Bru language

Bruu (also spelled Bru, B'ru, Baru, Brou) is a Mon–Khmer dialect continuum spoken by the Bru people of mainland Southeast Asia.

Sô and Khua are dialects.

Names
There are various local and dialect designations for Bru (Sidwell 2005:11).


 * So ~ Sô
 * Tri (So Tri, Chali)
 * Van Kieu
 * Leu ~ Leung (Kaleu)
 * Galler
 * Khua
 * Katang (not the same as Kataang)

Distribution
The distribution of the Bru language spreads north and northeast from Salavan, Laos, through Savannakhet, Khammouane, and Bolikhamsai, and over into neighboring Thailand and Vietnam (Sidwell 2005:11). In Vietnam, Brâu (Braò) is spoken in Đắk Mế, Bờ Y commune, Đắk Tô District, Kon Tum Province.

Dialects
Thailand has the following Western Bru dialects (Choo, et al. 2012).
 * Bru Khok Sa-at of Phang Khon District and Phanna Nikhom District, Sakon Nakhon Province
 * Bru Woen Buek of Woen Buek (Wyn Buek), Ubon Ratchathani Province (more similar to Katang)
 * Bru Dong Luang of Dong Luang District, Mukdahan Province

The following Bru subgroups are found in Quảng Bình Province (Phan 1998).
 * Vân Kiêu: 5,500 persons in Lệ Thủy District and Vĩnh Linh District (in Quảng Trị Province)
 * Măng Coong: 600 persons in Bố Trạch District
 * Tri: 300 persons in Bố Trạch District
 * Khùa: 1,000 persons in Tuyên Hóa District

Below is a comparative vocabulary of Vân Kiêu, Măng Coong, Tri, and Khùa from Phan (1998:479-480), with words transcribed in Vietnamese orthography.

Consonants
The consonant sounds in both East and West dialects consist of the following:


 * is typically pronounced as labiodental fricative or approximant  when occurring in initial position. In final position, it is always heard as.
 * can be heard as either a trill or a tap.
 * as a consonant cluster, can be phonetically heard as in the Western dialect.
 * can also be heard as a voiced glottal when a preceding a breathy vowel sound in the Western Bru dialects. It can also be heard as nasal  when preceding a nasal vowel in the Western dialects.


 * Plosive sounds in final position are heard as unreleased.

Breathy vowels
Vowel sounds may also be distinguished using breathy voice:

Nasal vowels
Nasal vowel sounds may occur in the Western Bru dialect: