En (

autonym Autonym may refer to: * Autonym, the name used by a person to refer to themselves or their language; see Exonym and endonym * Autonym (botany), an automatically created infrageneric or infraspecific name See also * Nominotypical subspecies, in zo ...

: ''aiɲ⁵³'' or ''eɲ^33ʔ'', also known as Nùng Vẻn) is a

Kra language The Kra languages ( ; also known as the Geyang or Kadai languages) are a branch of the Kra–Dai language family spoken in southern China (Guizhou, Guangxi, Yunnan) and in northern Vietnam (Hà Giang Province). Names The name ''Kra'' comes from ...

spoken in Vietnam. Before its discovery in 1998, En language was undistinguished from Nùng, which is a Central

Tai language The Tai, Zhuang–Tai, or Daic languages ( Ahom: 𑜁𑜪𑜨 𑜄𑜩 or 𑜁𑜨𑜉𑜫 𑜄𑜩 ; ; or , ; , ) are a branch of the Kra–Dai language family. The Tai languages include the most widely spoken of the Tai–Kadai languages, ...

closely related to Zhuang. In the late 1990s, Vietnamese linguist Hoàng Văn Ma had first recognized that it was not a Tai language, ultimately leading to field work distinguishing En as a separate language. Researchers have determined En to be one of the

Buyang language Buyang () is a Kra language spoken in Guangnan and Funing counties, Yunnan Province, China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billi ...

s. The speakers of En live in northern Vietnam near the border with Jingxi County,

Guangxi Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam (Hà Giang Province, Hà Giang, Cao Bằn ...

. In 1998, En speakers were found 12 km to the east of Hà Quảng city in Nội Thôn village,

Hà Quảng District Hà is a Vietnamese given name, male or female, meaning "river". Hà is a Vietnamese 'surname' (during French colonialism). The name is transliterated as He in Chinese and Ha in Korean. Ha is the anglicized variation of the surname Hà. It is ...

Cao Bằng Province Cao Bằng is a province of the Northeast region of Vietnam. The province has borders with Hà Giang, Tuyên Quang, Bắc Kạn, and Lạng Sơn provinces within Vietnam. It also has a common international border with Guangxi province in Chi ...

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En has 6 tones:Li Jinfang ��锦芳 2006. Studies on endangered languages in the Southwest China ��南地区濒危语言调查研究 Beijing: Minzu University. page 90. (/54, 243, 332, 33, 212, 32/).

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References

Further reading