Tai Yo (), also known as Tai Mène () and (Tai) Nyaw (), is a
Tai language of
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
. It is closely related to
Tai Pao of
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
, where it may have originated. It was once written in a unique script, the
Tai Yo script, but that is no longer in use.
The language is known regionally in
Laos
Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
and
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
as ''Tai Mène'' and ''Tai Nyaw'' and, in
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
as ''Tai Do'' (old-fashioned English transcription) and ''Tai Quy Chau''.
Superficially, Tai Yo appears to be a
Southwestern Tai language but this is only because of centuries of
language contact
Language contact occurs when speakers of two or more languages or varieties interact with and influence each other. The study of language contact is called contact linguistics. Language contact can occur at language borders, between adstratum ...
and it is properly classified with the
Northern Tai languages.
The
''Nyaw''/''Nyo'' spoken in central
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
and western
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 ...
is not the same as Tai Yo.
[Thananan (2014)]
Tai Mène (Tai Maen)
The Mène people of Laos claim to be from Xieng Mène (also Xieng My) in Vietnam. These two names correspond to the following two towns in
Nghệ An Province, Vietnam, located near
Quỳ Châu (Chamberlain 1998).
*Xiềng Líp: located at the Nam Lip and Nam Chou (Houay Cha Ha) confluence, near the Cha Ha and Nam Ngoen (Ngân) confluence (which converge to form the Nam Souang or Houay Nguyên).
*Bản Pốt: located further east on the Nam Ngân.
Tai Mène appears to be related to
Tai Pao (''paaw 4'' < *''baaw A''),
[See Proto-Tai language#Tones for an explanation of the tone codes.] whose speakers claim to have originated from
Tương Dương District, Nghệ An province, Vietnam (Chamberlain 1991). Tai Mène or related languages may have also been spoken in
Thường Xuân District, Thanh Hóa, Vietnam by the Yo (Do) people (Robequain 1929).
Distribution
Tai Mène is spoken in
Borikhamxay Province, in many villages of
Khamkeut District and several villages in
Vieng Thong District (Chamberlain 1998). The
Vietic languages
Liha,
Phong,
Toum, Ayoy,
Maleng, and
Thaveung are spoken nearby.
*Lak Xao subdistrict: Ban Phon Hong, Ban Houay Keo
*Khamkeut subdistrict: Ban Phon Sa-at, Ban Phon Meuang Noy
*Na Heuang subdistrict: Lak 10, Lak 12, Na Khi
*Nam Sak subdistrict: Ban Phon Ngam, Ban Sop Khi
*Sop Chat subdistrict: Ban Sop Chat, Ban Sop Mong, Ban Phon Keo, Ban Sène Sy, Ban Tham Bing, Ban Phiang Pone
*Ka'ane subdistrict: Ban Thène Kwang, Ban Pha Poun, Ban Phiang Phô, Ban Sane, Ban Kok Feuang
*Phon Thoen subdistrict: Keng Kwang, Ban Kătô', Ban Kane Nha, Ban Keng Bit, Ban Sop Gnouang, Ban Vang Xao, Ban Tha Bak, Ban Kăpap
*Sop Pone subdistrict: Ban Sot, Ban Tha Sala, Ban Boung Kham
*Tha Veng subdistrict: Ban Phon Xay, Ban Kong Phat, Ban Xam Toey, Ban Na Khwan, Ban Phou Viang
Notes
Further reading
*Boonsner, Thepbangon. 1982. ''An Introduction to the Nɔɔ dialect''.
*Nantaporn Ninjinda. 1989
''A Lexical Study of Nyo Spoken in Sahon Nakhon, Nakhon Phanom, and Prachin Buri'' Silpakorn University (in Thai).
*Pacqement, Jean. 2018
The Nyo language spoken at Kut Kho Kan village (Loeng Nok Tha district, Yasothon province): A Language Documentation Research at Roi Et Rajabhat University Sikkha Journal of Education 5(2). Nakhon Ratchasima:
Vongchavalitkul University.
References
*Chamberlain, James R. 1983. ''The Tai Dialects of Khammouan Province: Their Diversity and Origins''. 16th International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Language and Linguistics, 16–18 September (Seattle, Washington, 1983)
*Chamberlain, James R. 1991.
Mène: A Tai dialect originally spoken in Nghệ An (Nghệ Tinh), Vietnam -- preliminary linguistic observations and historical implications. ''Journal of the Siam Society'' 79(2):103-123.
*Chamberlain, James R. 1998.
The Origin of the Sek: Implications for Tai and Vietnamese History. ''Journal of the Siam Society'' 86.1 & 86.2: 27-48.
*Finot, Louis. 1917. ''Recherches sur la Littérature Laotienne''. BEFEO 17.5.
*Robequain, Charles. 1929. ''Le Thanh Hoá''. EFEO, Paris et Bruxelles.
*Thananan, Trongdee. 2014.
The Lao-speaking Nyo in Banteay Meanchey Province of Cambodia. In ''Research Findings in Southeast Asian Linguistics, a Festschrift in Honor of Professor Pranee Kullavanijaya''. ''Manusya'', Special Issue 20. Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University Press.
External links
"Preliminary Proposal to encode the Yo Lai Tay Script"
{{Tai-Kadai languages
Southwestern Tai languages
Languages of Thailand
Languages of Laos
Languages of Vietnam