The Kra languages ( ; also known as the Geyang or Kadai languages) are a branch of the Kra–Dai language family spoken in southern China (Guizhou, Guangxi, Yunnan) and in northern Vietnam (Hà Giang Province).
Names The name Kra comes from the word CNote: The superscript C is a reconstructed tone, typically considered to be historically derived from a glottal stop (*-ʔ). "human" as reconstructed by Ostapirat (2000), which appears in various Kra languages as kra, ka, fa or ha. Benedict (1942) used the term Kadai for the Kra and Hlai languages grouped together and the term Kra-Dai is proposed by Ostapirat (2000).
The Kra branch was first identified as a unified group of languages by Liang (1990),Liang Min . 1990 "Geyang yuqun de xishu wenti / On the affiliation of the Ge-Yang group of languages." In Minzu Yuwen 1990(6): 1-8. who called it the Geyang () languages. Geyang is a portmanteau of the first syllable of Ge- in Gelao and the last syllable of -yang in Buyang. The name Kra was proposed by Ostapirat (2000) and is the term usually used by scholars outside China, whereas Geyang is the name currently used in China.
Significance Several Kra languages have regionally unusual consonant clusters and sesquisyllabic or disyllabic words, whereas other Kra–Dai languages tend to have only single syllables. The disyllables in Buyang have been used by Sagart (2004)Sagart, Laurent. 2004. The Higher Phylogeny of Austronesian and the Position of Tai-Kadai. to support the view that the Kra-Dai languages are a subgroup within the Austronesian family. Unlike the Tai and Kam–Sui languages, most Kra languages, including Gelao and Buyang, have preserved the proto-Kra–Dai numerical systems. The only other Kra–Dai branch that preserves this is Hlai. Most other Kra–Dai languages adopted Chinese numerals over 1000 years ago.
As noted by Jerold A. Edmondson, the Kra languages contain words in metalworking, handicrafts and agriculture that are not attested in any other Kra–Dai language.Diller, Anthony, Jerold A. Edmondson, and Yongxian Luo ed. The Tai–Kadai Languages. Routledge Language Family Series. Psychology Press, 2008. This suggests that the Kra peoples may have developed or borrowed many technological innovations independently of the Tai and Kam-Sui peoples.
According to Ostapirat (2026), Kra displays contact influence with Hmong-Mien and Austroasiatic, displaying lexical similarities with Khmuic in particular.
Reconstruction
The Proto-Kra language has been reconstructed by Weera Ostapirat (2000).
Classification Morphological similarities suggest the Kra languages are closest to the Kam–Sui branch of the family. There are about a dozen Kra languages, depending on how languages and dialects are defined. Gelao, with about 8,000 speakers in China out of an ethnic population of approximately 500,000, and consists of at least four mutually unintelligible language varieties, including Telue (White Gelao), Hagei (Blue or Green Gelao), Vandu (Red Gelao), A'ou (Red Gelao), and Qau (Chinese Gelao).
Ostapirat (2000) The internal classification below is from Weera Ostapirat (2000), who splits the Kra branch into the Eastern and Western branches.
According to Jerold Edmondson (2002), Laha is too conservative to be in Western Kra, considered it to constitute a branch of its own. However, Edmondson (2011)Edmondson, Jerold. 2011. Notes on the subdivisions in Kra . Published as Geyang yuyan fenlei buyi in Journal of Guangxi University for Nationalities (). 33.2.8-14. later reversed his position, considering Laha to be more closely related to Paha.
Ethnologue mistakenly includes the Hlai language Cun of Hainan in Kra; this is not supported by either Ostapirat or Edmondson.
Hsiu (2014) Hsiu's (2014)Hsiu, Andrew. 2014. Kra-Dai notes. classification of the Kra languages, based on computational phylogenetic analysis as well as Edmondson's (2011) earlier analysis of Kra, is given below, as cited in Norquest (2021).
Kra Northern Kra Lachi Gelao Red Gelao Vandu A'ou Core Gelao Dongkou Gelao White Gelao (Telue) Central Gelao: Hagei, Qau Southern Kra Guangxi Buyang (Yalhong) Laha, Paha Qabiao Yunnan Buyang: Ecun, Langjia, Nung Ven
Substrata Andrew Hsiu (2013, 2017) reports that Hezhang Buyi, a divergent, moribund Northern Tai language spoken by 5 people in Dazhai (), Fuchu Township (), Hezhang County, Guizhou, China, has a Kra substratum.Hsiu, Andrew. 2013. “Shui” varieties of western Guizhou and Yunnan. Presented at the 46th International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages and Linguistics (ICSTLL 46), Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States, August 7–10, 2013 (Session: Tai-Kadai Workshop).
Maza, a Lolo–Burmese language spoken in Mengmei (), Funing County, Yunnan, is also notable for having a Qabiao substratum (Hsiu 2014:68–69).Hsiu, Andrew. 2014. "Mondzish: a new subgroup of Lolo-Burmese ". In Proceedings of the 14th International Symposium on Chinese Languages and Linguistics (IsCLL-14). Taipei: Academia Sinica.
According to Li Jinfang (1999),Li Jinfang (1999). Studies in the Buyang Language. Beijing: Central University for Nationalities Press. the Yang Zhuang people of southwestern Guangxi may have been Kra speakers who had switched to Zhuang.
Demographics The Kra languages have a total of about 22,000 speakers. In Vietnam, officially recognized Kra peoples are the Cờ Lao, La Chí, La Ha and Pu Péo. In China, only the Gelao (Cờ Lao) have official status. The other Kra peoples are variously classified as Zhuang, Buyi, Yi, and Han.
"Hotspots" for Kra languages include: within China, most of western Guizhou, the prefecture-level city of Baise in western Guangxi, and Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in southeastern Yunnan; as well as northern Vietnam's Hà Giang Province. This distribution runs along a northeast-southwest geographic vector, forming what Jerold A. Edmondson calls a "language corridor."
Multilingualism is common among Kra language speakers. For example, many Buyang can also speak Zhuang.李锦芳/Li, Jinfang and 周国炎/Guoyan Zhou. 仡央语言探索/Geyang yu yan tan suo. Beijing, China: 中央民族大学出版社/Zhong yang min zu da xue chu ban she, 1999.
Western Lachi (, La Chí) – 10,300 (7,863 in Vietnam in 1990; 2,500 in Maguan County, Yunnan, China in 1995) Gelao (, Cờ Lao) – 7,900 (spoken in Guizhou, Longlin Various Nationalities Autonomous County in Guangxi, and northern Vietnam) Laha (, La Ha) – 1,400 (officially recognized in Vietnam; most divergent western Kra language) Eastern Buyang dialect cluster – 2,000 Paha – considered a separate language by Ostapirat; spoken in Yangliancun (), Diyu Township, Guangnan County, Yunnan Langjia () – spoken in Langjia, Funing County, Yunnan along the Guangxi border Ecun () – spoken in Ecun, Funing County, Yunnan along the Guangxi border Yalang (, Yalhong) – spoken in Rongtun (), Napo County, Guangxi Qabiao (Pubiao , Pu Péo) – 700 En (; spoken in northern Vietnam) – 250
Numerals Numerals in the Kra Languages Language One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten (Proto-Austronesian) *isa *duSa *telu *Sepat *lima *enem *pitu *walu *Siwa *sa-puluq Proto-Kra *tʂəm C *sa A *tu A *pə A *r-ma A *x-nəm A *t-ru A *m-ru A *s-ɣwa B *pwlot D Buyang, Baha tɕam45 θa322 tu322 pa322 m̥a33 nam31 ðu33 mu31 dʱa33 pʷat55 Buyang, Ecun pi53 θa24 tu24 pa24 ma44 nam24 tu44 ma0 ðu44 va55 put55 Buyang, Langjia am35 ɕa54 tu54 pa54 ma312 nam54 ðu312 ma0 ðu312 va11 put55 Buyang, Yerong ɔm55 θau53 taːi53 po53 mo43 naːm53 təu31 ɬəu43 vo55 pɔt55 En (Nung Ven) ʔam332 θa243 tu243 pa33 ma243 nəm243 ʔam332 tu243 me332 ru33 wa54 θət33 Qabiao tɕia33 ɕe53 tau53 pe53 ma33 ma33 nam35 ma33 tu53 ma33 ʐɯ33 ma33 ɕia31 pət31 Laha, Wet tɕɐm31 sa343 tu343 pɑ343 mɑ33 dɐm343 tʰo343 ma33 hu33 so33 wa24 pɤt23 Laha, Dry cạm6 śa5 tợw3 pa3 ha6 hôk4 cêt4 pet4 kạw6 śêp4 Lachi tɕa33 su11 te11 pu11 m̩11 ȵiã11 te24 ŋuɛ11 liu24 pɛ11 Gelao, Bigong sɿ55 təɯ33 səɯ31 təɯ33 tɔ31 pɔ31 mɔ31 nai31 tʰɔ31 ʑɔ31 ʑɔu31 hui13 Gelao, Moji tsɿ53 səu31 ta31 pu31 mlau31 tɕʰau31 xei31 xe31 kəu31 tsʰei53 Gelao, Puding se55 so55 tua55 pu45 mu53 naŋ53 ɕi33 vra53 su33 paɯ33 Gelao, Pudi sɪ55 səɯ42 tji42 pau42 mau31 mjaŋ31 te42 ɣe31 sau13 ɕye13 Gelao, Red tsə44 se33 tua44 pu44 maŋ44 ɬoŋ44 te44 wu35 ʂe35 la51 kwe44 Gelao, WhiteNumbers 1-9 are suffixed with du35. tsɿ33 sɯn35 tau55 pu55 mlən35 tɕʰau55 hi55 ɕiau55 ku55 tɕʰiu33 Gelao, Sanchong ʂɿ43 ʂa45 tau45 pu45 mei21 ȵaŋ21 tʂau45 ʑau21 ʂo43 sɿ43 pie43 Gelao, Wanzi si33 su33 ta33 pu33 mpu44 nan33 ɕi24 vla44 səɯ24 pe24 MulaoNote: Mulao here is a Red Gelao language variety spoken in Guizhou, and is not the same as Mulam, a Kam-Sui language of Guangxi. tsɿ53 ɬu24 ta24 pʰu24 mu31 ȵe31 sau31 ɣau31 so24 ve53 Gelao, Heijiaoyan遵义地区志：民族志 (1999) sɿ44 sɑ44 tuu44 pu44 - - - - - - Gelao, Jianshan ʐɤ42 sw42 tuɑ42 pu44 - - - - - - Gelao, Banliwan i53 ɑ53 ɑ53 muŋ53 ɑŋ44 - - - - - - Gelao, Zunyi (shi) (sha) (dao) (bo) (mei) (niangshao) (shao) (rao) (shu) (shibu) Gelao, Renhuai (shi) (sha) (dao) (bo) (cha) (liang) - (rao) (su) (sibi)
Notes
Further reading Ostapirat, Weera (2000). "Proto-Kra". Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area 23 (1): 1–251 Edmondson, Jerold A. (2002). The Laha language and its position in Proto-Kra. Sagart, Laurent. (2004) The higher phylogeny of Austronesian and the position of Tai-Kadai. Oceanic Linguistics 43,2: 411-444.
External links Kra words lists from the Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database Proto-Kra reconstructions from the Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database Database of basic words in various Kra languages at Starling