View source for Shan language

{{Short description|Kra–Dai language of Myanmar}}
{{Redirect-distinguish2|Tai Yai language|[[Tai Ya language]] or [[Tayal language]]}}
{{Infobox language
| name = Shan
| altname = Tai Yai
| nativename = တႆး
| pronunciation = {{IPA-shn|lik.táj|}}
| states = [[Myanmar]]
| region = [[Shan State]]
| ethnicity = [[Shan people|Shan]], [[Dai people|Dai]], [[Ahom people|Ahom]], [[Kula people|Kula]]
| speakers = {{sigfig|4.685000|2}} million
| date = 2017
| ref = e25
| familycolor = Kradai
| fam2 = [[Tai languages|Tai]]
| fam3 = [[Southwestern Tai languages|Southwestern]]
| fam4 = Northwestern (Shan)
| dia1 = Standard Shan ([[Tachileik]] Shan)
| dia2 = [[Khamti language|Khamti]] ([[Khamti people|Hkamti]] Shan)
| dia3 = [[Khün language|Khün]] ([[Kengtung]] Shan)
| dia4 = [[Tai Laing language|Tai Laing]] (Red Shan)
| dia5 = [[Tai Nuea language|Tai Nuea]] ([[China|Chinese]] Shan
| dia6 = [[Aitan language|Aitan]] ([[Assam|Assamese]] Shan)
|dia7 = [[Phake language|Phake]] (Buri Dihing Shan)
| dia8 = [[Ahom language|Ahom]] (Old Shan)
| iso2 = shn
| iso3 = shn
| script = [[Mon–Burmese script|Mon–Burmese]] ([[Shan alphabet]])
| minority = {{Flag|Myanmar}}
| glotto = shan1277
| glottorefname = Shan
| notice = IPA
| extinct  =
| dateprefix = 
}}
{{Contains special characters|Burmese}}

The '''Shan language''' (written Shan: {{lang|shn|လိၵ်ႈတႆး}}, {{IPA-shn|lik táj|pron|SHsound Liktai.wav}}, spoken Shan: {{lang|shn|ၵႂၢမ်းတႆး}}, {{IPA-shn|kwáːm táj|pron|SHsound_Kwamtai.wav}} or {{lang|shn|ၽႃႇသႃႇတႆး}}, {{IPA-shn|pʰàːsʰàː táj|pron}}; {{lang-my|ရှမ်းဘာသာ}}, {{IPA-my|ʃáɰ̃ bàðà|pron}}; {{lang-th|ภาษาไทใหญ่}}, {{IPA-th|pʰāː.sǎː.tʰāj.jàj|pron}}) is the native language of the [[Shan people]] and is mostly spoken in [[Shan State]], [[Myanmar]]. It is also spoken in pockets in other parts of Myanmar, in [[Northern Thailand]], in [[Yunnan]], in [[Laos]], in [[Cambodia]], in [[Vietnam]] and decreasingly in [[Assam]] and [[Meghalaya]]. Shan is a member of the [[Kra–Dai languages|Tai–Kadai language family]] and is related to [[Thai language|Thai]]. It has five tones, which do not correspond exactly to Thai tones, plus a sixth tone used for emphasis. The term Shan is also used for related Northwestern Tai languages, and it is called ''Tai Yai'' or ''Tai Long'' in other Tai languages. Standard Shan, which is also known as Tachileik Shan, is based on the dialect of the city of [[Tachileik]].

The number of Shan speakers is not known in part because the Shan population is unknown. Estimates of Shan people range from four million to 30 million,{{citation needed|date=August 2016}} with about half speaking the Shan language.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}} ''[[Ethnologue]]'' estimates that there are {{sigfig|4.590000|2}} million Shan speakers in Myanmar; the [[Mahidol University]] Institute for Language and Culture gave the number of Shan speakers in Thailand as 95,000 in 2006,<ref name=e25/> though including refugees from Burma they now total about one million.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bnionline.net/en/news/refugee-conundrum-little-movement-myanmars-repatriation-schemes|title = Refugee Conundrum: Little movement in Myanmar's repatriation schemes}}</ref> Many Shan speak local dialects as well as the language of their trading partners. Due to the [[Internal conflict in Myanmar|civil war in Burma]], few Shan today can read or write in [[Shan alphabet]], which was derived from the [[Burmese alphabet]].

== Names ==
The Shan language has a number of names in different [[Tai languages]] and [[Burmese language|Burmese]]. 
* In Shan, the language is commonly called ''kwam tai'' ({{Script|Mymr|ၵႂၢမ်းတႆး}}, {{IPA-shn|kwáːm.táj}}, {{lit|[[Tai peoples|Tai]] language}}).
* In [[Burmese language|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 {{lang-my-Mymr|သျှမ်း}} (''hsyam:'') in Burmese, is an [[exonym]] believed to be a Burmese derivative of "Siam" (an old term for [[Thailand]]).
* In [[Thai language|Thai]] and [[Southern Thai language|Southern Thai]], it is called ''phasa thai yai'' (ภาษาไทใหญ่, {{IPA-th|pʰāː.sǎː.tʰāj.jàj}}, {{lit|big/great [[Tai peoples|Tai]] language}}) or more informally or even vulgarly by some ''phasa ngiao'' (ภาษาเงี้ยว, {{IPA-th|pʰāː.sǎː.ŋía̯w}}, an outdated term that now sounds like the word for "snake").
* In [[Northern Thai language|Northern Thai]], it is called ''kam tai'' (กำไต, {{IPA-nod|kām.tāj}}, literally "[[Tai peoples|Tai]] language") or more informally or even vulgarly by some ''kam ngiao'' (กำเงี้ยว, {{IPA-nod|kām.ŋíaw}}), {{lit|Shan language}}).
* In [[Lao language|Lao]], it is called ''phasa tai yai'' (ພາສາໄທໃຫຍ່, {{IPA-lo|pʰáː.sǎː.tʰáj.ɲāj}}, {{lit|big/great [[Tai peoples|Tai]] language}}) or more informally or even vulgarly by some ''phasa ngiao'' (ພາສາງ້ຽວ, {{IPA-lo|pʰáː.sǎː.ŋîaw}}).
* In [[Tai Lue language|Tai Lü]], it is called ''kam ngio'' ({{script|Talu|ᦅᧄᦇᦲᧁᧉ}}, {{IPA-khb|kâm.ŋìw}}).

==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 language|Burmese]] words, Eastern Shan is somewhat closer to [[northern Thai language]]s and [[Lao language|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 {{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/}}.

Prominent dialects are considered as separate languages, such as [[Khün language|Khün]] (called Kon Shan by the Burmese), which is spoken in [[Kengtung Township|Kengtung]] valley, and [[Tai Lü language|Tai Lü]]. Chinese Shan is also called (Tai) Mao, referring to the old Shan State of [[Mong Mao]]. 'Tai Long' is used to refer to the dialect spoken in southern and central regions west of the [[Salween River]]. There are also dialects still spoken by a small number of people in [[Kachin State]] and [[Khamti language|Khamti]] spoken in northern [[Sagaing Region]].

[[J. Marvin Brown]] (1965)<ref>Brown, J. Marvin. 1965. ''From Ancient Thai To Modern Dialects and Other Writings on Historical Thai Linguistics''. Bangkok: White Lotus Press, reprinted 1985.</ref> divides the three dialects of Shan as follows:
#Northern &mdash; [[Lashio]], Burma; contains more Chinese influences
#Southern &mdash; [[Taunggyi]], Burma (capital of [[Shan State]]); contains more Burmese influences
#Eastern &mdash; [[Kengtung]], Burma (in the [[Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia)|Golden Triangle]]); closer to Northern Tai and Lao

==Phonology==

===Consonants===
Shan has 19 consonants.
Unlike [[Thai language|Thai]] and [[lao language|Lao]] there are no voiced plosives [d] and [b].

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! colspan="2" |
! [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
|style="background: #ccf;"|{{IPAslink|m}}<br />{{Script/shn-Mymr|မ}}
|style="background: #cfc;"|{{IPAslink|n}}<br />{{Script/shn-Mymr|ၼ}}
|style="background: #fcf;"|{{IPAslink|ɲ}}<br />{{Script/shn-Mymr|ၺ}}
|style="background: #fcc;"|{{IPAslink|ŋ}}<br />{{Script/shn-Mymr|င}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Plosive]]
!<small>[[unaspirated]]</small>
|style="background: #ccf;"|{{IPAslink|p}}<br />{{Script/shn-Mymr|ပ}}
|style="background: #cfc;"|{{IPAslink|t}}<br />{{Script/shn-Mymr|တ}}
|style="background: #fcf;"|{{IPAslink|tɕ}}<br />{{Script/shn-Mymr|ၸ}}
|style="background: #fcc;"|{{IPAslink|k}}<br />{{Script/shn-Mymr|ၵ}}
|style="background: #ccc;"|{{IPAslink|ʔ}}{{efn|The glottal plosive is implied after a short vowel without final, or the silent 'a' before a vowel.}}<br />{{Script/shn-Mymr|ဢ}}
|-
!<small>[[Aspirated consonant|aspirated]]</small>
|style="background: #ccf;"|{{IPAslink|pʰ}}<br />{{Script/shn-Mymr|ၽ}}
|style="background: #cfc;"|{{IPAslink|tʰ}}<br />{{Script/shn-Mymr|ထ}}
|
|style="background: #fcc;"|{{IPAslink|kʰ}}<br />{{Script/shn-Mymr|ၶ}}
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Fricative]]
|style="background: #ccf;"|({{IPAslink|f}}){{efn|Initial {{IPA|[f]}} is only found in eastern dialects in words that are pronounced with {{IPA|[pʰ]}} elsewhere.}}<br />{{Script/shn-Mymr|ၾ}}
|style="background: #ffc;"|{{IPAslink|s}}<br />{{Script/shn-Mymr|သ}}
|
|
|style="background: #ccc;"|{{IPAslink|h}}<br />{{Script/shn-Mymr|ႁ}}
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Trill consonant|Trill]]
|
|style="background: #cff;"|({{IPAslink|r}}){{efn|The trill is very rare and mainly used in Pali and some English loan words, sometimes as a glide in initial consonant clusters.  Many Shans find it difficult to pronounce {{IPA|[r]}}, often pronouncing it {{IPA|[l]}}.}}<br />{{Script/shn-Mymr|ရ}}
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Approximant]]
|
|
|style="background: #cff;"|{{IPAslink|j}}<br />{{Script/shn-Mymr|ယ}}
|style="background: #cff;"|{{IPAslink|w}}<br />{{Script/shn-Mymr|ဝ}}
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Lateral consonant|Lateral]]
|
|style="background: #cff;"|{{IPAslink|l}}<br />{{Script/shn-Mymr|လ}}
|
|
|
|}
{{notelist}}

=== Vowels and diphthongs ===
Shan has ten vowels and 13 diphthongs:

{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
|-
! [[Front vowel|Front]] !! [[Central vowel|Central-Back]] !! [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
| {{IPA|/i/}} || {{IPA|/ɨ/~/ɯ/}} || {{IPA|/u/ }}
|-
| {{IPA|/e/}} || {{IPA|/ə/~/ɤ/}} || {{IPA|/o/ }}
|-
| {{IPA|/ɛ/}} || {{IPA|/a/<br />/aː/}} || {{IPA|/ɔ/}}
|}

{{IPA|[iu], [eu], [ɛu]; [ui], [oi], [ɯi], [ɔi], [əi]; [ai], [aɯ], [au]; [aːi], [aːu]}}

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.

=== Tones ===
Shan has [[phoneme|phonemic]] contrasts among the [[tone (linguistics)|tone]]s 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|sonorant sounds]] such as [m], [n], [ŋ], [w], and [j] and open syllables.
{| class="wikitable"
! No.  !! Description !! IPA !! Description !! colspan="2" | Transcription<sup>*</sup>
|- 
| 1 || rising (24) || {{IPA|˨˦}} || Starting rather low and rising pitch || {{IPA|ǎ}} || a (not marked)
|- 
| 2 || low (11) || {{IPA|˩}} || Low, even pitch || {{IPA|à}} || a,
|- 
| 3 || mid-falling (32) || {{IPA|˧˨}} || Medium level pitch, slightly falling in the end || {{IPA|a}} (not marked) || a;
|- 
| 4 || high (55) || {{IPA|˥}} || High, even pitch || {{IPA|á}} || a:
|- 
| 5 || high-falling and creaky (42) || {{IPA|˦˨ˀ}} || Short, creaky, strongly falling with lax final glottal stop || {{IPA|âʔ}}, {{IPA|â̰}} || a.
|- 
| 6 || emphatic (343) or middle (33) || {{IPA|˧˦˧}} / {{IPA|˧}} || Starting mid level, then slightly rising, with a drop at the end (similar to tones 3 and 5) || {{IPA|a᷈}} || a-
|}

:<sup>*</sup> The symbol in the first 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 [[phoneme|phonemic]] tones:
<!-- The wwhole point of this table is to illustrate phonetic detail of the tones. This doesn't occur anywhere else, and is from the IPA Handbook. -->
{| class=wikitable
!Tone!!Shan!!IPA!!Transliteration!!English
|-
|rising||{{Script/shn-Mymr|ၼႃ}}||{{IPA|/nǎː/}}||na||''thick''
|-
|low||{{Script/shn-Mymr|ၼႃႇ}}||{{IPA|/nàː/}}||na,||''very''
|-
|mid-falling||{{Script/shn-Mymr|ၼႃႈ}}||{{IPA|/nà̱ː/}}||na;||''face''
|-
|high||{{Script/shn-Mymr|ၼႃး}}||{{IPA|/náː/}}||na:||''paddy field''
|-
|high-falling and creaky||{{Script/shn-Mymr|ၼႃႉ}}||{{IPA|/nâ̰(ː)/}}||na.||''aunt, uncle''
|-
|emphatic or middle||{{Script/shn-Mymr|ၼႃႊ}}||{{IPA|/nāː/}}||na-||(for interjection / transcription)
|}

The Shan tones correspond to Thai tones as follows:
# The Shan rising tone is close to the Thai rising tone.
# The Shan low tone is equivalent to the Thai low tone.
# The Shan mid-tone is different from the Thai mid-tone. It falls in the end.
# The Shan high tone is close to the Thai high tone. But it is not rising.
# 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|obstruent sounds]] such as [p], [t], and [k].

{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center"
!Tone!!Shan!!Phonemic!!Phonetic!! Transliteration !!English
|-
|high || {{Script/shn-Mymr|လၵ်း}} ||{{IPA|/lák/}}||{{IPA|[lak˥]}}||lak:||''post''
|-
|creaky|| {{Script/shn-Mymr|လၵ်ႉ}} ||{{IPA|/la̰k/}}||{{IPA|[la̰k˦˨ˀ]}}||lak.||''steal''
|-
|low|| {{Script/shn-Mymr|လၢၵ်ႇ}} ||{{IPA|/làːk/}}||{{IPA|[laːk˩]}}||laak,||''differ from others''
|-
|mid|| {{Script/shn-Mymr|လၢၵ်ႈ}} ||{{IPA|/lāːk/}}||{{IPA|[laːk˧˨]}}||laak;||''drag''
|}

===Syllable structure===
The [[syllable]] structure of Shan is C(G)V((V)/(C)), which is to say the [[syllable onset|onset]] consists of a consonant optionally followed by a [[semivowel|glide]], and the [[syllable rime|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/}}.

==Pronouns==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|-
![[Grammatical person|Person]]||Pronoun || [[help:IPA|IPA]] || Meaning<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sealang.net/shan/dictionary.htm|title=SEAlang Library Shan Lexicography|website=sealang.net|access-date=Apr 27, 2020}}</ref>
|-
! rowspan=6|first
| {{script|Mymr|ၵဝ် }}|| {{IPA|kǎw}} || I/me (informal)
|-
| {{script|Mymr|တူ }} || {{IPA|tǔ}} || I/me (informal)
|-
| {{script|Mymr|ၶႃႈ}} ||  {{IPA|kʰaː}} || I/me (formal) "servant, slave"
|-
| {{script|Mymr|ႁႃး}} ||  {{IPA|háː}} || we/us two (familiar/dual)
|-
| {{script|Mymr|ႁဝ်း}} || {{IPA|háw}} || we/us (general)
|-
| {{script|Mymr|ႁဝ်းၶႃႈ}} ||  {{IPA|háw.kʰaː}} || we/us (formal)  "we servants, we slaves"
|-
! rowspan=5|second
| {{script|Mymr|မႂ်း}} || {{IPA|máɰ}} || you (informal/familiar)
|-
| {{script|Mymr|ၸဝ်ႈ}} || {{IPA|tsaw}} || you (formal) "master, lord"
|-
| {{script|Mymr|ၶိူဝ် }} ||  {{IPA|kʰə̌ə}} || you two (familiar/dual)
|-
| {{script|Mymr|သူ }} || {{IPA|sʰǔ}} || you (formal/singular, general/plural)
|-
| {{script|Mymr|သူၸဝ်ႈ}} || {{IPA|sʰǔ.tsaw}} || you (formal/singular, general/plural) "you masters, you lords"
|-
! rowspan=5|third
| {{script|Mymr|မၼ်း}} || {{IPA|mán}} || he/she/it (informal/familiar)
|-
| {{script|Mymr|ၶႃ}} ||  {{IPA|kʰǎa}} || they/them two (familiar/dual)
|-
| {{script|Mymr|ၶဝ် }} || {{IPA|kʰǎw}} || he/she/it (formal), or they/them (general)
|-
| {{script|Mymr|ၶဝ်ၸဝ်ႈ}} || {{IPA|kʰǎw.tsaw}} || he/she/it (formal), or they/them (formal) "they masters, they lords"
|-
| {{script|Mymr|ပိူၼ်ႈ}} || {{IPA|pɤn}} || they/them, others
|}

==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.{{Citation needed|date=July 2010}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* 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 ]

==External links==
{{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://alif-shinobi.blogspot.com/2009/05/shan-alphabet.html Shan Alphabet]
*[http://alif-shinobi.blogspot.com/2012/12/shan-phrases-greetings.html Basic Shan phrases]
*[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}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shan Language}}
[[Category:Shan language| ]]
[[Category:Languages of Myanmar]]
[[Category:Languages of Thailand]]
[[Category:Southwestern Tai languages]]
[[Category:Tonal languages]]