=2| Nasal | {{IPA link|m}} | | {{IPA link|n}} | | {{IPA link|ɲ}} | {{IPA link|ŋ}} | |- ! rowspan=3| Plosive ! <small>tenuis</small> | {{IPA link|p}} | | {{IPA link|t}} | {{IPA link|ʈ}} | {{IPA link|c}} | {{IPA link|k}} | {{IPA link|ʔ}} |- ! <small>glottalized</small> | {{IPA link|ɓ}} | | {{IPA link|ɗ}} | | {{IPA link|ˀɟ}} | | |- ! <small>aspirated</small> | | | {{IPA link|tʰ}} | | | {{IPA link|kʰ}} | |- ! rowspan=3| Fricative ! <small>voiceless</small> | {{IPA link|f}} | | {{IPA link|s}} | {{IPA link|ʂ}} | | | {{IPA link|h}} |- ! <small>voiced</small> | {{IPA link|β}} | {{IPA link|v}} | {{IPA link|ð}} | | | {{IPA link|ɣ}} | |- ! <small>glottalized</small> | | | {{IPA link|ˀð}} | | | | |- ! colspan=2| Approximant | | | {{IPA link|l}} | {{IPA link|ɽ}} ~ {{IPA link|ʐ}} | {{IPA link|j}} | | |}
* {{IPAblink|ʈ}} is found in Vietnamese loanwords with initial {{IPA|/ʈ/}} (orthographic {{grapheme|tr}}) * {{IPA|[β ð ɣ ˀð]}} originate in the borrowing of segments from a variety of Vietnamese that existed several centuries ago.
====Vowels==== :{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |+ Monophthongs of Cuối Làng Lỡ |- ! ! Front ! Central ! Back |- ! Close | {{IPA link|i}} | {{IPA link|ɨ}} | {{IPA link|u}} |- ! Close-mid/<br>Mid | {{IPA link|e}} | {{IPA link|ə}} | {{IPA link|o}} |- ! Open-mid/<br>Open | {{IPA link|ɛ}} | {{IPA link|ʌ̆}} <br> {{IPA|ă}} {{IPA link|a}} | {{IPA link|ɔ}} |}
{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center |+ ! Diphthongs of Cuối Làng Lỡ | {{IPA|iə}} || {{IPA|ɨə}} || {{IPA|uə}} || {{IPA|eə}} || {{IPA|oə}} |}
====Tones==== There are eight tones in the Làng Lỡ. Tones 1 to 6 are found on sonorant-final syllables (a.k.a. 'live' syllables): syllables ending in a vowel, semi-vowel or nasal. Tones 7 and 8 are found on obstruent-final syllables (a.k.a. 'stopped' syllables), ending in -p -t -c -k.<ref name="Ferlus"/> This is a system comparable to that of Vietnamese.
==Vocabulary== The data is from Cuoi Cham vocabulary recordings and the Mon-Khmer Etymological Dictionary. {| class="wikitable" |- ! English ! Cuối Chăm ! Làng Lỡ ! colspan="2" | Hanoian Vietnamese |- | cloud | {{IPA|mʌl¹}} | {{IPA|mʌn¹}} | {{IPA|məj˧˧}} |{{lang|vi|mây}} |- | rain | {{IPA|mɐː²}} | {{IPA|mɨə¹}} | {{IPA|mɨə˧˧}} |{{lang|vi|mưa}} |- | wind | {{IPA|sɒː³}} | {{IPA|juə³}} | {{IPA|zɔ˧˦}} |{{lang|vi|gió}} |- | thunder | {{IPA|kʰrʌm⁴}} | {{IPA|ʂəm⁴}} | {{IPA|səm˧˦}} | {{lang|vi|sấm}} |- | earth, land | {{IPA|tʌt⁷}} | {{IPA|tʌt⁷}} | {{IPA|ʔɗət̚˧˦}} | {{lang|vi|đất}} |- | cave | {{IPA|haːŋ¹}} | {{IPA|haːŋ¹}} | {{IPA|haːŋ˧˧}} | {{lang|vi|hang}} |- | deep | {{IPA|kʰruː²}} | {{IPA|ʂuː²}} | {{IPA|səw˧˧}} | {{lang|vi|sâu}} |- | water | {{IPA|daːk⁷}} | {{IPA|daːk⁷}} | {{IPA|nɨək̚˧˦}} | {{lang|vi|nước}} |- | river | {{IPA|kʰrɔŋ¹}} | {{IPA|ʂɔːŋ¹}} | {{IPA|səwŋ͡m˧˧}} | {{lang|vi|sông}} |- | puddle | {{IPA|puŋ⁶}} | - | {{IPA|vʊwŋ͡m˦ˀ˥}} | {{lang|vi|vũng}} |- | mud | {{IPA|puːl²}} | {{IPA|vuːn²}} | {{IPA|ʔɓun˨˩}} | {{lang|vi|bùn}} |- | rock, stone | {{IPA|taː³}} | {{IPA|δaː³}} | {{IPA|ʔɗaː˧˦}} | {{lang|vi|đá}} |- | bark | {{IPA|pɒː⁵}} | {{IPA|ʂɔː⁵⁶}} | {{IPA|vɔ˧˩}} | {{lang|vi|vỏ}} |- | dog | {{IPA|cɒː³}} | {{IPA|cɔː³}} | {{IPA|t͡ɕɔ˧˦}} | {{lang|vi|chó}} |- | cultivated field | {{IPA|rɔːŋ²}} | {{IPA|ʂɔːŋ²}} | {{IPA|zuəŋ˧˨ʔ}} | {{lang|vi|ruộng}} |- | to go | {{IPA|tiː²}} | {{IPA|tiː²}} | {{IPA|ʔɗi˧˧}} | {{lang|vi|đi}} |- | to have | {{IPA|kɒː³}} | {{IPA|kɔː³}} | {{IPA|kɔ˧˦}} | {{lang|vi|có}} |}
==References== {{reflist}}
==Further reading== *{{cite thesis | type= Ph.D. | last = Ferlus | first = Michel | title = Hypercorrections in the Thổ dialect of Làng Lỡ (Nghệ An, Vietnam): an example of pitfalls for comparative linguistics | language = English | date = 2015 }} *Nguyen, Huu Hoanh and Nguyen Van Loi (2019). [http://hdl.handle.net/10524/52449 Tones in the Cuoi Language of Tan Ki District in Nghe An Province, Vietnam]. ''The Journal of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society'' 12.1:lvii-lxvi.
{{Languages of Laos}} {{Languages of Vietnam}} {{Austro-Asiatic languages}}
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Category:Languages of Laos Category:Languages of Vietnam Category:Vietic languages