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Kayah (Karenni)
Kayah (Karenni)
Also known as Karenni or Red Karen, Kayah is a dialect of Karen spoken by about half a million Kayah people in Myanmar and along northwest border of Thailand.
The name ‘Kayah’ has been described as a name made up by the Burmese (ruling group of Myanmar) to separate them from the other Karen peoples.
The Karenni people traditionally lived on the Burmese-Thai border. After persecution by the Burmese military government, many found refuge in refugee camps in Thailand, and from there some immigrated to the United States.
Word Order: Kayah, spoken by the Kayah people in Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand, typically follows a subject-object-verb (SOV) structure.
Tones: Kayah is a tonal language, with three tones: high, mid, and low, which are essential for meaning.
Writing: It is written using the Kayah Li script, which was developed specifically for the language, although some speakers also use the Latin alphabet.
Sounds: Kayah lacks certain sounds found in English, such as the "th" sound, which can make pronunciation difficult when learning English.
Useful Phrases
Useful Phrases
What is your name? Neh mee nuh ma thay?
My name is . . . Veh mee nuh . . .
Stand up: gaw taw
Sit down: oh neh
Resources
Resources
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