Ta'Oi language

{{Short description|Southeast Asian dialect chain}} {{Infobox language | name = Ta'Oi | nativename = ''Ta Oi'' | states = Laos, Vietnam | ethnicity = Ta Oi, Katang | speakers = {{sigfig|218,800|2}} | date = 1995–2005 | ref = e18 | familycolor = Austro-Asiatic | fam2 = Katuic | fam3 = | lc1 = tth | ld1 = Upper Ta'Oi | lc2 = irr | ld2 = Ir (Hantong) | lc3 = oog | ld3 = Ong (= Ir) | lc4 = tto | ld4 = Lower Ta'Oi | lc5 = ngt | ld5 = Ngeq (Kriang) | glotto = taoi1247 | glottorefname = Ta'oihic | ELP = 1254 | ELPname = Chatong }}

'''Ta'Oi''' (Ta'Oih, Ta Oi) is a dialect continuum within the Katuic branch of the Austroasiatic language family, spoken amongst the Ta Oi people in the Salavan and Sekong provinces in Laos and the municipality of Huế in Vietnam.<ref>Sidwell, Paul (2005). p. 12</ref>

==Varieties== Sidwell (2005) lists the following varieties of Ta'Oi, which is a name applied to speakers of various related dialects.

*Ta'Oi proper *Ong/Ir/Talan *Chatong is spoken about 50 to 100 km northeast of Sekong. It has been recorded only by Theraphan L-Thongkum. *Kriang (Ngkriang, Ngeq) is spoken by up to 4,000 people living in villages between Tatheng and Sekong, such as Ban Chakamngai. *Kataang (Katang) is a dialect that has been documented by Michel Ferlus, Gerard Diffloth, and other linguists. It is not to be confused with the Bru dialect of Katang.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mon-Khmer Classification (draft) |url=http://sealang.net/sala/mk-class.htm |access-date=24 June 2018 |publisher=SEAlang |year=2007 }}</ref>

== Phonology ==

=== Consonants === {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! colspan="2" | !Labial !Alveolar !Palatal !Velar !Glottal |- ! colspan="2" |Nasal |{{IPA link|m}} |{{IPA link|n}} |{{IPA link|ɲ}} |{{IPA link|ŋ}} | |- ! rowspan="2" |Plosive !<small>voiceless</small> |{{IPA link|p}} |{{IPA link|t}} |{{IPA link|c}} |{{IPA link|k}} | rowspan="2" |{{IPA link|ʔ}} |- !<small>voiced</small> |{{IPA link|b}} |{{IPA link|d}} |{{IPA link|ɟ}} |{{IPA link|ɡ}} |- ! colspan="2" |Fricative | |{{IPA link|s}} | | |{{IPA link|h}} |- ! colspan="2" |Rhotic | |{{IPA link|r}} | | | |- ! colspan="2" |Approximant |{{IPA link|w}} |{{IPA link|l}} |{{IPA link|j}} | | |}

* There are also creaky syllable-final segments /mʔ, nʔ, ŋʔ, wʔ, lʔ, jʔ/, however; they are not noted as a distinct series. * /ɟ/ may also be heard as a preglottal sound [ʔj].<ref>Sidwell, Paul (2005). pp. 12-15</ref>

=== Vowels === {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |+Monophthongs ! !Front !Central !Back |- !Close |{{IPA link|i}} {{IPA link|iː}} |{{IPA link|ɨ}} {{IPA link|ɨː}} |{{IPA link|u}} {{IPA link|uː}} |- !Mid |{{IPA link|e}} {{IPA link|eː}} |{{IPA link|ə}} {{IPA link|əː}} |{{IPA link|o}} {{IPA link|oː}} |- !Open |{{IPA link|ɛ}} {{IPA link|ɛː}} |{{IPA link|a}} {{IPA link|aː}} |{{IPA link|ɔ}} {{IPA link|ɔː}} |} {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |+Diphthongs ! !Front !Central !Back |- !Close |ia |ɨa |ua |}

==Morphosyntax== Taoih, like other Katuic languages, is largely analytic with a pronominal paradigm which are marked for dative and genitive case.<ref name="WOL-MSEA-24">{{cite book|last=Sidwell|first=Paul|title=The Languages and Linguistics of Mainland Southeast Asia|chapter=Eastern Mon-Khmer languages|publisher=De Gruyter|date=2021|doi=10.1515/9783110558142-011|pages=547–598}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" |+Taoih Pronouns ! rowspan="2" | ! colspan="3" | 1st person ! colspan="3" | 2nd person ! colspan="3" | 3rd person |- ! {{small|singular}} !! {{small|dual}} !! {{small|plural}} ! {{small|singular}} !! {{small|dual}} !! {{small|plural}} ! {{small|singular}} !! {{small|dual}} !! {{small|plural}} |- ! Unmarked | aku | ɲaːŋ | muhɛ̰ | amɛ̰ | iɲoa | ipe | ʔo | aɲoʔa | ape |- !Genitive | ʔәŋku | ʔәŋɲaːŋ | ʔәŋhɛ̰ | ʔŋmɛ̰/ənmaɨ | ʔŋoiɲoa | ʔŋoipe | ʔŋo | ʔŋoaɲoʔa | ʔŋoape |- !Dative | ʔaku | ʔaɲaːŋ | ʔahɛ̰ | ʔammɛ̰/ʔammai | ʔaoiɲoa | ʔaoipe | ʔao | ʔaoaɲoʔa | ʔaoape |- !Locative | - | - | ʔihɛ̰ | ʔimɛ̰/ʔimai | - | - | ʔido | - | ʔimaɨ |}

Taoih is prominently a neutral alignment language. Taoih exhibits neutral alignment for case with (in)transitive verbs and also neutral alignment for agreement in both (in)transitive and ditransitive frames, the verb never shows agreement with any argument, regardless of its transitivity.

{{Interlinear|indent=3|Kujuʔk doŋ uruʔ ʔa-o-iɲoʔa aɲoʔa ʔa-o-ndil|Kuyu’k give book DAT-LK-2SG and DAT-LK-girl|"Kuyuk gives the book to you (dual) and the girl."}}

To mark benefactive arguments, the dative marker and preposition ''adeh'' occur before the recipient.

{{Interlinear|indent=3|ku takoːh adeh ʔa-o-akoːɲ aɲoʔa ʔa-maɨ|1SG cook for.BEN DAT-LK-father and DAT-2SG|"I cook for father and you."}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== *Sidwell, Paul (2005). ''[https://www.academia.edu/1540083/The_Katuic_Languages_classification_reconstruction_and_comparative_lexicon The Katuic languages: classification, reconstruction and comparative lexicon] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204214526/https://www.academia.edu/1540083/The_Katuic_Languages_classification_reconstruction_and_comparative_lexicon |date=2020-12-04 }}''. LINCOM studies in Asian linguistics, 58. Muenchen: Lincom Europa. {{ISBN|3-89586-802-7}} *Trần Nguyễn Khánh Phong. 2013. ''Người Tà Ôi ở A Lưới''. Hà Nội: Nhà xuất bản văn hóa thông tin. * {{cite journal |surname=Miller |given=Carolyn |title=Notes on Northern Katang Kinship and Society |journal=Journal of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society |year=2017 |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=xxiii–xxix |hdl=10524/52410 }} *Gehrmann, Ryan. 2017. [http://hdl.handle.net/10524/52402 The Historical Phonology of Kriang, A Katuic Language]. JSEALS Volume 10.1 (2017).

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ta'Oi language}} Category:Languages of Laos Category:Languages of Vietnam Category:Katuic languages