ꪼꪕꪒꪾ

Tai Dam

Kra-Dai (Tai, Southwestern, Northwestern)

FamilyKra-Dai (Tai, Southwestern, Northwestern) Speakers~750K ScriptTai Viet (indigenous, U+AA80–AADF) / Latin / Vietnamese-quoc-ngu adaptation CountriesVietnam Official inVietnam (recognized minority); Laos (recognized regional) Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3blt

Tai Dam ("Black Tai", from the traditional black-dyed clothing of women) is a Southwestern Tai language of northwestern Vietnam and adjacent Laos/China. The Tai Dam developed their own indigenous Tai Viet script (medieval, encoded in Unicode 5.2 / 2009) — distinct from Thai and Lao scripts in retaining Brahmic characteristics lost in the standardised Thai writing system. The language has 6 contrastive tones (5 in unstopped syllables + 1 contour). Major Tai Dam refugee communities exist in the USA (Iowa) and France following the 1954 partition of Vietnam and the 1975 fall of Saigon.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Tai Dam

Water

ꪙꪾꫂ

nam˧˩ˀ

Fire

ꪼꪡ

faj˥

Sun

ꪔꪱꪹꪫꪸꪙ

taː˨ven˥

Moon

ꪹꪚꪙ

bɯən˨

Star

ꪒꪱꪫ

daːw˨

Night

ꪁꪳꪙ

kɯn˥

Rain

ꪶꪠꪙ

fon˨

Wind

ꪶꪩꪣ

lom˥

Earth

ꪒꪲꪙ

din˨

Stone

ꪬꪲꪙ

hin˨

Mountain

ꪝꪴ

puː˥

Sea

ꪙꪾ꫁ꪹꪚꪸ꫁

nam˧˩ˀbeː˨˩ˀ

Mother

ꪵꪣ꪿

mɛː˦

Father

ꪮ꫁ꪱꪥ

ʔaːj˨˩ˀ

Daughter

ꪩꪴꪀꪑꪲꪉ

luʔ˦ɲiŋ˥

I

ꪄ꫁ꪮꪥ

kʰɔj˨˩ˀ

You

ꪣꪳꪉ

mɯŋ˥

We

ꪹꪭꪱ

haw˥

Name

ꪋꪳ꪿

tɕɯ˦

Person

ꪶꪁꪙ

kon˥

Head

ꪬꪺ

huə˨

Eye

ꪔꪱ

taː˨

Ear

ꪬꪴ

huː˨

Mouth

ꪜꪱꪀ

paːʔ˦˥

Tooth

ꪵꪄ꫁ꪫ

kʰɛw˨˩ˀ

Tongue

ꪩꪲ꫁ꪙ

lin˧˩ˀ

Hand

ꪣꪳ

mɯ˥

Foot

ꪔꪲꪙ

tin˨

Heart

ꪻꪊ

tɕaɯ˨

Bone

ꪒꪴꪀ

duʔ˦˥

Blood

ꪹꪩꪒ

lɯət˦

Love

—

—

Tree

ꪼꪣ꫁

maj˧˩ˀ

Dog

ꪢꪱ

maː˨

Cat

ꪵꪣꪫ

mɛːw˥

Fish

ꪜꪱ

paː˨

Bird

ꪶꪙꪀ

noʔ˦

Egg

ꪼꪎ꪿

saj˦˥

Bear

ꪢꪲ

miː˨

Horse

ꪣ꫁ꪱ

maː˧˩ˀ

House

ꪹꪭꪙ

hɯən˥

Milk

ꪶꪙꪣ

nom˥

Salt

ꪹꪀ

kɯə˨

Rice

ꪹꪄ꫁ꪱ

kʰaw˨˩ˀ

Eat

ꪀꪲꪙ

kin˨

Drink

ꪀꪲꪙ ꪙꪾꫂ

kin˨ nam˧˩ˀ

Sleep

ꪙꪮꪙ

nɔn˥

One

ꪙꪳ꪿ꪉ

nɯŋ˦

Two

ꪎꪮꪉ

sɔːŋ˨

Three

ꪎꪱꪣ

saːm˨

Four

ꪎꪲ꪿

siː˦˥

Five

ꪬ꫁ꪱ

haː˨˩ˀ

Hundred

ꪭ꫁ꪮꪥ

hɔj˧˩ˀ

Hello

—

—

Thank you

—

—

Good

ꪒꪲ

diː˨

Red

ꪵꪒꪉ

dɛŋ˨

White

ꪒ꪿ꪮꪙ

dɔn˦˥

Black

ꪒꪾ

dam˨

Green

ꪵꪄꪫ

kʰɛw˨

Blue

ꪵꪄꪫ

kʰɛw˨

Tea

ꪵꪋ

tɕɛː˥

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Kra-Dai (Tai, Southwestern, Northwestern)

Meaning Tai DamIsanSouthern ThaiNorthern ThaiShanThai SongLao
Water ꪙꪾꫂ /nam˧˩ˀ/ น้ำ /nam˦˥/ น้ำ /nam˧˥/ น้ำ /nam˦˥/ ၼမ်ႉ /nam˦˨ˀ/ น้ำ /nam˦˧/ ນ້ຳ /naːm˥˨/
Fire ꪼꪡ /faj˥/ ไฟ /faj˥/ ไฟ /faj˥/ ไฟ /faj˥/ ၾႆး /faj˥/ ไฟ /faj˧˥˦/ ໄຟ /faj˧˥/
Sun ꪔꪱꪹꪫꪸꪙ /taː˨ven˥/ ตะเว็น /ta˨˩wen˥/ ตะวัน /ta˨˩wan˥/ ตะวัน /ta˨˩wan˥/ ဝၼ်း /wan˥/ ตะวัน /ta˨˦ wan˧˥˦/ ຕາເວັນ /taː˩˧ ven˧˥/
Moon ꪹꪚꪙ /bɯən˨/ เดือน /dɯan˥/ เดือน /dɯan˥/ เดือน /dɯːan˥/ လိူၼ် /lɤn˨˦/ เดือน /dɯːan˨˦/ ດວງເດືອນ /duaŋ˩˧ dɯːan˩˧/
Star ꪒꪱꪫ /daːw˨/ ดาว /daːw˧/ ดาว /daːw˥/ ดาว /daːw˧/ လၢဝ် /laːw˨˦/ ดาว /daːw˨˦/ ດາວ /daːw˩˧/
Night ꪁꪳꪙ /kɯn˥/ คืน /kʰɯːn˧/ คืน /kʰɯːn˥/ คืน /kʰɯːn˧/ ၶိုၼ်း /kʰɯn˥/ คืน /kʰɯːn˧˥˦/ ຄືນ /kʰɯːn˧˥/
Rain ꪶꪠꪙ /fon˨/ ฝน /fɔn˩˧/ ฝน /fɔn˩˧/ ฝน /fɔn˩˧/ ၽူၼ် /pʰon˨˦/ ฝน /fon˨˦/ ຝົນ /fɔn˩˧/
Wind ꪶꪩꪣ /lom˥/ ลม /lom˧/ ลม /lom˥/ ลม /lom˧/ လူမ်း /lom˥/ ลม /lom˧˥˦/ ລົມ /lom˧˥/
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