Dialects KriPhóngMlengbrou Linguist list pkt-kha | Native speakers 250 (2009) ISO 639-3 aem | |
Language family AustroasiaticVieticKri | ||
Kri (Krìì) is a recently described Vietic language. Kri speakers live in the Upper Ñrong (Nam Noy) valley of Khammouane Province, Laos, as well as other locations within the Nakai-Nam Theun Biodiversity Conservation Area. It is mutually intelligible with Pròòngq, which is spoken in several villages downstream from the Kri (Enfield & Diffloth 2009).
Contents
The Kri call themselves mleeng Kri, and their language meengq Kri. They are swidden cultivators who move every 2–3 years among pre-existing village sites (Chamberlain 1998). Houses are torn down after the death of a household member, and the housing materials are then used to construct a new house in a different location. Other than the Kri language, many adults, especially men, are also fluent in Vietnamese, Saek, Bru, and Lao.
Consonants
The consonants in Kri are:
Finals
These are the consonants that may come at the end of a syllable in Kri:
Do note that they are all contrastive, and that vowels, nasal consonants, and oral consonants may have checked endings. The Oral endings also may become voiceless.
Morphology
Kri has a few morphological features, less than Khmu but more than Vietnamese.
Causative Infix
The -a- infix may be inserted into words with two initial consonants, between them. This infix turns intransitive verb into a transitive verb, adding an agent. It can also turn a noun into a verb. Here are some examples:
praang - to cross over
paraang - to take someone across.
slôôj- to be washed away by running water
salôôj- to discard into flowing water, to let something be washed away.
kleeh- to fall off
kaleeh- to pick off
blang- of the eyes, to become open (like a young dog's)
balang- to open one's eyes
ckaang- a hand span
cakaang- to measure something by hand spans
Nominalising Infix
The -rn- infix is placed after a single initial consonant. This infix makes a noun from a verb:
sat- to get one's foot stuck
srnat- a foothold
koq- to live
krnoq- a house
This shortens to -r- when between consonants:
kadôôlq- to rest the head on something
krdôôlq- a pillow