Bahnar language

{{short description|Austroasiatic language spoken in Vietnam}}

{{distinguish|Bana language}}

{{Infobox language

| name = Bahnar

| nativename = Bana

| states = Vietnam

| region =

| ethnicity = Bahnar people

| speakers = {{sigfig|158,000|2}} in Viet Nam

| date = 1999 census

| ref = e18

| familycolor = Austro-Asiatic

| fam2 = Bahnaric

| fam3 = North

| iso3 = bdq

| glotto = bahn1262

| glottorefname = Bahnar

| script = Latin
(adapted Vietnamese)

| pronunciation = {{IPA|[ˈbəˌnaː]}}

}}

The Bahnar language or Ba-Na language ({{IPA|bdq|ˈbəˌnaː}}) is a Central Bahnaric language. It has nine vowel qualities and phonemic vowel length.

Subdivisions

Đào (1998)Đào Huy Quyền. 1998. Nhạc khí dân tộc Jrai và Bahnar [Musical instruments of the Jrai and Bahnar]. Hanoi: Nhà xuất bản trẻ. lists the following subgroups of Bahnar and their respective locations.

Bùi (2011:5-6)Bùi Minh Đạo. 2011. The Bahnar people in Viet Nam. Hanoi: Thế Giới Publishers. {{ISBN|978-604-77-0319-7}} lists the following subgroups of Bahnar and their respective locations.

Phonology

= Consonants =

class="wikitable IPA" style="text-align:center"

! colspan="2" |

!Labial

!Alveolar

!Palatal

!Velar

!Glottal

align="center"

! rowspan="3" |Plosive

!voiceless

|p

|t

|tɕ

|k

voiced

|b

|d

|dʑ

|

preglottal

|ʔb

|ʔd

|ʔdʑ

|

|

rowspan="2" |Nasal

!plain

|m

|n

|

preglottal

|ʔm

|ʔn

|ʔɲ

|ʔŋ

|

align="center"

! colspan="2" |Fricative

|

|s

|

|

|h

colspan="2" |Rhotic

|

|r

|

|

|

align="center"

! rowspan="2" |Approximant

!plain

|w

|l

|j

|

|

preglottal

|ʔw

|ʔl

|ʔj

|

|

class="wikitable"

|+Final consonants

!

!Labial

!Alveolar

!Palatal

!Velar

!Glottal

Plosive

|p

|t

|tɕ

|k

Nasal

|m

|n

|

Aspirate

|

|

|jh*

|

|h

Rhotic

|

|r

|

|

|

Approximant

|w

|l

|j

|

|jˀ

*-In the final sequence /jh/, /h/ is not pronounced and /j/ is pronounced phonetically as a short vowel /i/.{{Cite book|last=Banker|first=John & Elizabeth|title=Bahnar Dictionary, Plei Bong-Mang Yang Dialect|last2=Mo'|first2=Siu|publisher=Huntingdon Beach, Summer Institute of Linguistics|year=1979|pages=vi-xii}}

= Vowels =

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

!

!Front

!Central

!Back

align="center"

!Close

|i iː

|ɨː

|u uː

align="center"

!Mid

|eː

|ə əː

|oː

align="center"

!Open

|ɛ ɛː

|a aː

|ɔ ɔː

Also used in Vietnam

Other minor groups include the Kon Kđe, Bơ Nơm, and A Roh subgroups in Kông Chro District and K'Bang District of Gia Lai Province (Bùi 2011:6).

Ethnologue lists the following dialects of Bahnar.

  • Tolo
  • Golar
  • Alakong (A-La Cong)
  • Jolong (Gio-Lang, Y-Lang)
  • Bahnar Bonom (Bomam)
  • Kontum
  • Krem

References

{{Reflist}}