Shan language

Names

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

• In Shan, the spoken language is commonly called kwam tai (ၵႂၢမ်းတႆး, , lit. 'Tai language'). The written language is called lik tai (လိၵ်ႈတႆး, ).
• In Burmese, it is called hram: bhasa (ရှမ်းဘာသာ, ), whence the English word "Shan". The term "Shan," which was formerly spelt hsyam: (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 (ภาษาไทใหญ่, , lit. 'big/great Tai language') or more informally or even vulgarly by some phasa ngiao (ภาษาเงี้ยว, , an outdated term that now sounds like the word for "snake").
• In Northern Thai, it is called kam tai (กำไต, , literally "Tai language") or more informally or even vulgarly by some kam ngiao (กำเงี้ยว, ), lit. 'Shan language').
• In Lao, it is called phasa tai yai (ພາສາໄທໃຫຍ່, , lit. 'big/great Tai language') or more informally or even vulgarly by some phasa ngiao (ພາສາງ້ຽວ, ).
• In Tai Lü, it is called kam ngio (ᦅᧄᦇᦲᧁᧉ, ).

Dialects

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.

A number of words differ in initial consonants. In the north, initial and , when combined with certain vowels and final consonants, are pronounced (written ky), (written khy) and (written my). In Chinese Shan, initial becomes . In southwestern regions is often pronounced as . Initial only appears in the east, while in the other two dialects it merges with .

J. Marvin Brown divides the three dialects of Shan State as follows:

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, the Northern Shan State dialect, 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.

Phonology

Consonants

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

Vowels and diphthongs

Shan has ten vowels and 13 diphthongs:

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

Tones

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.

Contrastive tones in unchecked syllables

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.

Contrastive tones in checked syllables

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].

Syllable structure

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: , , , , , , and .

Some representative words are:

• CV also
• CVC market
• CGV to go
• CGVC broad
• CVV far
• CGVV water buffalo

Typical Shan words are monosyllabic. Multisyllabic words are mostly Pali loanwords, or Burmese words with the initial weak syllable .

Pronouns

Resources

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.