Bahnar

Bahnar (autonymously Bahnar) is a Bahnaric language of the Mon-Khmer (Austroasiatic) family, spoken by around 250,000 people in the Central Highlands of Vietnam (Gia Lai, Kon Tum provinces) and small populations in Cambodia. Bahnar is historically the most-prestigious Bahnaric language and was the first Mon-Khmer language outside Vietnamese to receive a Latin orthography — developed by French Catholic missionaries in the 1860s for Catholic religious materials. The Bahnar people are one of the major Central Highlands ethnic minorities of Vietnam, with cultural traditions including the elaborate Bahnar communal house (rông) architecture and the gong music tradition that has been UNESCO-recognized as Intangible Cultural Heritage. The Bahnar community survived the Vietnam War, which significantly disrupted Central Highlands ethnic minority culture, and has seen post-war revitalization through bilingual education programs.