Bruu
Eastern Bru
Austroasiatic
Eastern Bru (autonymously Bruu) is a Katuic language of the Mon-Khmer (Austroasiatic) family, spoken by around 135,000 people in the Trường Sơn (Annamite) highlands along the Vietnam-Laos border. The Bru are an upland indigenous people who have inhabited the central Vietnamese-Lao highlands for centuries, with substantial cultural continuity despite political division between the Vietnamese and Lao Bru populations after the 1954 Geneva Accords. Linguistically, Bru is part of the Katuic branch of Mon-Khmer alongside Pacoh, Katu, and other related languages. The Bru community was significantly affected by the Vietnam War (the Trường Sơn highlands hosted the Ho Chi Minh Trail), and many Bru villages were displaced. The post-war era has seen revitalization efforts via SIL biblical translation and Vietnam/Laos government primary education programs.
Where it is spoken
87 core words in Eastern Bru
Sources
Words compared
Compared with languages in the same classification: Austroasiatic
| Meaning | Eastern Bru | Bahnar | Kuy | Proto-Austroasiatic | Khmu | Proto-Vietic | Old Mon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | daak /daːk/ | đak /ɗaːk/ | diaʔ /diaʔ/ | *ɗaːk /ɗaːk/ | ʔom /ʔom/ | *ɗaːk /ɗaːk/ | ဍာက် /ɗaik/ |
| Fire | oih /ʔoiʔ/ | unh /uɲ/ | uh /ʔuh/ | *ʔuːs /ʔuːs/ | pʰrɨə /pʰrɨə/ | *-laːs /-laːs/ | ပ်ၟ /pmaʔ/ |
| Sun | mat plei /mat plei/ | măt ʼnăr /mat ʔnar/ | tʰaj /tʰaj/ | *tŋiːʔ /tŋiːʔ/ | mat briʔ /mat briʔ/ | — /—/ | တ္ၚဲ /tŋai/ |
| Moon | kasai /kasai/ | khei /kʰɛːj/ | luəŋ /luəŋ/ | *khe(ː)ʔ /kheːʔ/ | moŋ /moŋ/ | *b-laŋ /b-laŋ/ | ဂျိုၚ် /klɔŋ/ |
| Star | mansơ /mənsɤ/ | sơnglŏng /səŋlɔŋ/ | ntar /ntaːr/ | *smʔaɲ /smʔaɲ/ | sərmeɲ /sərmeɲ/ | *k-raːw /k-raːw/ | ကၟာဲ /həmoa/ |
| Night | sadâu /sədaw/ | măng /maŋ/ | sadaw /sədaw/ | *cəːm /cəːm/ | psɨəm /psɨəm/ | *teːm /teːm/ | ဗိရ္တံ /birtam/ |
| Rain | mia /mia/ | ʼmi /ʔmiː/ | məmia /məmia/ | *gmaʔ /ɡmaʔ/ | kəmaʔ /kəmaʔ/ | *k-maː /k-maː/ | ဗြဲ /brɔj/ |
| Snow | prễl príl /prel pril/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Wind | cuyal /kujal/ | kial /kjaːl/ | — | *kjɔʔ /kjɔʔ/ | hndrəːj /hndrəːj/ | — | ကျာ /kjal/ |
| Earth | cutễq /kuteʔ/ | teh /tɛh/ | ktɛːʔ /ktɛːʔ/ | *tiʔ /tiʔ/ | pteʔ /pteʔ/ | *tət /tət/ | တိ /tiʔ/ |
| Stone | tamáu /təmaw/ | tơmo /təmo/ | tamaw /təmaw/ | *tmɔʔ /tmɔʔ/ | glaŋ /ɡlaŋ/ | — | တၟံ /tmɔʔ/ |
| Mountain | cóh /kɔh/ | kông /koːŋ/ | bru /bru/ | *bruʔ /bruʔ/ | mok /mok/ | — | — |
| Sea | dỡq mưt /dɤʔ mɨt/ | đak dơsĭ /ɗaːk dəsiʔ/ | thle̤ː /tʰleː/ | — | — | — | — |
| Mother | amey /amej/ | mei /mei/ | mə /mə/ | *maʔ /maʔ/ | maʔ /maʔ/ | *meːʔ /meːʔ/ | မိ /mi/ |
| Father | amung /amuŋ/ | bă /bə/ | pə /pə/ | *ɓa(ː)ʔ /ɓaːʔ/ | joŋ /joŋ/ | *bɔːʔ /bɔːʔ/ | ဖ /pʰɛʔ/ |
| Daughter | con mansễm /kɔn mənsem/ | kon adruh /kɔːn ʔadruh/ | — | — | — | — | — |
| I | cứq /kɯʔ/ | inh /iɲ/ | aɲ /ʔaɲ/ | *ʔaɲ /ʔaɲ/ | oʔ /ʔoʔ/ | *soː /soː/ | အဲ /ʔua/ |
| You | mới /mɤːj/ | ih /ʔih/ | may /maj/ | *miːʔ /miːʔ/ | meʔ /meʔ/ | *miː /miː/ | ဗှ်ေ /peh/ |
| We | hái / hếq /haj / heʔ/ | bơn / nhon /bən / ɲon/ | hmai /m̥aj/ | — /—/ | iʔ /ʔiʔ/ | — /—/ | ပိုဲ /poj/ |
| Name | ramoh /rəmɔːh/ | anĕ /anɛ/ | mah /məh/ | *ɟmuh /ɟmuh/ | sŋməh /sŋməh/ | — /—/ | ယု /jəmu/ |
| Person | cũai /kuaj/ | bơngai /bəŋaːj/ | kuj /kuj/ | *m-raʔ /mraʔ/ | gon /ɡon/ | *ŋaːj /ŋaːj/ | ညး /mɲah/ |
| Head | plỡ /plɤ/ | kơl /kəl/ | plɑː /plɑː/ | *ɓoːkʔ /ɓoːkʔ/ | kəmpoŋ /kəmpoŋ/ | *k-loːk /k-loːk/ | — |
| Eye | mat /mat/ | mat /mat/ | mɜ̤t /mɜt/ | *mat /mat/ | mat /mat/ | *mat /mat/ | မတ် /mɔt/ |
| Ear | cutũr /kutur/ | đon /ɗɔːn/ | katɔr /kətɔr/ | *Ctoːr /Ctoːr/ | rəməj /rəməj/ | *saːj /saːj/ | က္တောဝ် /ktor/ |
| Nose | muh /muh/ | muh /muh/ | muh /muh/ | *muh /muh/ | muh /muh/ | *muːs /muːs/ | မိုဟ် /mɯh/ |
| Mouth | bỗq /ɓoʔ/ | ʼbơ̆r /ɓər/ | nɔh /nɔh/ | *miəŋʔ /miəŋʔ/ | tənɔh /tənɔh/ | *mɛːŋʔ /mɛːŋʔ/ | ပါၚ် /paiŋ/ |
| Tooth | kanêng /kəneŋ/ | sơneng /səneŋ/ | kaneːŋ /kəneːŋ/ | *lmVɲ /lməɲ/ | hraŋ /hraŋ/ | *k-saŋ /k-saŋ/ | ငေက် /ŋiak/ |
| Tongue | liayh /liajh/ | rơpiêt /rəpiet/ | ntaʔ /ntaʔ/ | *lntaːk /lntaːk/ | həntak /həntak/ | *laːs /laːs/ | ကတာက် /kətaik/ |
| Hand | ati /ati/ | ti /ti/ | təy /təj/ | *tiːʔ /tiːʔ/ | tiʔ /tiʔ/ | *siː /siː/ | တၟုိ /toi/ |
| Foot | ayững /ajɨːŋ/ | tơpang jơ̆ng /təpaːŋ ɟəŋ/ | ɟɯːŋ /ɟɯːŋ/ | *ɟəːŋ /ɟəːŋ/ | krwɛh /krwɛh/ | *ciɲ /ciɲ/ | ဇုၚ် /ɟɯŋ/ |
| Heart | plong /ploŋ/ | blei /blei/ | chlaj /tʃʰlaj/ | *nuːɕ /nuːɕ/ | tlɔːm ŋok /tlɔːm ŋok/ | — /—/ | စိုတ် /cət/ |
| Bone | nghang /ŋhaŋ/ | kơting /kətiŋ/ | hŋaːŋ /ŋ̊aːŋ/ | *cʔaːŋ /cʔaːŋ/ | cʼaaŋ /tʃʔaːŋ/ | *ɟaːŋ /ɟaːŋ/ | ဇုတ် /ɟut/ |
| Blood | aham /ʔaham/ | phăm /pʰam/ | ʔəham /ʔəham/ | *mham /mham/ | maːm /maːm/ | *t-muːʔ /t-muːʔ/ | ဆိမ် /cʰim/ |
| Poop | créq /kreʔ/ | ĭch /ic/ | klɑːŋ /klɑːŋ/ | *ʔicʔ /ʔicʔ/ | — | — | — |
| Love | hong /hoŋ/ | rơngư /rəŋɨ/ | phɯ /pʰɯ/ | — /—/ | kɔɔh /kɔːh/ | — /—/ | ဆာန် /cʰan/ |
| Tree | aleng /aleŋ/ | lông /loŋ/ | ʔəŋ /ʔəŋ/ | *ɟɕɨːʔ /ɟɕɨːʔ/ | sʔɔːŋ /sʔɔːŋ/ | *gəl /gəl/ | ဆု /tɕu/ |
| Dog | acho /atʃo/ | kŏ /kɔʔ/ | ca /caː/ | *cɔː /cɔː/ | sɔʔ /sɔʔ/ | *ʔa-cɔːʔ /ʔa-cɔːʔ/ | ခၠဵု /kʰlou/ |
| Cat | miew /mieu/ | miao /miao/ | chhlɔːk /tʃʰlɔːk/ | — /—/ | mɛːw /mɛːw/ | — /—/ | ဂျိ /kluj/ |
| Fish | aka /ʔəka/ | ka /kaː/ | ka /kaː/ | *kaʔ /kaʔ/ | kaʼ /kaʔ/ | *ʔa-kaːʔ /ʔa-kaːʔ/ | က /kaʔ/ |
| Bird | chớm /tʃɤm/ | sem /səm/ | cɛm /cɛm/ | *ciːm /ciːm/ | sim /sim/ | *ciːm /ciːm/ | ဂစေမ် /kəcem/ |
| Egg | tarễl /tərel/ | kơtăp /kətap/ | nthrɛ̤ːl /ntʰrɛːl/ | *ktam /ktam/ | kədoŋ /kədoŋ/ | *k-ləːŋʔ /k-ləːŋʔ/ | — |
| Bear | sacâu /sakəw/ | chơgơu /tʃəɡəu/ | — | — | huəl /huəl/ | *c-guːʔ /c-guːʔ/ | — |
| Horse | aséh /aseh/ | aseh /ʔasɛh/ | — | — | — | *m-ŋəːʔ /m-ŋəːʔ/ | ချေံ /kseh/ |
| House | dung /duŋ/ | hnam /hnam/ | pno /pno/ | *ɲaːʔ /ɲaːʔ/ | gaːŋ /ɡaːŋ/ | *ɲaː /ɲaː/ | သ္ၚိ /sŋiʔ/ |
| Milk | dỡq tóh /dɤʔ tɔh/ | đak toh /ɗaːk tɔh/ | nom /nom/ | — | — | *p-rah /p-rah/ | — |
| Honey | dỡq khĩal /dɤʔ kʰial/ | đak sut /ɗaːk sut/ | — | — | — | — | — |
| Salt | boi /ɓɔːj/ | boh /ɓɔh/ | phɑ̤ːh /pʰɑːh/ | *ɓɔːh /ɓɔːh/ | hmaar /hmaːr/ | *ɓɔːjʔ /ɓɔːjʔ/ | — |
| Wine | blŏ́ng nho /blɔŋ ɲɔ/ | sik hơmu /sik həmu/ | — | — | — | — | — |
| Iron | tac /tak/ | bơxey /bəsɛːj/ | taːʔ /taːʔ/ | — | cndroh /cndroh/ | — | — |
| Wheel | carvang /karvaŋ/ | tang-wang /taːŋ waːŋ/ | kɑŋ /kɑŋ/ | — | — | — | — |
| Silk | dai /daj/ | — | soːt /soːt/ | — | — | — | — |
| Book | tâm saráq /tam saraʔ/ | sơ̆p hla bơar /səp hlaː bəar/ | — | — | pɨːm /pɨːm/ | — | — |
| Eat | cha /tʃa/ | sa /sa/ | sap /sap/ | *ɟaː /ɟaː/ | mah /mah/ | *ʔan /ʔan/ | စိ /tɕiʔ/ |
| Drink | ngoot /ŋoːt/ | ngoah /ŋoah/ | suəm /suəm/ | *ɲuʔ /ɲuʔ/ | ʔɨək /ʔɨək/ | *ʔɔːŋʔ /ʔɔːŋʔ/ | သုက် /sok/ |
| Sleep | bếq /ɓeʔ/ | têp /tɛp/ | ŋɛt /ŋɛt/ | *ɓic /ɓic/ | sih /sih/ | — | — |
| One | muoi /muoi/ | minh /miɲ/ | mṳːy /muj/ | *muːj /muːj/ | moj /moj/ | *moːc /moːc/ | မွဲ /mwɛ/ |
| Two | bar /ɓaːr/ | bar /ɓaːr/ | bia /bia/ | *ɓaːr /ɓaːr/ | baar /baːr/ | *haːr /haːr/ | ၜါ /ɓa/ |
| Three | pái /paːi/ | pêng /peːŋ/ | pei /pəj/ | *peʔ /peʔ/ | peʼ /peʔ/ | *paː /paː/ | ပိ /poi/ |
| Four | pôn /põːn/ | puăn /pwan/ | apɔːn /ʔapɔːn/ | *punʔ /punʔ/ | pon /pon/ | *poːnʔ /poːnʔ/ | ပန် /pan/ |
| Five | sỡng /sɤŋ/ | pơđăm /pəʔɗam/ | asʌːŋ /ʔasʌːŋ/ | *pɗam /pɗam/ | — | *ɗam /ɗam/ | မသုန် /msun/ |
| Hundred | culam /kulam/ | hreng /hreŋ/ | muːj ruʌj /muːj ruʌj/ | — | — | — | ကၠံ /klɔm/ |
| Hello | te /te/ | ô /o/ | sabaaj /sabaːj/ | — /—/ | lɔh /lɔh/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | kuhng /kuhŋ/ | kơbi /kəbi/ | khɔp /kʰɔp/ | — /—/ | ɔrkun /ʔɔrkun/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Good | huom /huom/ | ʼlơ̆ng /ʔləŋ/ | ɟɔ /ɟɔ/ | — /—/ | ləʔ /ləʔ/ | — /—/ | ခိုဟ် /kʰɔh/ |
| New | tamái /təmaj/ | nao /ʔnao/ | tamaj /təmaj/ | *tmeːʔ /tmeːʔ/ | həmmeʔ /həmmeʔ/ | *ɓəːjʔ /ɓəːjʔ/ | — |
| Red | kusaw /kəsaw/ | bre /ɓreː/ | kəsaw /kəsaw/ | *roːŋ /roːŋ/ | jim /jim/ | *tɔh /tɔh/ | — /—/ |
| White | cloc /klɔːk/ | kok /kɔːk/ | buaʔ /buaʔ/ | *ɓɔːk /ɓɔːk/ | klɔɔk /klɔːk/ | *k-laŋʔ /k-laŋʔ/ | ဗ္တာၚ် /bətaiŋ/ |
| Black | cũm /kum/ | găm /ɡam/ | twɛɲ /twɛɲ/ | *Cjoŋ /Cjoŋ/ | hiəŋ /hiəŋ/ | — | — |
| Green | ramoong /rəmɔːŋ/ | jơk /ɟəːk/ | khew /kʰew/ | — | siw /siw/ | — | — |
| Orange | cam /kam/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Ninety-nine | takêh chít takêh /takeh tʃit takeh/ | tơsĭn-jĭt tơsĭn /təsin ɟit təsin/ | — | — | — | — | — |
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