Kri language


Kri is a Vietic language spoken by the Kri people of Laos and Vietnam.

Names

Alternative names for Kri include Karii, Kri-Phoong, Kha Phoong, Coi, and Salang.

Distribution

Kri speakers live in the Upper Ñrong valley of Khammouane Province, Laos, as well as other locations within the Nakai-Nam Theun Biodiversity Conservation Area. It is mutually intelligible with Pròòngq, which is spoken in several villages downstream from the Kri.
Kri is spoken in the following villages of Laos and Vietnam.

Background

The Kri call themselves mleeng Kri, and their language meengq Kri. They are swidden cultivators who move every 2–3 years among pre-existing village sites. Houses are torn down after the death of a household member, and the housing materials are then used to construct a new house in a different location. Other than the Kri language, many adults, especially men, are also fluent in Vietnamese, Saek, Bru, and Lao.
Kri has been studied by the Russian-Vietnamese Linguistic Expedition in 2012.

Phonology

Consonants

The consonants in Kri are:

Finals

These are the consonants that may come at the end of a syllable in Kri:
BilabialAlveolarPalatalVelar
Checked
Nasal
Oral, Vowel

Do note that they are all contrastive, and that vowels, nasal consonants, and oral consonants may have checked endings. The Oral endings also may become voiceless.

Morphology

Kri has a few morphological features, less than Khmu but more than Vietnamese.

Causative Infix

The -a- infix may be inserted into words with two initial consonants, between them. This infix turns intransitive verb into a transitive verb, adding an agent. It can also turn a noun into a verb. Here are some examples:
  • praang - to cross over
  • paraang - to take someone across
  • slôôj - to be washed away by running water
  • salôôj - to discard into flowing water, to let something be washed away
  • kleeh - to fall off
  • kaleeh - to pick off
  • blang - of the eyes, to become open
  • balang - to open one's eyes
  • ckaang - a hand span
  • cakaang - to measure something by hand spans

Nominalising Infix

The -rn- infix is placed after a single initial consonant. This infix makes a noun from a verb:
  • sat - to get one's foot stuck
  • srnat - a foothold
  • koq - to live
  • krnoq - a house
This shortens to -r- when between consonants:
  • kadôôlq - to rest the head on something
  • krdôôlq - a pillow

Verbal Morphology

There are three forms of negation: dêêh, laa, and cùù. There have distinct syntactic behavior. Cùù occurs before the subject. Both dêêh and laa can occur before the verb. Dêêh is distinct from laa in that dêêh can occur in responsive ellipsis environments.
There are a variety of TAM markers of predicates.

Syntax

The basic word order of Kri is SVO, although argument ellipsis and fronting of constituents is common. Further, there is no case marking or cross-referencing agreement.

Verbal Domain

Serial verb constructions have an explicit marker of subordination.

Nominal Domain

Kri pronouns displays sensitivity to the three grammatical numbers in Kri, as well inclusive/exclusive distinction, and a polite/bare distinctions. A gender distinction is made only in the third person polite forms. Polite forms are used when there is appropriate social distance.

Classifiers

The classifier longq can be used to express possession. There are also numeral classifier constructions. These can be ordered Number-Classifier-Noun or Noun-Number-Classifier.