Kuy, also known as Kui, Suay or Kuay (; ), is a
Katuic language
The fifteen Katuic languages form a branch of the Austroasiatic languages spoken by about 1.5 million people in Southeast Asia. People who speak Katuic languages are called the Katuic peoples. Paul Sidwell is the leading specialist on the Katuic ...
, part of the larger
Austroasiatic family spoken by the
Kuy people
The Kuy (, ) are an indigenous ethnic group of mainland Southeast Asia. The native lands of the Kuy range from the southern Khorat Plateau in northeast Thailand east to the banks of the Mekong River in southern Laos and south to north central ...
of Southeast Asia.
Kuy is one of the
Katuic languages
The fifteen Katuic languages form a branch of the Austroasiatic languages spoken by about 1.5 million people in Southeast Asia. People who speak Katuic languages are called the Katuic peoples. Paul Sidwell is the leading specialist on the Katuic ...
within the
Austroasiatic family. It is spoken in
Isan
Northeast Thailand or Isan (Isan language, Isan/, ; ; also written as Isaan, Isarn, Issarn, Issan, Esan, or Esarn; from Pāli ''isāna'' or Sanskrit ईशान्य ''īśānya'' "northeast") consists of 20 provinces in northeastern Thai ...
, Thailand by about 300,000 people, in
Salavan,
Savannakhet
Savannakhet (, ; ), officially named Kaysone Phomvihane (); since 2005 and previously known as ''Khanthaboury'' (; ), is a city in western Laos. It is the capital of Savannakhet Province. With a population of 125,760 (2018), it is the second-l ...
and
Sekong Provinces of Laos by about 64,000; and in
Preah Vihear,
Stung Treng and
Kampong Thom Provinces of northern Cambodia by 15,500 people.
Names
Spelling variants and varieties include the following (Sidwell 2005:11).
*Kui
*Kuy
*Kuay
*Koay
*Souei. The term "Souei" is also applied to other groups, such as a
Pearic community in
Cambodia
Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
.
*Yeu
*Nanhang
*Kouy. A textbook in French is published for this variant
Parlons Kouy.
Dialects
Van der haak & Woykos (1987-1988) identified two major Kui varieties in Surin and Sisaket provinces of eastern Thailand, Kuuy and Kuay. Van der haak & Woykos also identified the following ''divergent'' Kui varieties in
Sisaket Province, Thailand.
*Kui Nhə:
Sisaket District (10 villages),
Phraibung District (5 villages),
Rasisalai District (4 villages). About 8,000 people.
*Kui Nthaw (Kui M'ai):
Rasisalai District (5 villages),
Uthumphornphisai District (9 villages). All villages mixed with Lao/Isaan.
*Kui Preu Yai: Prue Yai Subdistrict,
Khukhan District.
Mann & Markowski (2005) reported the following four Kuy dialects spoken in north-central
Cambodia
Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
.
*Ntua
*Ntra: includes the subdialects of Auk and Wa
*Mla: 567 speakers in the single village of Krala Peas,
Choam Ksan District,
Preah Vihear Province
Preah Vihear (, UNGEGN: ''Preăh Vĭhar'', ALA-LC: ''Braḥ Vihār'' ; lit. 'sacred sanctuary') is a province (''khaet'') of Cambodia. It borders the provinces of Oddar Meanchey and Siem Reap to the west, Kampong Thom to the south and Stung Tr ...
*"Thmei"
A variety of Kui/Kuy called Nyeu (''ɲə'') is spoken in the villages of Ban Phon Kho, Ban Khamin, Ban Nonkat, Ban Phon Palat, and Ban Prasat Nyeu in
Sisaket Province, Thailand. The Nyeu of Ban Phon Kho claim that their ancestors had migrated from Muang Khong,
Amphoe Rasisalai, Sisaket Province.
In
Buriram Province
Buriram province (, , ) is one of Thailand's seventy-seven Provinces of Thailand, provinces (''changwat'') and lies in Isan#Administrative divisions, lower northeastern Thailand, also called Isan. Neighboring provinces are (from south clockwise) ...
, Kuy is spoken in the 4 districts of
Nong Ki,
Prakhon Chai,
Lam Plai Mat, and
Nong Hong (Sa-ing Sangmeen 1992:14). Within
Nong Ki District, Kuy villages are located in the southern part of Yoei Prasat (เย้ยปราสาท) Subdistrict and in the western part of Mueang Phai (เมืองไผ่) Subdistrict (Sa-ing Sangmeen 1992:16).
Phonology
The following is the phonology of the Kui (Surin) language:
Consonants
Vowels
Vowel sounds may also be distinguished using breathy voice:
Locations
The following list of Kuy village locations in
Sisaket Province is from Van der haak & Woykos (1987-1988:129). Asterisks (placed before village names) denote ethnically mixed villages, in which ethnic Kuy reside with ethnic
Lao or
Khmer.
Kui Nhə
*
Mueang District เมือง
**''Tambon Phonkho'' โพนค้อ: Phonkho โพนค้อ, Nong, Yanang, Klang, Non
**''Tambon Thum'' ทุ่ม: Khamin
*
Phayu District พยุห์
**''Tambon Phayu'' พยุห์: *Nongthum
**''Tambon Phromsawat'' พรหมสวัสดิ์: Samrong, Khothaw
**''Tambon Nongphek'' โนนเพ็ก: *Khokphek โคกเพ็ก
*
Phraibung District ไพรบึง
**''Tambon Prasatyae'' ปราสาทเยอ: Prasatyaenua ปราสาทเยอเหนือ, Prasatyaetai ปราสาทเยอใต้, Khawaw, Phonpalat, Cangun
*
Rasisalai District ราษีไศล
**''Tambon Mueangkhong'' เมืองคง: Yai ใหญ่
*
Sila Lat District ศิลาลาด
**''Tambon Kung'' กุง: Kung กุง, Muangkaw เมืองเก่า, *Chok
Kui Nthaw/M'ai
All Kui Nthaw/M'ai live in mixed villages.
*
Rasisalai District ราษีไศล
**''Tambon Nong Ing'' หนองอึ่ง: *Tongton, *Huai Yai ห้วยใหญ่, *Dnmuang, *Kokeow, *Hang
*
Uthumphornphisai District อุทุมพรพิสัย
**''Tambon Khaem'' แขม: *Phanong, *Sangthong, *Sawai, *Nongphae, *Phae
*
Pho Si Suwan District โพธิ์ศรีสุวรรณ
**''Tambon Naengma'' หนองม้า: *Nongma หนองม้า, *Songhong, *Songleng, *Nongphae
Kuay Prue Yai
*
Khukhan District ขุขันธ์
**''Tambon Prueyai'' ปรือใหญ่: Preu Yai, Makham, Pruekhan, and village no.12
See also
*
Ethnic groups in Cambodia
The largest of the ethnic groups in Cambodia are the Khmer people, Khmer, who comprise 95.8% of the total populationhttps://nis.gov.kh/nis/Census2019/Final%20General%20Population%20Census%202019-English.pdf and primarily inhabit the lowland Me ...
*
List of ethnic groups in Laos
*
Ethnic groups in Thailand
Thailand is a country of some 70 ethnic groups, including at least 24 groups of ethnolinguistically Tai peoples, mainly the Central, Southern, Northeastern, and Northern Thais; 22 groups of Austroasiatic peoples, with substantial populations ...
Notes
References
*Mann, N., & Markowski, L. (2004). ''A rapid appraisal survey of Kuy dialects spoken in Cambodia''. Chiang Mai: Dept. of Linguistics, Graduate School, Payap University.
*Mann, N., & Markowski, L. (2005)
''A rapid appraisal survey of Kuy dialects spoken in Cambodia'' SIL International.
*Sidwell, Paul. (2005).
The Katuic languages: classification, reconstruction and comparative lexicon''. LINCOM studies in Asian linguistics, 58. Muenchen: Lincom Europa.
{{Authority control
Languages of Cambodia
Languages of Laos
Languages of Thailand
Katuic languages
Ethnic groups in Cambodia
Ethnic groups in Laos
Ethnic groups in Thailand