Jru' language
| Jru' | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Laos |
|
Native speakers
|
28,000 (2007) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | lave1248 |
Jru' (IPA: [ɟruʔ]) is a Mon–Khmer language of the Bahnaric branch spoken in southern Laos. It is also known as "Loven", "Laven" or "Boloven" from the Laotian exonym Laven or Loven, which is derived from the Khmer name for the Boloven Plateau. The Jru' people engage in coffee and cardamom cultivation, as well as other agricultural activities.
Jru' is a variety of Laven which belongs to the Western branch of the Bahnaric languages which also includes such languages as Brao.
Jru' is the native language of the Jru' people, a hill tribe indigenous to the isolated mountains in Champasak, Sekong and Attapeu Provinces in the central part of extreme southern Laos. The variety described here is the most-studied variety that is spoken in Paksong District, Champasak in the towns of Paksong, Houeikong, Tateng, and various nearby villages.
The sounds and syllable structure of Jru' are typical of the West Bahnaric languages in general. Words are mostly monosyllabic although a few words have minor pre-syllables, retaining the classic Mon-Khmer sesquisyllabic structure. The register contrast seen in other Mon-Khmer languages has not been found in Jru' and, in contrast to the surrounding prestige language, Lao, Jru' has not developed phonemic tones.
Similar to the other Mon-Khmer languages of the region, Jru' ditinguishes five places of articulation in its consonant inventory and the stops can be either voiced, unvoiced or (unvoiced) aspirated. The consonants are given below in IPA as laid out by Jacq.
...
Wikipedia