Nùng is a Tai–Kadai language spoken mostly in Cao Bằng and

Lạng Sơn Lạng Sơn () is a city in far northern Vietnam, which is the capital of Lạng Sơn Province. It is accessible by road and rail from Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital, and it is the northernmost point on National Route 1. History Due to its ge ...

provinces in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

and also in China and Laos. It is also known as Nong, Tai Nùng, Tay, and Tày Nùng. ''Nùng'' is the name given to the various

Tai languages The Tai or Zhuang–Tai languages ( th, ภาษาไท or , transliteration: or ) are a branch of the Kra–Dai language family. The Tai languages include the most widely spoken of the Tai–Kadai languages, including Standard Thai or S ...

northern Vietnam Northern Vietnam ( vi, Bắc Bộ) is one of three geographical regions within Vietnam. It consists of three administrative regions: the Northwest (Vùng Tây Bắc), the Northeast (Vùng Đông Bắc), and the Red River Delta (Đồng Bằng S ...

that are spoken by peoples classified as Nùng by the Vietnamese government. The Nùng were originally

Zhuang people The Zhuang (; ; za, Bouxcuengh, italic=yes; ) are a Tai-speaking ethnic group who mostly live in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Southern China. Some also live in the Yunnan, Guangdong, Guizhou, and Hunan provinces. They form one ...

who migrated into Vietnam in the 16th and 18th centuries.

Speakers

In the 1999 census, it had about 856,000 speakers. It had about 968,800 speakers in the 2009 census.

Distribution

In Vietnam, Nùng is spoken in all of the Northeast Region (Except Phu Tho Province) and parts of the South Central Region ( Dak Lak, Gia Lai and

Lam Dong Province Lam or LAM may refer to: Organizations * Laguna Art Museum, California, US * Lam Eng Rubber, a Malaysian manufacturer * Lam Research, American semiconductor equipment company * LAM Mozambique Airlines, flag carrier airline of Mozambique * Librar ...

s). In China, Nùng is spoken in the

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

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...

and neighbouring parts of Guangxi. Speakers of the Nùng language in China are classified as Zhuang. In Laos, Nùng is spoken in three villages of Luang Prabang Province. Speakers are known as the

Yang people The Yang people, also known as the Nhang or Nyang (autonym: '), are a Tai-speaking ethnic group of Phongsaly Province, northwestern Laos. Chazee (1998) reports that they number 5,843 people as of 2015. The Yang are heavily influenced by Tai Lue ...

In Laos

The Nùng people of Laos (Yang) believed to originated from a border crossing in Vietnam to Laos from Dien Bien Province to

Son La Province A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current co ...

and later to Luang Prabang Province. This was during the

Vietnam war The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

Phonology

The following are the sounds of the Nùng language:

Consonants

Vowels

Tone

The Nùng language has six tones:

Varieties

Nùng consists of many varieties, some of which are listed below.Edmondson, Jerold A., Solnit, David B. (eds). 1997. Comparative Kadai: the Tai branch. Summer Institute of Linguistics and the University of Texas at Arlington Publications in Linguistics 124. Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics and the University of Texas at Arlington. *Nùng Phạn Slinh (Nohng Fạn Slihng) is spoken in eastern Lạng Sơn Province. It is spoken by approximately 100,000 people (Freiberger 1976a). Freiberger (1976a) is based on Nùng Phạn Slinh as spoken by refugees from Bắc Giang Province who had moved to

Lâm Đồng Province Lâm is a Vietnamese surname. The name is transliterated as Lin in Chinese and Im in Korean. Lam is the anglicized variation of the surname Lâm. Lam Lam or LAM may refer to: Organizations * Laguna Art Museum, California, US * Lam Eng Rubber ...

in 1954 (then known as Tuyên Đức Province, which consisted of

Đà Lạt Da Lat (also written as Dalat, vi, Đà Lạt; ), is the capital of Lâm Đồng Province and the largest city of the Central Highlands region in Vietnam. The city is located above sea level on the Langbian Plateau. Da Lat is one of the mo ...

, Đơn Dương District, Đức Trọng District, Lạc Dương District ). Freiberger (1976) also reported Nùng Phạn Slinh refugees in Biên Hòa Province and

Long Khánh Province Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mens ...

, which were former administrative divisions in South Vietnam. *Nùng Cháo is spoken around

city. It is identical with

William J. Gedney William J. Gedney (April 4, 1915November 14, 1999) was an American linguist notable for his work on Thai and related Tai languages. Life Gedney was born in Orchards, Washington, and spent his childhood there. He was the son of John Marshall Ge ...

's Lungchow. *Nùng Inh is spoken in western Lạng Sơn Province. It is identical with William J. Gedney's Western Nùng of Mường Khương, Lào Cai Province. *Nùng An is spoken in and around

Quảng Uyên Quảng Uyên is a township and capital of Quảng Hòa District Quảng Hòa is a district of Cao Bằng province in the Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used ...

, Quảng Hòa District, Cao Bằng. Like the Long'an (隆安) speakers of Guangxi, it has a mixture of Northern and Central Tai features. *Nùng Giang is spoken in Hà Quảng District, Cao Bằng. It is also spoken across the border in Pingmeng (平孟镇),

Jingxi County Jingxi (, Zhuang: Cingsae Si) is a county-level city of western Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of Baise City. Administrative divisions There are 8 towns and 11 townships in the district: Towns: * Xinjing (新靖镇), Huadong ( ...

, Guangxi. Nùng Vên (En), a language formerly undistinguished from surrounding Central Tai (Nùng) dialects, was discovered to be a Kra language by Hoàng Văn Ma and Jerold A. Edmondson in 1998. Its speakers are classified as Nùng by the Vietnamese government.

References

*Freiberger, Nancy; Vy Thị Bé (1976a).
Sẹc mạhn Slứ Nohng Fạn Slihng: Ngữ vựng Nùng Phạn Slinh (Nung Fan Slihng Vocabulary)
'. Series 64 E72. Summer Institute of Linguistics (Viện Chuyên Khảo Ngữ Học). *Freiberger, Nancy (1976b). ''Thòi củ cưhn Nohng Fạn Slihng: Phong tục tập quán của người Nùng Phạn Slinh (Culture and Folklore of the Nung Fan Slihng)''. Series 64 E16. Summer Institute of Linguistics (Viện Chuyên Khảo Ngữ Học), Mainland Southeast Asia Branch. *Vy Thị Bé; Janice E. Saul; Nancy Freiberger Wilson (1982).
Nung Fan Slihng - English Dictionary
'. Manila: Summer Institute of Linguistics (Viện Chuyên Khảo Ngữ Học).