Bwe, also known as Bwe Karen and Bghai (Baghi), is a Karen language of Burma. It shares 82 to 100% lexical similarity with Geba Karen language.[2]
| Bwe | |
|---|---|
| Bghai | |
| Native to | Burma |
| Ethnicity | Bwe people |
Native speakers | (17,000 cited 1997)[1] |
Sino-Tibetan
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | bwe |
| Glottolog | bwek1238 |
Distribution
edit- Kayin State: Thandaung township (about 100 villages)[3]
- Kayah State: Hpruso township[4]
- Bago Region: Taungoo and Hpa-An townships[5]
Dialects
editDialects are Western Bwe Karen and Eastern Bwe Karen. Most comprehend the Western Bwe Karen dialect.
Phonology
edit| Labial | Dental | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | p b | t d | c ɟ | k g | (ʔ) |
| Aspirated | pʰ | tʰ | (cʰ) | kʰ | |
| Implosive | ɓ | ɗ | |||
| Fricative | θ | ʃ | x | h | |
| Nasal | m | n | |||
| Approximant | w ˀw | l r | j ˀj | ɰ |
- /cʰ/ may be an allophone of /tʰ/, appearing before the vowels /i ɪ/.
- /ʔ/ only appears in the onset when vowels occur word-initially.
- /x/ appears rarely.
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i | u | |
| Near-high | ɪ | ʊ | |
| Mid-high | e | (ə) | o |
| Mid-low | ɛ | ɔ | |
| Low | a |
- /ə/ only appears in unstressed syllables.
References
edit- ^ Bwe at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ "Myanmar". Ethnologue: Languages of the World. 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-10-10.
- ^ "Myanmar". Ethnologue: Languages of the World. 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-10-10.
- ^ "Myanmar". Ethnologue: Languages of the World. 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-10-10.
- ^ "Myanmar". Ethnologue: Languages of the World. 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-10-10.
- ^ a b c Namkung, Ju (1996). Matisoff, James A. (ed.). "Phonological Inventories of Tibeto-Burman Languages" (PDF). Sino-Tibetan Etymological Dictionary and Thesaurus Monograph Series (3). University of California, Berkeley.