Kensiu language
| Kensiu | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Malaysia, Thailand |
| Region | Northeast Kedah, near Thai border. Overlaps into south Yala Province, Thailand. |
| Ethnicity | 200 Maniq people etc. (2013) |
| Dialects | Ijoh (Ijok), Jarum, Jeher (Sakai Tanjong of Temongoh), Kedah (Quedah), Plus, Ulu Selama, Kensiu Batu, Kensiu Siong, Kentaq Nakil |
| Latin script, Thai script | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | kens1248 |
Kensiu (Kensiw) is an Austro-Asiatic language of the Jahaic (Northern Aslian) subbranch. It is spoken by a small community of 300 in Yala Province in southern Thailand and also reportedly by a community of approximately 300 speakers in Western Malaysia in Perak and Kedah States. Speakers of this language are Negritos who are known as the Mani people or Maniq of Thailand.
The Thai Maniq and the Malaysian Semang are reportedly the first modern humans to enter the Malay peninsula. After the Negrito, the next wave of migrants to arrive were speakers of the Mon–Khmer languages coming most likely from southwestern China. In the course of the millennia, the Negrito lost their original languages and adopted the Mon–Khmer languages of their neighbours and still speak these languages today.
The Maniq settle around the mountainous jungle areas in Southern Thailand and Northern Malaysia. They are considered the original inhabitants of Peninsular Malaysia. In Thailand, they are commonly known as the Sakai, Khon Paa or Ngok Paa, the forest people.
The Maniq in Southern Thailand live in the border provinces of Narathiwat and Yala and in the Baantat Mountain Range of Satul, Trang and Phatthalung provinces.
In Malaysia, the Maniq are situated between Northern Kedah and the borders of Thailand. However, they have been settling into villages near Baling, Kedah since 1965. There were reports that stated that they are found in Southern Kedah. In 1969, a survey gave a figure of 98 Maniq in Kedah alone. There is a total of 200 Maniq in Thailand and around 2500 in Malaysia. This figure could not be ascertained due to the nomadic lifestyle that the Maniq adopted.
Kensiu has also been referred to as Belubn, Kense, Kenseu, Kensieu, Kensiw, Maniq, Mawas, Mendi, Mengo, Meni, Menik, Moni, Monik, Moniq, Mos, Ngok Pa, Orang Bukit, Orang Liar, Sakai, Tiong.
There are 28 vowels in the Kensiu language: 14 oral monophthongs and 12 nasal monophthongs, as well as 1 oral and 1 nasal diphthong. Front, central and back vowels at a tongue height intermediate to the close-mid and open-mid positions (i.e. true-mid) are also present. The language does not seem to have any voice register distinction.
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