Brao language

Austroasiatic language spoken in Cambodia and Laos

Brao
Native to	Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam
Native speakers	62,000 (2009–2015)^[1]
Language family	Austroasiatic Bahnaric West Brao
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Variously: `brb` – Brao (was Lave) `krr` – Krung `krv` – Kavet
Glottolog	`lave1249`
ELP	Lave Kravet Kru'ng 2

Brao is a Mon–Khmer language of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

Phonology

Consonants^[2]
		Labial	Dental- Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Obstruent	voiceless	p	t	c	k	ʔ
	aspirated	pʰ	tʰ	ç	kʰ	h
	voiced	b	d	ɟ	g
	glottalized	ˀb	ˀd	ˀɟ	ˀg
Nasal	plain	m	n	ɲ	ŋ
Nasal	preaspirated	ʰm	ʰn		ʰŋ
Trill			r
Approximant		w	l	j

Varieties

According to Ethnologue, there are four distinct but mutually intelligible varieties, sometimes considered separate languages: Lave (Brao proper), Kru’ng (Kreung), and Kavet (Kravet), the latter spoken by only a couple thousand.

Sidwell (2003) also lists four communities of speakers, three of which are in Cambodia.

Laveh (Lave, Rawe): spoken in Attapeu Province, Laos south of the capital city of Attapeu. Laveh is the official designation given by the Laotian government.
Krung (Krüng, "Krung 2"): spoken around Ban Lung in Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia
Kavet (Kravet): spoken in Voeun Sai District, Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia
Brao (Brou, Palaw, Preou): spoken in and around the town of Taveng in Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia

Lun, spoken in Stung Treng Province, Cambodia, is related to Lave and Kavet (Philip Lambrecht 2012).^[3]

Demographics

Sidwell (2003) suggests the possibility of a total of 50,000 speakers, while Bradley (1994:161) gives an estimate of 35,000. All estimates below are drawn from Sidwell (2003:30).

Laos: The 1995 Laotian census places the Laveh population at 17,544.
Cambodia: The Asian Development Bank gave an estimate of 29,500 speakers as of the early 2000s.
Vietnam: About 300 Brau live in Đắc Mế village, Bờ Y commune, Ngọc Hồi district, Kon Tum province (Đặng, et al. 2010:112).^[4] Parkin (1991:81) also estimates several hundred Brao in Vietnam.
Thailand: Parkin (1991:81) estimates a Brao population of 2,500 in Thailand.

References

^ Brao (was Lave) at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)
Krung at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)
Kavet at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)
^ Keller, Charles E. (April 1999). "Brao-Krung Phonology" (PDF). Mon-Khmer Studies. 31. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 June 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-07-19. Retrieved 2015-01-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ Đặng Nghiêm Vạn, Chu Thái Sơn, Lưu Hùng. 2010. Ethnic Minorities in Vietnam. Hà Nội: Thế Giới Publishers.

Sidwell, Paul (2003). A Handbook of comparative Bahnaric, Vol. 1: West Bahnaric. Pacific Linguistics, 551. Canberra: Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University.