Mảng (autonym: ; ) is an Austroasiatic language of Vietnam and China. It is spoken mainly in Lai Châu Province, Vietnam and across the border in Jinping County, China. It was first documented only in 1974.
In China, the Mảng people are also called Chaman (岔满), Abi (阿比), Mengga (孟嘎), Bageran (巴格然), and Mo (莫). They are officially classified by the Chinese government as ethnic Bulang (布朗族) (Jinping County Gazetteer 1994).
Distribution In Lai Châu Province, Vietnam, Mảng is spoken by 2,200 people in the districts of Sìn Hồ, Mường Tè, Phong Thổ, and in other nearby areas, including in Nậm Ban Township, Sìn Hồ District, Lai Châu Province. In China, Mảng speakers numbered 606 people in 1999. The Mảng of China claim to have migrated from Vietnam in recent times. Gao's (2003) Mảng data is from Xinzhai (新寨), Nanke Village (南科村), and Jinshuihe Township (金水河镇).
The Jinping County Gazetteer from the Republic of China period lists 12 Mảng villages: Gongdaniu (公打牛), Luowuzhai (落邬寨), Pinghe (坪河, in Xiazhai 下寨, Zhongzhai 中寨, Shangzhai 上寨), Hetouzhai (河头寨), Guanmuzhai (管木寨), Naxizhai (纳西寨), Bianjiezhai (边界寨), Longshuzhai (龙树寨), Caoguoping (草果坪), and Nanke (南科).
Phonology Vowels + Mang vowels Front Central Back unrounded short rounded unrounded short rounded short Close Mid ĕ Open Diphthong iə ɯə uə Diphthongs iə and ɯə are only found in closed syllables, while ua are more common in open syllables.
Consonants LabiodentalAlveolar PalatalVelarGlottalcentralsibilant Stop/Affricate () Fricative () Nasal () Trill Approximant ()
Suprasegmentals (tone, register) Mang is described as having five tones distributed in unchecked sonorant-final syllables and another two tones in checked syllables.
Lexicon Numerals The basic cardinal numbers from 1 to 1000 (transcribed in IPA) are: 1 măk⁶ 2 ʑɯəi² 3 pe³ 4 pun² 5 hăn² 6 ʑɔ̆m² 7 tăm¹ py³ 8 tăm¹ ham² 9 tăm¹ θin² 10 ʑi³ mɛ⁴ 100 ran⁵~ʑan⁵ 1000 păn⁵
Vocabulary comparison Comparison of some basic vocabulary words in Mảng with other branches of Austroasiatic:
Gloss Mảng proto-Waic / proto-Palaungic Khmu Bolyu Bugan proto-Vietic Mon / Old Mon ‘I’ ʔuː⁴ *ʔɨʔ / *ʔɔːʔ ʔoʔ ʔaːu⁵⁵ ɔ³¹ *soː ʔoa / ʔɔj ‘water’ ʑum¹ *rʔom / *ʔoːm ʔom nde⁵³ nda²⁴ *ɗaːk dac / ɗaik ‘two’ ʑɨəj⁴ *ləʔar / *ləʔaːr baːr mbi⁵⁵ bi³¹ *haːr ba / ɓar ‘fire’ ɲɛ² *ŋɒl / *ŋal pʰrɨə mat³³ a̠u³¹ *guːs kəmot / – ‘blood’ haːm¹ *hnam / *snaːm maːm saːm⁵³ sa⁴⁴ *ʔasaːmʔ chim / chim ‘five’ han² *phɒn / *pəsan (Tay Hat sɔːŋ) me³¹ mi⁴⁴ *ɗam pəsɔn / sun ‘eye’ mat⁷ *ʔŋaj / *ˀŋaːj mat mat⁵³ mɛ̱³³ *mat mòt / mɔt
Reconstruction The table below lists some reconstructed Proto-Mang forms by Gehrmann (2023) and their modern reflexes. Gloss Sìn Hồ Mang Xinzhai Mang Proto-Mang note mouth ŋ² tø⁵ mɤŋ³¹ tø³⁵ *ʔŋtøᴬ Proto-Vietic *t-huːs 'to blow' throat ŋ² ʑɔ̆ŋ³ ŋɤ³¹ gɣɔŋ⁵⁵ *ʔŋrɔŋᴬᵛ Kammu Yuan troːŋ 'throat' nose ŋ¹ my¹ lɤŋ⁵⁵ my⁵¹ *myᴮ Proto-Austroasiatic *muːɕ 'nose' seven tăm¹ py³ tɐm³¹ py⁵⁵ *tmpyᴬᵛ Proto-Austroasiatic *pəɕ 'seven' ox lø⁵ ma³¹ lø³⁵ *løᴬ Proto-Vietic *c-luː 'buffalo'; Old Mon *ɟlɔw 'buffalo' bird θɤ̆m⁵ θɔm³⁵ *θəmᴬ Proto-Vietic *-ciːm 'bird'; Proto-Palaungic *ciːm 'bird' fish ʔa¹ ma³¹ ʔa⁵¹ *ʔaᴮ Bolyu qɔ⁵³ 'fish'; Gtaʔ haʔɽo 'fish'; Sora ajoː 'fish' fruit plø¹ plø⁵¹ *pløᴮ Proto-Austroasiatic *pleʔ 'fruit' road ʑa¹ gɣa⁵¹ *raᴮ Proto-Austroasiatic *kraʔ 'road'
Morphosyntax Mảng is an analytic SVO language. However, unlike surrounding Kra-Dai and Hmong-Mien languages which are entirely absent of inflections, Mảng retains Austroasiatic derivational morphology and case-marking on nouns.
References
External links RWAAI (Repository and Workspace for Austroasiatic Intangible Heritage) Mang in RWAAI Digital Archive