The Kra languages ( ; also known as the Geyang or Kadai languages) are a branch of the Kra–Dai language family spoken in southern

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Names

The name ''Kra'' comes from the word ^C "human" as reconstructed by Ostapirat (2000), which appears in various Kra languages as ''kra'', ''ka'', ''fa'' or ''ha''. Benedict (1942) used the term ''Kadai'' for the Kra and Hlai languages grouped together and the term ''Kra-Dai'' is proposed by Ostapirat (2000). The Kra branch was first identified as a unified group of languages by Liang (1990),Liang Min 梁敏. 1990
Geyang yuqun de xishu wenti 仡央语群的系属问题
/ On the affiliation of the Ge-Yang group of languages." In ''Minzu Yuwen'' 民族语文 1990(6): 1-8. who called it the ''Geyang'' 仡央 languages. ''Geyang'' 仡央 is a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of the first syllable of ''Ge''- in Gelao and the last syllable of -''yang'' in Buyang. The name ''Kra'' was proposed by Ostapirat (2000) and is the term usually used by scholars outside

, whereas ''Geyang'' is the name currently used in

Significance

Several Kra languages have regionally unusual

consonant cluster In linguistics, a consonant cluster, consonant sequence or consonant compound is a group of consonants which have no intervening vowel. In English, for example, the groups and are consonant clusters in the word ''splits''. In the education fie ...

s and sesquisyllabic or disyllabic words, whereas other Kra–Dai languages tend to have only single syllables. The disyllables in Buyang have been used by Sagart (2004) to support the view that the Kra-Dai languages are a subgroup within the Austronesian family. Unlike the Tai and Kam–Sui languages, most Kra languages, including Gelao and Buyang, have preserved the proto-Kra–Dai numerical systems. The only other Kra–Dai branch that preserves this is Hlai. Most other Kra–Dai languages adopted

Chinese numerals Chinese numerals are words and characters used to denote numbers in written Chinese. Today, speakers of Chinese languages use three written numeral systems: the system of Arabic numerals used worldwide, and two indigenous systems. The more fami ...

over 1000 years ago. As noted by Jerold A. Edmondson, the Kra languages contain words in metalworking, handicrafts and agriculture that are not attested in any other Kra–Dai language.Diller, Anthony, Jerold A. Edmondson, and Yongxian Luo ed. ''The Tai–Kadai Languages''. Routledge Language Family Series. Psychology Press, 2008. This suggests that the Kra peoples may have developed or borrowed many technological innovations independently of the Tai and Kam-Sui peoples.

Reconstruction

The Proto-Kra language has been reconstructed by Weera Ostapirat (2000).

Classification

Morphological similarities suggest the Kra languages are closest to the Kam–Sui branch of the family. There are about a dozen Kra languages, depending on how languages and dialects are defined. Gelao, with about 8,000 speakers in China out of an ethnic population of approximately 500,000, and consists of at least four

mutually unintelligible In linguistics, mutual intelligibility is a relationship between different but related language varieties in which speakers of the different varieties can readily understand each other without prior familiarity or special effort. Mutual intellig ...

language varieties In sociolinguistics, a variety, also known as a lect or an isolect, is a specific form of a language or language cluster. This may include languages, dialects, registers, styles, or other forms of language, as well as a standard variety.Meech ...

, including Telue (White Gelao), Hagei (Blue or Green Gelao), Vandu (Red Gelao), A'ou (Red Gelao), and Qau (Chinese Gelao).

Ostapirat (2000)

The internal classification below is from Weera Ostapirat (2000), who splits the Kra branch into the Eastern and Western branches. According to Jerold Edmondson (2002), Laha is too conservative to be in Western Kra, considered it to constitute a branch of its own. However, Edmondson (2011)Edmondson, Jerold. 2011
Notes on the subdivisions in Kra
. Published as Geyang yuyan fenlei buyi 仡央语言分类补议 in Journal of Guangxi University for Nationalities. 广西民族大学学报. 33.2.8-14. later reversed his position, considering Laha to be more closely related to Paha. Ethnologue mistakenly includes the

Hlai language The Hlai languages ( zh, s=黎语, p=Líyǔ) are a primary branch of the Kra–Dai language family spoken in the mountains of central and south-central Hainan in China by the Hlai people, not to be confused with the colloquial name for the Lei ...

Cun of Hainan in Kra; this is not supported by either Ostapirat or Edmondson.

Hsiu (2014)

Hsiu's (2014) classification of the Kra languages, based on computational phylogenetic analysis as well as Edmondson's (2011) earlier analysis of Kra, is given below, as cited in Norquest (2021). *Kra **Northern Kra *** Lachi *** Gelao ****Red Gelao ***** Vandu ***** A'ou ****Core Gelao ***** Dongkou Gelao *****White Gelao ( Telue) *****Central Gelao: Hagei, Qau **Southern Kra ***Guangxi Buyang (Yalhong) *** Laha, Paha *** Qabiao ***Yunnan Buyang: Ecun, Langjia, Nung Ven

Substrata

Andrew Hsiu (2013, 2017) reports that Hezhang Buyi, a divergent,

moribund Moribund refers to a literal or figurative state near death. Moribund may refer to: * ''Moribund'' (album), a 2006 album by the Norwegian black metal band Koldbrann * " Le Moribond", a song by Jacques Brel known in English as "Seasons in the Sun ...

Northern Tai The Northern Tai languages are an established branch of the Tai languages of Southeast Asia. They include the northern Zhuang languages and Bouyei of China, Tai Mène of Laos and Yoy of Thailand. Languages Ethnologue ''Ethnologue'' distingui ...

language spoken by 5 people in Dazhai 大寨, Fuchu Township 辅处乡,

Hezhang County Hezhang () is a county in the northwest of Guizhou province, China, bordering Yunnan to the north. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Bijie. Administrative divisions Hezhang County is divided into 5 subdistricts, 10 ...

赫章县,

, China, has a Kra

substratum Substrata, plural of substratum, may refer to: *Earth's substrata, the geologic layering of the Earth *''Hypokeimenon'', sometimes translated as ''substratum'', a concept in metaphysics *Substrata (album), a 1997 ambient music album by Biosphere * ...

. Maza, a Lolo–Burmese language spoken in Mengmei 孟梅, Funing County, Yunnan, is also notable for having a Qabiao

(Hsiu 2014:68-69). According to Li Jinfang (1999),Li Jinfang (1999). ''Studies in the Buyang Language''. Beijing: Central University for Nationalities Press. the Yang Zhuang people of southwestern

may have been Kra speakers who had switched to Zhuang.

Demographics

The Kra languages have a total of about 22,000 speakers. In

, officially recognized Kra peoples are the Cờ Lao, La Chí, La Ha and Pu Péo. In

, only the Gelao (Cờ Lao) have official status. The other Kra peoples are variously classified as Zhuang, Buyi, Yi, and Han. "Hotspots" for Kra languages include: within China, most of western

, the

prefecture-level city A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province of China, province and above a Counties of the People's Republic of China, county in China's ...

of Baise in western

, and

Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture is an autonomous prefecture in southeastern Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China, and is the easternmost prefecture-level division of the province. It borders Baise, Guangxi, to the east, Vie ...

in southeastern

; as well as northern Vietnam's

. This distribution runs along a northeast-southwest geographic vector, forming what Jerold A. Edmondson calls a "language corridor."

Multilingualism Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

is common among Kra language speakers. For example, many Buyang can also speak Zhuang.李锦芳/Li, Jinfang and 周国炎/Guoyan Zhou. 仡央语言探索/Geyang yu yan tan suo. Beijing, China: 中央民族大学出版社/Zhong yang min zu da xue chu ban she, 1999. *Western ** Lachi (拉基, La Chí) – 10,300 (7,863 in Vietnam in 1990; 2,500 in Maguan County, Yunnan, China in 1995) ** Gelao (仡佬, Cờ Lao) – 7,900 (spoken in Guizhou, Longlin Various Nationalities Autonomous County in Guangxi, and northern Vietnam) ** Laha (拉哈, La Ha) – 1,400 (officially recognized in Vietnam; most divergent western Kra language) *Eastern ** Buyang 布央 dialect cluster – 2,000 *** Paha 巴哈 (considered a separate language by Ostapirat; spoken in Yangliancun 央连村, Diyu Township,

Guangnan County Guangnan County (; Zhuang languages, Zhuang: ) is located in Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan province, China. The seat of Guangnan, known today as Liancheng (), was the heart of the Gouding Kingdom () that lasted approximat ...

广南县,

) ***Langjia 郎架 (spoken in Langjia, Funing County, Yunnan along the

border) ***Ecun 峨村 (spoken in Ecun, Funing County, Yunnan along the Guangxi border) ***Yalang 雅郎 (Yalhong; spoken in Rongtun 荣屯, Napo County, Guangxi) ** Qabiao (Pubiao 普标, Pu Péo) – 700 ** En (Nùng Vên; spoken in northern Vietnam) – 250

Numerals

Notes

External links

Kra words lists
from the Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database
Proto-Kra reconstructions
from the Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database
Database of basic words in various Kra languages
at Starling {{Tai-Kadai languages