The Bahnar language or Ba-Na language () is a Central
Bahnaric language
The Bahnaric languages are a group of about thirty Austroasiatic languages spoken by about 700,000 people in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Paul Sidwell notes that Austroasiatic/Mon–Khmer languages are lexically more similar to Bahnaric and Katui ...
. It has nine
vowel qualities and phonemic
vowel length
In linguistics, vowel length is the perceived or actual length (phonetics), duration of a vowel sound when pronounced. Vowels perceived as shorter are often called short vowels and those perceived as longer called long vowels.
On one hand, many ...
.
Subdivisions
Đào (1998) lists the following subgroups of Bahnar and their respective locations.
*Bahnar
Kon Tum:
Kon Tum area
*Bahnar Jơlong: northeastern
Kon Tum Province
*Bahnar Golar: northern
Pleiku (Gia Lai Province)
*Bahnar Tosung:
Mang Yang District (Gia Lai Province)
*Bahnar Konkođe:
An Khê District (Gia Lai Province)
*Bahnar Alatang:
An Khê District (Gia Lai Province)
*Bahnar Alakông:
K'Bang District (Gia Lai Province)
*Bahnar Tolo:
Kông Chro District and southern
An Khê District (Gia Lai Province)
*Bahnar Bơnâm: eastern
An Khê District (Gia Lai Province)
*Bahnar Roh: scattered areas in
An Khê District and
K'Bang District (Gia Lai Province)
*Bahnar Krem:
Vĩnh Thạnh District and
An Lão District (Bình Định Province)
*Bahnar Chăm:
Vân Canh District (Bình Định Province)
*Bahnar But: forest areas; little communication with outsiders
Bùi (2011:5-6) lists the following subgroups of Bahnar and their respective locations.
*Tơ Lô: in Sơ Ró, Đắc Song, Chơ Loong, Yang Nam, and Đắc Tơ communes, which are in
Kông Chro District and part of
An Khê District (Gia Lai Province)
*Krem: in
Vĩnh Thạnh District, as well as some in
An Lão District,
Hoài Ân District, and
Tây Sơn District in Bình Định Province; some in Sơn Lang Commune,
K'Bang District, Gia Lai Province
*Vân Canh: mostly in Canh Liên, Canh Thuận, and Canh Hòa communes of
Vân Canh District, Bình Định Province
*Thồ Lồ: mostly in the upper part of
Đồng Xuân District, Phú Yên Province. Scattered in 9 communes throughout
Đồng Xuân District,
Sơn Hòa District, and
Sông Hinh District. Descended from Tơ Lô people who were
Tây Sơn soldiers fleeing from the
Nguyễn dynasty
The Nguyễn dynasty (, chữ Nôm: 茹阮, chữ Hán: 朝阮) was the last List of Vietnamese dynasties, Vietnamese dynasty, preceded by the Nguyễn lords and ruling unified Vietnam independently from 1802 until French protectorate in 1883 ...
200 years ago. They fled southeast to Thồ Lồ, Phú Yên Province. The
*Gơ Lar: mostly in
Mang Yang District,
Đắk Đoa District, and
Chư Sê District of Gia Lai Province, and some living around
Kon Tum town. There is also a subgroup called Bahnar Châng H'drung who live at the foot of Hàm Rồng Mountain.
*Kon Tum: in 4 precincts and 9 communes of
Kon Tum town
*Jơ Lơng: in
Kon Tum town, and Đắc Tơ Re, Đắc Ruồng, and Đắc Pne communes of
Kon Rẫy District, Kon Tum Province
*Rơ Ngao (
Rengao): in 29 villages. They live with the Kon Tum people in 5 communes of
Kon Tum; with the Bahnar and Sedang peoples in 2 communes of
Đắk Hà District; and with the
Sedang people in Pô Cô Commune,
Đắk Tô District, Kon Tum Province
Phonology
Consonants
*-In the final sequence /jh/, /h/ is not pronounced and /j/ is pronounced phonetically as a short vowel /i/.
*
Vowels
*
Also used in Vietnam
Other minor groups include the Kon Kđe, Bơ Nơm, and A Roh subgroups in
Kông Chro District and
K'Bang District of
Gia Lai Province
Gia Lai is a northern mountainous Provinces of Vietnam, province in the Central Highlands (Vietnam), Central Highlands region, the Central Vietnam, Central of Vietnam. It borders Kon Tum province, Kon Tum in the north, Quảng Ngãi province, Qu ...
(Bùi 2011:6).
''
Ethnologue
''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world. It is the world's most comprehensive catalogue of languages. It w ...
'' lists the following dialects of Bahnar.
*Tolo
*Golar
*Alakong (A-La Cong)
*Jolong (Gio-Lang, Y-Lang)
*Bahnar Bonom (Bomam)
*Kontum
*Krem
References
External links
Database of audio recordings in Bahnar - basic Catholic prayers
Bahnaric languages
{{AustroAsiatic-lang-stub