Hmong | ||||
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lol Hmoob / Moob | ||||
Spoken in | China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, USA, and French Guiana. | |||
Native speakers | 2.7 million (1995–2004)[1] | |||
Language family |
Hmong–Mien
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Writing system | Pahawh Hmong script, Latin | |||
Language codes | ||||
ISO 639-3 | blu – Macrolanguage individual codes: hmv – Hmong Do (Vietnam) mww – Hmong Daw (Laos, China) hnj – Mong Njua (Laos, China) hmz – Hmong Shua (Sinicized) cqd – Chuanqiandian-cluster Miao (China) sfm – Small Flowery Miao (China) hrm – Horned Miao (A-Hmo, China) hmf – Hmong Don (Vietnam) |
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Hmong (RPA: Hmoob) or Mong (RPA: Moob), known as Miao in China, is a dialect continuum of the West Hmongic branch of the Miao languages, spoken by the Hmong people of Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, northern Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos.[2] There are some 2.7 million speakers of varieties which are largely mutually intelligible, including 200,000 Hmong Americans. Over half of all Hmong speakers speak the various dialects of the Chuanqiandian cluster, and the Dananshan dialect of Chuanqiandian forms the basis of the standard language in China, but Hmong Daw (White Miao) and Mong Njua (Green Miao) are more widely known overseas due to emigration.
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Mong Njua and Hmong Daw are part of a dialect cluster known in China as Chuanqiandian Miao, that is, "Sichuan–Guizhou–Yunnan Miao", called the "Chuanqiandian cluster" in English, as Western Hmongic is also called Chuanqiandian (they are distinguished as the Chuanqiandian "subdialect" of the Chuanqiandian "dialect" in Chinese). Mong Njua and Hmong Daw are just those varieties of the cluster which migrated to Laos; the Western names Mong Njua, Mong Leng, Hmong Dleu/Der, and Hmong Daw are also used in China for various dialects of the Chuanqiandian cluster.
Ethnologue once distinguished only the Laotian varieties (Hmong Daw, Mong Njua), Sinicized Miao (Hmong Shua), and the Vietnamese varieties (Hmong Do, Hmong Don). The Vietnamese varieties are very poorly known; population estimates are not even available. In 2007, Horned Miao, Small Flowery Miao, and the Chuanqiandian cluster of China were split off from Mong Njua [blu].[3] As of 2011, a proposal is under consideration to split the Chuanqiandian cluster into five, based on poor mutual intellibility.[4] These varieties are as follows, along with some alternate names ('Ch.' = Chinese name, 'auto.' = autonym [self name]):
Chinese linguists divide the cluster as follows. Sinicized Miao (Hmong Shua) is not considered.
The various varieties of Miao/Hmong abroad are included, though not specifically classified. It is not clear if this includes the varieties of Vietnam.
The two dialects described here are known as Hmong Daw (also called White Miao or Hmong Der) and Mong Njua (also called Blue or Green Miao or Mong Leng).[5] These are the two major dialects spoken by Hmong Americans. While mutually intelligible, the dialects differ in both lexicon and certain aspects of phonology. For instance, Mong Njua lacks the aspirated /m/ of Hmong Daw and has a third nasalized vowel, /ã/. In English, "Hmong" is often used to include both Hmong Daw and Mong Njua, although some have suggested a compromise, such as: H'Mong, Mhong, or (H)Mong. Likewise, "Mong" alone can also be used to refer to both groups.
The Chinese varieties are more divergent. However, they are too poorly known for description here.
The vowel systems of Hmong Daw and Mong Njua are as shown in the following charts. Phonemes particular to each dialect are color coded respectively:
Front | Central | Back | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
oral | nasal | oral | nasal | oral | nasal | |
Close | i | ɨ | u | |||
Mid | e | ẽ | ɔ | ɔ̃ | ||
Open | a | ã |
Closing | Centering | |
---|---|---|
Close component is front | ai | iə |
Close component is central | aɨ | |
Close component is back | au | uə |
Hmong makes a number of phonemic contrasts unfamiliar to English speakers. All non-glottal stops and affricates distinguish aspirated and unaspirated forms, most also prenasalization independently of this. The consonant inventory of Hmong is shown in the chart below. (Consonants particular to Hmong Daw and Mong Njua are color-coded respectively.)
Bilabial | Labio- dental |
Dental | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Plain | Lateral* | Plain | Lateral* | ||||||||||||||||||
Nasal | Voiceless | m̥ | (m̥ˡ) | n̥ | ɲ̥ | ||||||||||||||||
Voiced | m | (mˡ) | n | ɲ | |||||||||||||||||
Plosive | Voiceless | p | pʰ | (pˡ) | (pˡʰ) | t | tʰ | (tˡ) | (tˡʰ) | ʈ | ʈʰ | c | cʰ | k | kʰ | q | qʰ | ʔ | |||
Voiced | d | dʱ | |||||||||||||||||||
Prenasalized** | ᵐb | ᵐbʱ | (ᵐbˡ) | (ᵐbˡʱ) | ⁿd | ⁿdʱ | (ⁿdˡ) | (ⁿdˡʱ) | ᶯɖ | ᶯɖʱ | ᶮɟ | ᶮɟʱ | ᵑɡ | ᵑɡʱ | ᶰɢ | ᶰɢʱ | |||||
Affricate | Voiceless | ts | tsʰ | tʂ | tʂʰ | ||||||||||||||||
Prenasalized** | ⁿdz | ⁿdzʱ | ᶯɖʐ | ᶯɖʐʱ | |||||||||||||||||
Fricative | Voiceless | f | s | ɬ | ʂ | ç | h | ||||||||||||||
Voiced | v | ʐ | ʝ | ||||||||||||||||||
Approximant | l |
^* The status of the consonants described here as single phonemes with lateral release is controversial. A number of scholars instead analyze them as biphonemic clusters with /l/ as the second element. The difference in analysis (e.g. between /pˡ/ and /pl/) is noted based on any disagreement in the sound or pronunciation of the consonants in question, but on differing theoretical grounds. Those in favor of a unit-phoneme analysis generally argue for this based on distributional evidence (i.e. if clusters, these would be the only clusters in the language, although see below) and dialect evidence (the laterally released dentals in Green Mong, e.g. /tl/, correspond to the voiced dentals of White Hmong), while those in favor of a cluster analysis tend to argue on the basis of general phonetic principles (other examples of labial phonemes with lateral release appear extremely rare or nonexistent[6]).
^** Some linguists prefer to analyze the prenasalized consonants as clusters whose first element is /n/. However, this cluster analysis is not as common as the above one involving /l/.
Hmong syllables have a very simple structure: onsets are obligatory (except in a few particles), nuclei may consist of a monophthong or diphthong, and coda consonants are prohibited, except that a weak coda [ŋ] may accompany nasal vowels and a weak coda [ʔ] may accompany the low-falling creaky tone.
Hmong is a tone language and makes use of seven distinct tones:
Tone | Example[7] | Orthographic Spelling |
---|---|---|
High | /pɔ́/ 'ball' | pob |
Mid | /pɔ/ 'spleen' | po |
Low | /pɔ̀/ 'thorn' | pos |
High-falling | /pɔ̂/ 'female' | poj |
Mid-rising | /pɔ̌/ 'to throw' | pov |
Low-falling (creaky) tone | /pɔ̰/ 'to see' | pom |
Mid-low (breathy) tone | /pɔ̤/ 'grandmother' | pog |
Robert Cooper, an anthropologist, collected a Hmong folktale saying that the Hmong used to have a written language, and important information was written down in a treasured book. The folktale explains that cows and rats ate the book, so, in the words of Anne Fadiman, author of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, "no text was equal to the task of representing a culture as rich as that of the Hmong." Therefore, the folktale states that the Hmong language was exclusively oral from that point onwards.[8]
Since the end of the 19th century, linguists created over two dozen Hmong writing systems, including systems using Chinese, Lao, Russian, Thai, and Vietnamese characters and alphabets. In addition, in 1959 Shong Lue Yang, a Hmong spiritual leader from Laos, created an 81 symbol writing system called Pahawh. Yang was not previously literate in any language. Chao Fang, an anti-Laotian government Hmong group, uses this writing system.[8]
The Romanized Popular Alphabet (RPA), the most widely used script by the Hmong people and linguists, was developed in Laos between 1951 and 1953 by three Western missionaries.[8] In the United States Hmong do not use RPA for spelling of proper nouns, because they want their names to be easily pronounced by people unfamiliar with RPA. For instance Hmong in the U.S. spell Hmoob as "Hmong," and Liab Lis is spelled as Lia Lee.[9]
Another Hmong writing system is the Flower Cloth script. The characters are based on Hmong textiles. It was believed that the Hmong women preserved and hid the writing systems in the Hmong textiles.
Hmong is an analytic SVO language in which adjectives and demonstratives follow the noun. Noun phrases can contain the following elements (parentheses indicate optional elements):[10]
(possessive) + (quantifier) + (classifier) + noun + (adjective) + (demonstrative)
The Hmong pronominal system distinguishes between three grammatical persons and three numbers - singular, dual, and plural. They are not marked for case, that is, the same word is used to translate both "I" and "me", "she" and "her", and so forth. These are the personal pronouns of Hmong Daw and Mong Njua:
Number: | Singular | Dual | Plural |
---|---|---|---|
First | kuv | wb | peb |
Second | koj | neb | nej |
Third | nws | nkawd | lawv |
Number: | Singular | Dual | Plural |
---|---|---|---|
First | kuv | ib | peb |
Second | koj | meb | mej |
Third | nwg | ob tug | puab |
Hmong is an isolating language in which most morphemes are monosyllables. As a result, verbs are not overtly inflected. Tense, aspect, mood, person, number, gender, and case are indicated lexically.[11]
Hmong verbs can be serialized. Two or more verbs can be combined in one clause. It is not uncommon for as many as five verbs to be strung together sharing the same subject.
Example (White Hmong)
Yam zoo tshaj plaws mas, nej yuav tsum mus nrhiav nug xyuas saib luag muaj kev pab hom dab tsi nyob ncig ib cheeb tsam ntawm nej.
thing good most top you must go look-for ask visit see others have way help kind what be-at around environs at you
'The best thing to do is for you to find people who live in your neighborhood who can help you with different things.'
Since the verb form in Hmong does not change to indicate tense, the simplest way to indicate the location in time of an event is to use temporal adverb phrases like "last year," "today," or "next week."
Example (White Hmong)
Nag hmo kuv mus tom khw.
yesterday I go loc. market
'I went to the market yesterday.'
Aspectual differences are indicated by a number of verbal modifiers. The most common of which are:
Progressive: (Mong Njua) taab tom + verb, (White Hmong) tab tom + verb = situation in progess
Example: (Mong Njua)
Puab taab tom haus dlej.
they prog. drink water.
They are drinking water.
Taab/tab tom + verb can also be used to indicate a situation that is about to start. This is most clear when taab/tab tom occurs in conjunction with the irrealis marker yuav. It should be noted that the taab tom construction is used only when it is not clear from the context that a situation is ongoing or about to begin.
Perfective: sentence/clause + lawm = completed situation
Example (Green and White Hmong)
Kuv noj mov lawm.
I eat rice perf.
'I am finished/I am done eating.'
Lawm at the end of a sentence can also indicate that an action is underway.
Example (White Hmong)
Tus tub tau rab hneev, nws thiaj mus ua si lawm.
clf. boy get clf. crossbow; he then go play perf.
'The boy got the crossbow and went off to play.'
Another common way to indicate the accomplishment of an action or attainment is by using tau. Tau, as a main verb, means 'to get/obtain.' It takes on different connotations when combined with other verbs. When it occurs before the main verb (i.e. tau + verb), it conveys the attainment or fulfillment of a situation. Whether the situation took place in the past, present, or future is indicated at the discourse level rather than the sentence level. If the situation has taken place in the past, tau + verb translates to the past tense in English.
Example (White Hmong)
Lawv tau noj nqaij nyug.
they attain eat meat beef
'They ate beef.'
Tau is optional if an explicit past time marker is present (e.g. nag hmo, last night). Tau can also mark the fulfillment of a situation in the future.
Example (White Hmong)
Thaum txog peb caug lawm sawv daws thiaj tau hnav khaub ncaws tshiab.
when arrive New Year perf. everybody then attain wear clothes new
'So when the New Year arrives, everybody gets to wear new clothes.'
When tau follows the main verb (i.e. verb + tau), it indicates the accomplishment of the purpose of an action.
Example (Mong Njua)
Kuv xaav xaav ib plag, kuv xaav tau tswv yim.
I think think awhile, I think get idea.
'I thought it over and got an idea.'
Tau is also common in serial verb constructions made up of a verb followed by an accomplishment verb as in: (White Hmong) nrhiav tau, to look for; caum tau, to chase; yug tau, to give birth.
Future: yuav + verb
Example (Mong Njua)
Kuv yuav moog.
I will be going.
Yuav + verb may also be seen as indicative of the irrealis mood: situations that are unfulfilled or unrealized. This includes hypothetical or non-occurring situations with past, present, or future time references.
Example (from a White Hmong folk tale)
Tus Tsov hais tias, "Kuv tshaib tshaib plab li kuv yuav noj koj.
clf. Tiger say, "I hungry hungry stomach int. I irrls. eat you
'The Tiger said, "I'm very hungry and I'm going to eat you."
Tus Qav tsis paub yuav ua li cas li.
clf. Frog neg. know irrls. do what int.
'The Frog didn't know what to do.'