{{Short description|Kra–Dal language of Hainan Island, China}} {{Infobox language | name = Cun | states = China | region = western Hainan | speakers = 80,000 | date = 1999 | ref = e18 | familycolor = Tai–Kadai | fam2 = Hlai | fam3 = Central | fam4 = North | dia1 = Nadou | iso3 = cuq | glotto = cunn1236 | glottorefname = Cun | altname = 仡隆语<br />Gelong }}
'''Cun''' ({{lang-zh|s=村语}}; meaning "village language/speech"), also known as '''Gelong''' (仡隆语 / 哥隆语) or '''Ngan-Fon''', is a Kra–Dai language spoken on Hainan Island.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ouyang |first=Jueya 欧阳觉亚 |date=1998 |title=Cunyu yanjiu 村语研究 |location=Shanghai |publisher=Shanghai Far East Publishing House 上海远东出版社}}</ref> It is a part of the Hlai languages branch and has a lexical similarity with standard Hlai at 40%.<ref name="e18" /> The language has approximately 80,000 speakers, 47,200 of which are monolingual. Cun is a tonal language with 10 tones, used depending on whether a syllable is checked or unchecked. The speakers of this language are classified by the Chinese government as ethnic Han; in Hainan, Nadou<ref>{{cite book |last=Fu |first=Changzhong 符昌忠 |date=2020 |title=Nadouyu yanjiu 那斗语研究 |location=Beijing |publisher=Minzu chubanshe 民族出版社 |oclc=1294545717}}</ref> and Lingao speakers are also classified as ethnic Han.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Liang |first=Min 梁敏 |title=Língāo yǔ yánjiū |date=1997 |publisher=Shanghai yuandong chubanshe 上海远东出版社 |location=Shanghai |language=zh |script-title=zh:临高语研究 |trans-title=A Study of Lingao}}</ref>
The Cun are descended from Han Chinese migrants to Hainan Island who intermarried with the local Li people. As a result, Cun has more Chinese loanwords than other Hlai languages.<ref>Norquest, Peter K. 2015. [https://brill.com/view/title/32092 ''A Phonological Reconstruction of Proto-Hlai'']. Languages of Asia, Volume 13. Leiden: Brill. {{ISBN|978-90-04-30052-1}}</ref>
Nearby, the Fuma (Chinese: 付马话, 府玛话, or 富马话) dialect, a variety of Chinese similar to Gan-Hakka that has been strongly influenced by Cun, is spoken in Fuma Village 付马村, Sigeng Town 四更镇, Dongfang City.<ref>Wang, Xueyan 王雪燕. 2016. ''Hainan Fumahua diaocha baogao'' 海南付马话调查报告. Beijing: Capital Normal University, Literature Institute 首都师范大学文学院.</ref> It had about 800 speakers in 1994.<ref>{{Citation |title=Fuma |url=http://asiaharvest.org/wp-content/themes/asia/docs/people-groups/China/chinaPeoples/F/Fuma.pdf |via=asiaharvest.org |access-date=2012-10-16 |archive-date=2014-02-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202114507/http://asiaharvest.org/wp-content/themes/asia/docs/people-groups/China/chinaPeoples/F/Fuma.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
== Phonology == The tables below show the vowel <ref>Ni 1990, p. 173.</ref> and consonant <ref>Ni 1990, p. 172.</ref> phonemes of Cun:
=== Vowels === {| class="wikitable" border="1" |- align="center" cellpadding="4" ! ! Front ! Central ! Back |- align="center" ! Close | {{IPA link|i}} | | {{IPA link|ɯ}}, {{IPA link|u}} |- align="center" ! Mid | {{IPA link|e}} | ({{IPA link|ə}}) | {{IPA link|o}} |- align="center" ! Open | {{IPA link|a}} | | {{IPA link|ɔ}} |}
=== Diphthongs === Cun has many diphthongs. With {{IPA|[a]}}: {{IPA|[ia]}}, {{IPA|[ua]}}. With {{IPA|[ə]}}: {{IPA|[uə]}}, {{IPA|[iə]}}. With {{IPA|[i]}}: {{IPA|[ai]}}, {{IPA|[aːi]}}, {{IPA|[ɛi]}}, {{IPA|[ei]}}, {{IPA|[ɔi]}}, {{IPA|[oi]}}, {{IPA|[ui]}}. With {{IPA|[u]}}: {{IPA|[au]}}, {{IPA|[aːu]}}, {{IPA|[iau]}}, {{IPA|[eu]}}, {{IPA|[iu]}}, {{IPA|[iːu]}}, {{IPA|[ɔu]}}, {{IPA|[ou]}}, {{IPA|[əu]}}.
=== Consonants === {| class="wikitable" |- align="center" ! rowspan=2 colspan=2| ! rowspan=2 | Bilabial ! colspan=2 | Alveolar ! rowspan=2 | Alv.-palatal ! rowspan=2 | Velar ! rowspan=2 | Glottal |- align="center" ! Median ! Lateral |- align="center" ! rowspan=3| Plosives ! Voiceless | | {{IPA link|t}} | | | {{IPA link|k}} | {{IPA link|ʔ}} |- align="center" ! Aspirated | {{IPA link|pʰ}} | {{IPA link|tʰ}} | | | {{IPA link|kʰ}} | |- align="center" ! Glottalized | {{IPA|ʔb}} | {{IPA|ʔd}} | | | | |- align="center" ! rowspan="2" | Fricatives ! Voiceless | {{IPA link|f}} | | | {{IPA link|ʃ}} | | {{IPA link|h}} |- align="center" ! Voiced | {{IPA link|v}} | | | {{IPA link|ʒ}} | | |- align="center" ! rowspan="2" | Affricates ! Voiceless | | | | {{IPA link|t͡ʃ}} | | |- align="center" ! Aspirated | | | | {{IPA link|t͡ʃʰ}} | | |- align="center" !colspan="2" | Liquids | | | {{IPA link|l}} | | | |- align="center" !rowspan="2" | Nasals ! Voiced | {{IPA link|m}} | {{IPA link|n}} | | {{IPA link|ɲ}} | {{IPA link|ŋ}} | |- align="center" ! Labialized | | | | | {{IPA link|ŋʷ}} | |- align="center" ! colspan="2" | Semivowels | | | | {{IPA link|j}} | | |}
=== Tones === Cun is a tonal language with ten tones. Four of the tones occur only in syllables ending with a consonant: {{IPA|t}}, {{IPA|k}}, or {{IPA|p}}.<ref>Ni 1990, p. 178.</ref>
{|align=center=1 cellpadding="5" |- ! Tone || Pitch Value || Example<ref>From Ni 1990, pp. 174–178.</ref> || Meaning |- || 1 || 35 || {{IPA|ʔeŋ35}} || field |- || 2 || 44 || {{IPA|lai44}} || ear |- || 3 || 42 || {{IPA|nam42}} || water |- || 4 || 21 || {{IPA|ʔɔu21}} || to scratch, to scrape |- || 5 || 13 || {{IPA|loŋ13}} || path, road |- || 6 || 55 || {{IPA|kaːŋ55}} || to speak |- || 7 || 33 || {{IPA|tʃhut33}} || cloth |- || 8 || 42 || {{IPA|khat42}} || dog |- || 9 || 21 || {{IPA|ʔɛp21}} || frog |- || 10 || 13 || {{IPA|het13}} || thorn |}
==References== {{Reflist}} *http://www.language-archives.org/language/cuq
{{Tai-Kadai languages}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Languages of Hainan Category:Hlai languages