Shan language

{{More|Tai peoples|Shan people}}

Historically, the dominance of Shan as a regional lingua franca made it the source of many loanwords in other regional languages, especially Jingpo and Palaung.{{Cite journal |last=Jenny |first=Mathias |date=Autumn 2016 |title=Tai identity in Myanmar and beyond |url=https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/127179/1/IIAS_NL75_FULL.pdf |journal=IIAS the Newsletter |publisher=International Institute for Asian Studies |issue=75 |pages=32–33}} Shan has also served as an intermediary of loanwords from Burmese into these languages.

By the same token, Shan has been significantly influenced by Burmese, mediated by centuries of historical and ongoing contact and exchange between Burmese and Shan speakers, especially between the Burmese royal court and Shan principalities. For instance, the lack of a {{IPA|/f/}} sound in most Shan dialects is attributed to Burmese influence; this sound is present in the closely-related Khün and Northern Thai languages. Shan vocabulary has been significantly enriched by Burmese contact, with Burmese loan words appearing throughout the Shan lexicon, including loanwords borrowed from Pali via Burmese. Burmese appears to have also influenced Shan grammar, with respect to the use of complex prepositions and certain word patterns that do not exist in closely related Tai languages.

Due to labour migration in recent decades, one million ethnic Shan now live in Thailand.{{Cite web |last=Sai Wansai |date=2020-01-28 |title=Refugee Conundrum: Little movement in Myanmar's repatriation schemes |url=https://www.bnionline.net/en/news/refugee-conundrum-little-movement-myanmars-repatriation-schemes |access-date=2024-12-10 |website=Burma News International |language=en}} As a result of ongoing language contact, Thai has increasingly become a competing source of loanwords into Shan, especially for scientific and political concepts. These Thai loanwords are often more difficult to detect, because of phonetic and structural similarities between Shan and Thai. Some recent phonological developments, like the reversal of the historical {{IPA|/f/}} > {{IPAslink|pʰ}} shift especially among younger Shan speakers, is attributed to contact with Thai.

The Shan language has a number of names in different Tai languages and Burmese.

• In Shan, the spoken language is commonly called kwam tai ({{lang|shn|ၵႂၢမ်းတႆး}}, {{IPA|shn|kwáːm.táj|}}, {{lit|Tai language}}). The written language is called lik tai ({{lang|shn|လိၵ်ႈတႆး}}, {{IPA|shn|lik táj|}}).
• In Burmese, it is called hram: bhasa ({{lang-my-Mymr|ရှမ်းဘာသာ}}, {{IPA|my|ʃáɰ̃ bàðà|}}), whence the English word "Shan". The term "Shan," which was formerly spelt hsyam: ({{lang-my-Mymr|သျှမ်း}}) in Burmese, is an exonym believed to be a Burmese derivative of "Siam" (an old term for Thailand).
• In Thai and Southern Thai, it is called phasa thai yai ({{lang|th|ภาษาไทใหญ่}}, {{IPA|th|pʰāː.sǎː.tʰāj.jàj|}}, {{lit|big/great Tai language}}) or more informally or even vulgarly by some phasa ngiao ({{lang|th|ภาษาเงี้ยว}}, {{IPA|th|pʰāː.sǎː.ŋía̯w|}}, an outdated term that now sounds like the word for "snake").
• In Northern Thai, it is called kam tai ({{lang|nod|กำไต}}, {{IPA|nod|kām.tāj|}}, literally "Tai language") or more informally or even vulgarly by some kam ngiao ({{lang|nod|กำเงี้ยว}}, {{IPA|nod|kām.ŋía̯w|}}), {{lit|Shan language}}).
• In Lao, it is called phasa tai yai ({{lang|lo|ພາສາໄທໃຫຍ່}}, {{IPA|lo|pʰáː.sǎː.tʰáj.ɲāj|}}, {{lit|big/great Tai language}}) or more informally or even vulgarly by some phasa ngiao ({{lang|lo|ພາສາງ້ຽວ}}, {{IPA|lo|pʰáː.sǎː.ŋîa̯w|}}).
• In Tai Lü, it is called kam ngio ({{lang|khb|ᦅᧄᦇᦲᧁᧉ}}, {{IPA|khb|kâm.ŋìw|}}).

The Shan dialects spoken in Shan State can be divided into three groups, roughly coinciding with geographical and modern administrative boundaries, namely the northern, southern, and eastern dialects. Dialects differ to a certain extent in vocabulary and pronunciation, but are generally mutually intelligible.

While the southern dialect has borrowed more Burmese words, eastern Shan is somewhat closer to Northern Thai language and Lao in vocabulary and pronunciation, and the northern so-called "Chinese Shan" is much influenced by the Yunnan-Chinese dialect.{{Clarify|reason=Does Yunnan-Chinese dialect refer to Southwestern Mandarin or Tai Nuea?|date=April 2023}}

A number of words differ in initial consonants. In the north, initial {{IPA|/k/, /kʰ/}} and {{IPA|/m/}}, when combined with certain vowels and final consonants, are pronounced {{IPA|/tʃ/}} (written ky), {{IPA|/tʃʰ/}} (written khy) and {{IPA|/mj/}} (written my). In Chinese Shan, initial {{IPA|/n/}} becomes {{IPA|/l/}}. In southwestern regions {{IPA|/m/}} is often pronounced as {{IPA|/w/}}. Initial {{IPA|/f/}} only appears in the east, while in the other two dialects it merges with {{IPA|/pʰ/}}.

J. Marvin Brown divides the three dialects of Shan State as follows:Brown, J. Marvin. 1965. From Ancient Thai To Modern Dialects and Other Writings on Historical Thai Linguistics. Bangkok: White Lotus Press, reprinted 1985.

1. Northern — Lashio, Burma; contains more Chinese influences
2. Southern — Taunggyi, Burma (capital of Shan State); contains more Burmese influences
3. Eastern — Kengtung, Burma (in the Golden Triangle); closer to Northern Thai and Lao

Prominent divergent dialects are considered separate languages, such as Khün (called Kon Shan by the Burmese), which is spoken in Kengtung valley. Chinese Shan is also called Tai Mao, referring to the old Shan State of Mong Mao. Tai Long is used to refer to the Southern Shan State dialect spoken in southern and central regions west of the Salween River,{{cite journal |last1=Jirattikorn |first1=Amporn |title="Pirated" Transnational Broadcasting: The Consumption of Thai Soap Operas among Shan Communities in Burma |journal=Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia |date=April 2008 |volume=23 |issue=1 |pages=30–62 |doi=10.1355/SJ23-1B |jstor=41220059 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41220059 |access-date=21 April 2023}} the Northern Shan State dialect,{{Cite thesis |title=Serial verb constructions in Tai Long Shan |last=Soh |first=Jyr Minn |date=2019 |degree=M.A. |publisher=Nanyang Technological University |url=https://hdl.handle.net/10356/106030 |doi=10.32657/10220/47853|hdl=10356/106030 |hdl-access=free }} and the dialect spoken in Laos. There are also dialects still spoken by a small number of people in Kachin State, such as Tai Laing, and Khamti spoken in northern Sagaing Region.

Shan has 19 consonants. Unlike Thai and Lao (Isan) there are no voiced plosives /d/ and /b/.

{{notelist}}

Shan has ten vowels and 13 diphthongs:

{{IPA|[iw], [ew], [ɛw]; [uj], [oj], [ɯj], [ɔj], [ɤj]; [aj], [aɯ], [aw]; [aːj], [aːw]}}

Shan has less vowel complexity than Thai, and Shan people learning Thai have difficulties with sounds such as "ia," "ua," and "uea" {{IPA|[ɯa]}}. Triphthongs are absent. Shan has no systematic distinction between long and short vowels characteristic of Thai.

Shan has phonemic contrasts among the tones of syllables. There are five to six tonemes in Shan, depending on the dialect. The sixth tone is only spoken in the north; in other parts it is only used for emphasis.

The table below presents six phonemic tones in unchecked syllables, i.e. closed syllables ending in sonorant sounds such as [m], [n], [ŋ], [w], and [j] and open syllables.

:^* The symbol in the first transcription column corresponds to conventions used for other tonal languages; the second is derived from the Shan orthography.

The following table shows an example of the phonemic tones:

The Shan tones correspond to Thai tones as follows:

1. The Shan rising tone is close to the Thai rising tone.
2. The Shan low tone is equivalent to the Thai low tone.
3. The Shan mid-tone is different from the Thai mid-tone. It falls in the end.
4. The Shan high tone is close to the Thai high tone. But it is not rising.
5. The Shan falling tone is different from the Thai falling tone. It is short, creaky and ends with a glottal stop.

The table below presents four phonemic tones in checked syllables, i.e. closed syllables ending in a glottal stop [ʔ] and obstruent sounds such as [p], [t], and [k].

The syllable structure of Shan is C(G)V((V)/(C)), which is to say the onset consists of a consonant optionally followed by a glide, and the rhyme consists of a monophthong alone, a monophthong with a consonant, or a diphthong alone. (Only in some dialects, a diphthong may also be followed by a consonant.)

The glides are: -w-, -y- and -r-.

There are seven possible final consonants: {{IPA|/ŋ/}}, {{IPA|/n/}}, {{IPA|/m/}}, {{IPA|/k/}}, {{IPA|/t/}}, {{IPA|/p/}}, and {{IPA|/ʔ/}}.

Some representative words are:

• CV {{IPA|/kɔ/}} also
• CVC {{IPA|/kàːt/}} market
• CGV {{IPA|/kwàː/}} to go
• CGVC {{IPA|/kwaːŋ/}} broad
• CVV {{IPA|/kǎi/}} far
• CGVV {{IPA|/kwáːi/}} water buffalo

Typical Shan words are monosyllabic. Multisyllabic words are mostly Pali loanwords, or Burmese words with the initial weak syllable {{IPA|/ə/}}.

Given the present instabilities in Burma, one choice for scholars is to study the Shan people and their language in Thailand, where estimates of Shan refugees run as high as two million, and Mae Hong Son Province is home to a Shan majority. The major source for information about the Shan language in English is Dunwoody Press's Shan for English Speakers. They also publish a Shan-English dictionary. Aside from this, the language is almost completely undescribed in English.{{Citation needed|date=July 2010}}

{{reflist}}

• Sai Kam Mong. The History and Development of the Shan Scripts. Chiang Mai, Thailand: Silkworm Books, 2004. {{ISBN|974-9575-50-4}}
• The Major Languages of East and South-East Asia. Bernard Comrie (London, 1990).
• A Guide to the World's Languages. Merritt Ruhlen (Stanford, 1991).
• Shan for English Speakers. Irving I. Glick & Sao Tern Moeng (Dunwoody Press, Wheaton, 1991).
• Shan – English Dictionary. Sao Tern Moeng (Dunwoody Press, Kensington, 1995).
• Shan phonology and morphology. Aggasena Lengtai. (MA thesis, Mahidol University, 2009).
• An English and Shan Dictionary. H. W. Mix (American Baptist Mission Press, Rangoon, 1920; Revised edition by S.H.A.N., Chiang Mai, 2001).
• Grammar of the Shan Language. J. N. Cushing (American Baptist Mission Press, Rangoon, 1887).
• Myanmar – Unicode Consortium [https://unicode.org/charts/PDF/U1000.pdf]

{{InterWiki|code=shn}}

• [http://sealang.net/shan/ An English-Shan dictionary translator]
• [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Swadesh_lists_for_Tai–Kadai_languages Shan-language Swadesh vocabulary list of basic words] (from Wiktionary's [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Swadesh_lists Swadesh-list appendix])
• [http://scripts.sil.org/cms/scripts/page.php?site_id=nrsi&id=Padauk SIL Padauk Font (Shan Unicode)]
• [http://sealang.net/shan/dictionary.htm SEAlang Library Shan Dictionary]
• [http://www.shanland.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2767:first-shan-thai-dictionary-on-sale-&catid=93:general&Itemid=291 Titles of Shan-foreign language dictionaries]

{{Languages of Burma}}

{{Languages of Thailand}}

{{Tai-Kadai languages}}

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Category:Languages of Myanmar

Category:Languages of Thailand

Category:Southwestern Tai languages

Category:Tonal languages