Lavüa
Eastern Lawa
Austroasiatic
Eastern Lawa (Lavüa) is a Mon-Khmer language of the Palaungic subgroup, spoken by the Lawa hilltribe of northern Thailand. The Lawa people are believed to be one of the oldest surviving populations of mainland Southeast Asia, predating the Tai-Kadai migrations into the area. They cultivate terraced rice in the highland valleys of Mae Hong Son and Chiang Mai. The Eastern-Western Lawa split (lwl + lcp) reflects geographic isolation and historical migration patterns. Linguistically, Lawa shows classical Palaungic features: register tone, sesquisyllabic phonology (with reduced presyllables), and SVO constituent order with verb-final tendencies in Old Mon-Khmer style. UNESCO classifies definitely endangered with intergenerational transmission largely lost.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Eastern Lawa
Water
lo
/lo/
Fire
nem
/nem/
Sun
vüa
/vɨa/
Moon
mëi
/məi/
Star
sngaɰ
/sŋaɰ/
Mother
ame
/ame/
Father
apa
/apa/
I
ʔoʔ
/ʔoʔ/
You
maiʔ
/maɪʔ/
Name
yum
/jɔm/
Eye
mat
/mat/
Hand
miŋ
/miŋ/
Heart
kavüa
/kavɨa/
Love
kruŋ
/kɾuŋ/
Tree
ŋoŋ
/ŋoŋ/
House
nyëa
/ɲəa/
Dog
ke
/ke/
Cat
mai
/mai/
Eat
ngui
/ŋui/
Drink
ndüet
/ndɨət/
One
mvüa
/mvɨa/
Two
lʔua
/lʔua/
Hello
lavüa
/lavɨa/
Thank you
kop khun
/kop kʰun/
Good
hua
/hua/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Austroasiatic languages
| Meaning | Eastern Lawa | Parauk Wa | Shwe Palaung | Eastern Bru | Gayo | Northern Qiang | Wa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | lo /lo/ | tʃɔː /tʃɔː/ | ʔoːm /ʔoːm/ | daak /daːk/ | weih /weih/ | cu /tsu/ | rom /rɔm/ |
| Fire | nem /nem/ | miː /miː/ | ŋal /ŋal/ | oih /ʔoiʔ/ | rara /ɾaɾa/ | mi /mi/ | ngo /ŋo/ |
| Sun | vüa /vɨa/ | waː /waː/ | saŋi /saŋi/ | mat plei /mat plei/ | matanlo /matanlo/ | mu /mu/ | cangaiʔ /tʃaŋaiʔ/ |
| Moon | mëi /məi/ | lɔː /lɔː/ | kɨr /kɨr/ | kasai /kasai/ | ulen /ulən/ | nyi /ɲi/ | khaiʔ /kʰaiʔ/ |
| Star | sngaɰ /sŋaɰ/ | si-ngai /sŋaɪ/ | hərngɔ /hərŋɔ/ | mansơ /mənsɤ/ | bintang /bintaŋ/ | ʁʐə /ʁʐə/ | si-ngai /səŋaɪ/ |
| Mother | ame /ame/ | maː /maː/ | mɛʔ /mɛʔ/ | amey /amej/ | ine /ine/ | ami /ami/ | yaʔ /jaʔ/ |
| Father | apa /apa/ | pʰaː /pʰaː/ | paʔ /paʔ/ | amung /amuŋ/ | ama /ama/ | apa /apa/ | paiʔ /paiʔ/ |
| I | ʔoʔ /ʔoʔ/ | ê /ʔɤʔ/ | ʔɔ /ʔɔ/ | cứq /kɯʔ/ | aku /aku/ | qa /qɑ/ | ex /ʔɤ/ |
| You | maiʔ /maɪʔ/ | mêh /mɤʔ/ | miʔ /miʔ/ | mới /mɤːj/ | ko /ko/ | ʔũ /ʔũ/ | maix /maɯ/ |
| Name | yum /jɔm/ | yaom /jɔm/ | yum /jum/ | ramoh /rəmɔːh/ | gerel /gərəl/ | mi /mi/ | yum /jɔm/ |
| Eye | mat /mat/ | miːn /miːn/ | ŋai /ŋai/ | mat /mat/ | mata /mata/ | mil /mil/ | ngai /ŋai/ |
| Hand | miŋ /miŋ/ | miːk /miːk/ | tiː /tiː/ | ati /ati/ | pumu /pumu/ | ki /ki/ | tai /tai/ |
| Heart | kavüa /kavɨa/ | sɛɛ /sɛɛ/ | rɔŋ /rɔŋ/ | plong /ploŋ/ | ate /ate/ | shulm /ʃulm/ | nuim /nuim/ |
| Love | kruŋ /kɾuŋ/ | rəŋ /rəŋ/ | ʔiŋ /ʔiŋ/ | hong /hoŋ/ | kunyung /kuɲuŋ/ | halia /halia/ | hak /hak/ |
| Tree | ŋoŋ /ŋoŋ/ | tʰɔː /tʰɔː/ | siʔ /siʔ/ | aleng /aleŋ/ | kayu /kaju/ | səf /səf/ | maiʔ /maiʔ/ |
| House | nyëa /ɲəa/ | miː /miː/ | ɲɛh /ɲɛh/ | dung /duŋ/ | umah /umah/ | stuapa /stuapa/ | nyiex /ɲiɛʔ/ |
| Dog | ke /ke/ | kʰɔː /kʰɔː/ | so /so/ | acho /atʃo/ | asu /asu/ | kuel /kʷel/ | so /so/ |
| Cat | mai /mai/ | mɛː /mɛː/ | mioʔ /mioʔ/ | miew /mieu/ | kucing /kutʃiŋ/ | miu /miu/ | meo /meo/ |
| Eat | ngui /ŋui/ | sɛː /sɛː/ | cha /tʃa/ | cha /tʃa/ | mangan /maŋan/ | ndzu /ndzu/ | cha /tʃa/ |
| Drink | ndüet /ndɨət/ | pə /pə/ | ʔoːk /ʔoːk/ | ngoot /ŋoːt/ | minum /minum/ | ndhu /ndʱu/ | ɔk /ɔk/ |
| One | mvüa /mvɨa/ | tʃit /tʃit/ | mu /mu/ | muoi /muoi/ | sara /saɾa/ | lhe /ɬe/ | ti /ti/ |
| Two | lʔua /lʔua/ | rao /ra̤ɯ/ | ar /ʔar/ | bar /ɓaːr/ | roa /roa/ | ɣnə /ʁnə/ | ra /raɯ/ |
| Hello | lavüa /lavɨa/ | sawʔdiː /sawʔdiː/ | vaː piə /vaː piə/ | te /te/ | salam /salam/ | nia ja /nia dʒa/ | sao /sao/ |
| Thank you | kop khun /kop kʰun/ | tʰɔk /tʰɔk/ | kun cɔm /kun tʃɔm/ | kuhng /kuhŋ/ | berejen /bərədʒən/ | — /—/ | ban prix /ban priʔ/ |
| Good | hua /hua/ | jɔː /jɔː/ | ʔɔm /ʔɔm/ | huom /huom/ | jeroh /dʒeɾoh/ | stsuq /stsuq/ | dim /dim/ |
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