Yoy is a Tai language of Thailand and Laos. The Yoy language is now in the critical endangered state due to a rapid language shift, which may eventually lead to complete language loss.
Phonology The phonology of Yoy, according to Phakkahn (2017).
Consonants
Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar GlottalNasal Stop Voiceless Aspirated Voiced Affricate Fricative Approximant
Only occur in word-final position. Yoy also has six initial consonant clusters which are , , , , , and .
Some words show alternate pronunciations between the initial syllable consonants: /jaːk⁵/ ~ /ɲaːk⁵/ to want /jaːw²/ ~ /ɲaːw²/ long /joːj⁴/ ~ /ɲoːj⁴/ Yoy
Vowels + Front Central Back unr. rnd. Diphthongs Monophthongs Close , , , Close-mid , , , Open-mid , , Open ,
Yoy has two different phonemic vowel lengths. There are nine short vowels and nine long vowels. In the word-final open syllables, there is no contrast between short and long vowels, but in closed syllables and non-final open syllables, short and long vowels are distinctive.
Tones Yoy has five phonologically distinctive tones in non-checked syllables. Checked syllables in Yoy can carry only tone 1 (mid-leveled tone), tone 2 (high-rising tone), and tone 5 (low-falling creaky).
Vocabulary
Numerals English Yoy one nɯŋ¹ two sɔːŋ³ three saːm³ four siː⁵ five haː⁵ six hok² seven tɕet² eight pæːt⁵ nine kaw¹ ten sip² hundred hoːj⁴ thousand pʰan²
Verbs
English Yoy to go paj³ to open pɤːt⁵ to dream pʰan³ to fall tok² to wash (clothes) top² to die taj³ to wait tʰaː⁵ to bite kat² to ask tʰaːm³ to think kʰɯt⁴ to throw kʰwæŋ⁵ to smell dom³ to burn ʔuːt⁵ to sit mep⁵ to like mak⁵ to smile ɲiːm⁴ to want ɲaːk⁵ to eat kin² to do het¹ to teach sɔːn³ to run læn⁴ to play lin⁵
Nouns
English Yoy eye taː³ sun ta¹ wen² sky tʰɔŋ⁴ pʰaː⁵ milk tu² skin kʰiːŋ² fire pʰaj² mountain pʰu¹ kʰaw³ fish paː³ wood pæn⁴ tree kok¹ maj¹ tooth kʰæːw⁵ leg kʰaː³ chin kʰaːŋ² egg kʰaj² people kʰon² rice kʰaːw⁵ leaf baɯʔ³ soil din³ water naːm⁴ cloud mek¹ dog maː³ bird nok⁵ blood lɯat¹
Adjectives
English Yoy far kaj³ near, short (distance) kaɯ⁴ old kaw¹ new maj⁵ good diː³ fat pʰiː² beautiful tɕop² red dæŋ³ black dam³ white kʰaːw⁵ soft ʔon⁵ stupid pɯk² wet ʔɯn³ dry hæŋ⁵ big ɲaɯ² few noj⁵
References