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Hmong language

This article contains Pahawh Hmong Unicode characters. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of the Pahawh Hmong characters.

Hmong or Mong (/หˆmสŒล‹/ MUNG; RPA: Hmoob, Nyiakeng Puachue: ๐ž„€๐ž„ฉ๐ž„ฐโ€Ž, Pahawh: ๐–ฌŒ๐–ฌฃ๐–ฌต, [mฬฅษ”ฬƒฬ]) is a dialect continuum of the West Hmongic branch of the Hmongic languages spoken by the Hmong people of Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Hainan, northern Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos.[2] There are some 2.7 million speakers of varieties that are largely mutually intelligible, including over 280,000 Hmong Americans as of 2013.[3] Over half of all Hmong speakers speak the various dialects in China, where the Dananshan (ๅคงๅ—ๅฑฑ) dialect forms the basis of the standard language.[4] However, Hmong Daw and Mong Leng are widely known only in Laos and the United States; Dananshan is more widely known in the native region of Hmong.

Varieties

Mong Leng (Moob Leeg) and Hmong Daw (Hmoob Dawb) are part of a dialect cluster known in China as Chuanqiandian Miao (Chinese: ๅท้ป”ๆป‡่‹—; lit. 'Sichuanโ€“Guizhouโ€“Yunnan Miao'), called the "Chuanqiandian cluster" in English (or "Miao cluster" in other languages) since West Hmongic is also called Chuanqiandian Miao. The variety spoken from Sichuan in China to Thailand and Laos is referred to in China as the "First Local Variety" (็ฌฌไธ€ๅœŸ่ฏญ) of the cluster. Mong Leng and Hmong Daw are just those varieties of the cluster that migrated to Laos. The names Mong Leng, Hmong Dleu/Der, and Hmong Daw are also used in China for various dialects of the cluster.

Ethnologue once distinguished only the Laotian varieties (Hmong Daw, Mong Leng), Sinicized Miao (Hmong Shua), and the Vietnamese varieties (Hmong Dรด, Hmong Don). The Vietnamese varieties are very poorly known; population estimates are not even available. In 2007, Horned Miao, Small Flowery Miao, and the Chuanqiandian cluster of China were split off from Mong Leng [blu].[5]

These varieties are as follows, along with some alternative names.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that the White and Leng dialects "are said to be mutually intelligible to a well-trained ear, with pronunciation and vocabulary differences analogous to the differences between British and American English."[6]

Several Chinese varieties may overlap with or be more distinct than the varieties listed above:

In the 2007 request to establish an ISO code for the Chuanqiandian cluster, corresponding to the "first local dialect" (็ฌฌไธ€ๅœŸ่ฏญ) of the Chuanqiandian cluster in Chinese, the proposer made the following statement on mutual intelligibility:

A colleague has talked with speakers of a number of these closely-related lects in the US, in Thailand and in China, and has had many discussions with Chinese linguists and foreign researchers or community development workers who have had extensive contact with speakers of these lects. As a result of these conversations this colleague believes that many of these lects are likely to have high inherent mutual intelligibility within the cluster. Culturally, while each sub-group prides itself on its own distinctives, they also recognize that other sub-groups within this category are culturally similar to themselves and accept the others as members of the same general ethnic group. However, this category of lects is internally varied and geographically scattered and mixed over a broad land area, and comprehensive intelligibility testing would be required to confirm reports of mutual intelligibility throughout the cluster.[8]

Varieties in Laos

According to the CDC, "although there is no official preference for one dialect over the other, White Hmong seems to be favored in many ways":[6] the Romanized Popular Alphabet (RPA) most closely reflects that of White Hmong (Hmong Daw); most educated Hmong speak White Hmong because White Hmong people lack the ability to understand Mong Leng; and most Hmong dictionaries only include the White Hmong dialect. Furthermore, younger generations of Hmong are more likely to speak White Hmong, and speakers of Mong Leng are more likely to understand White Hmong than speakers of White Hmong are.[6]

Varieties in the United States

Most Hmong in the United States speak White Hmong (Hmoob Dawb) and Mong Leng (Moob Leeg), with around 60% speaking White Hmong and 40% Mong Leng. The CDC states that "though some Hmong report difficulty understanding speakers of a dialect not their own, for the most part, Mong Leng seem to do better when understanding both dialects."[6]

Phonology

The three dialects described here are Hmong Daw (also called White Miao or Hmong Der),[9] Mong Leeg (also called Blue/Green Miao or Mong Leng),[10] and Dananshan (Standard Chinese Miao).[11] Hmong Daw and Mong Leeg are the two major dialects spoken by Hmong Americans. Although mutually intelligible, the dialects differ in both lexicon and certain aspects of phonology. For instance, Mong Leeg lacks the voiceless/aspirated /mฬฅ/ of Hmong Daw (as exemplified by their names) and has a third nasalized vowel, /รฃ/; Dananshan has a couple of extra diphthongs in native words, numerous Chinese loans, and an eighth tone.

Vowels

The vowel systems of Hmong Daw and Mong Leeg are as shown in the following charts.[12] (Phonemes particular to Hmong Dawโ€  and Mong Leegโ€ก are color-coded and indicated by a dagger or double dagger respectively.)

  1. 1st Row: IPA, Hmong RPA
  2. 2nd Row: Nyiakeng Puachue
  3. 3rd Row: Pahawh

The Dananshan standard of China is similar. Phonemic differences from Hmong Daw and Mong Leeg are color-coded and marked as absent or added.

Dananshan [ษจ] occurs only after non-palatal affricates, and is written โŸจiโŸฉ, much like Mandarin Chinese. /u/ is pronounced [y] after palatal consonants. There is also a triphthong /jeฮฒ/ โŸจieuโŸฉ, as well as other i- and u-initial sequences in Chinese borrowings, such as /waj/.

Consonants

Hmong makes a number of phonemic contrasts unfamiliar to English speakers. All non-glottal stops and affricates distinguish aspirated and unaspirated forms, and most also distinguish prenasalization independently of this. The consonant inventory of Hmong is shown in the chart below. (Consonants particular to Hmong Dawโ€  and Mong Leegโ€ก are color-coded and indicated by a dagger or double dagger respectively.)

  1. 1st Row: IPA, Hmong RPA
  2. 2nd Row: Nyiakeng Puachue
  3. 3rd Row: Pahawh

The Dananshan standard of China is similar. (Phonemic differences from Hmong Daw and Mong Leeg are color-coded and marked as absent or added. Minor differences, such as the voicing of prenasalized stops, or whether /c/ is an affricate or /h/ is velar, may be a matter of transcription.) Aspirates, voiceless fricatives, voiceless nasals, and glottal stop only occur with yin tones (1, 3, 5, 7). Standard orthography is added in angled brackets. The glottal stop is not written; it is not distinct from a zero initial. There is also a /w/, which occurs only in foreign words.

^* The status of the consonants described here as single phonemes with lateral release is controversial. A number of scholars instead analyze them as biphonemic clusters with /l/ as the second element. The difference in analysis (e.g., between /pหก/ and /pl/) is not based on any disagreement in the sound or pronunciation of the consonants in question, but on differing theoretical grounds. Those in favor of a unit-phoneme analysis generally argue for this based on distributional evidence (i.e., if clusters, these would be the only clusters in the language, although see below) and dialect evidence (the laterally released dentals in Mong Leeg, e.g. /tหกสฐ/, correspond to the voiced dentals of White Hmong), whereas those in favor of a cluster analysis tend to argue on the basis of general phonetic principles (other examples of labial phonemes with lateral release appear extremely rare or nonexistent[13]).

^** Some linguists prefer to analyze the prenasalized consonants as clusters whose first element is /n/. However, this cluster analysis is not as common as the above one involving /l/.

^*** Only used in Hmong RPA and not in Pahawh Hmong, since Hmong RPA uses Latin script and Pahawh Hmong does not. For example, in Hmong RPA, to write keeb, the order Consonant + Vowel + Tone (CVT) must be followed, so it is k + ee + b = keeb, but in Pahawh Hmong, it is just Keeb "๐–ฌ€" (3rd-Stage Version).

Syllable structure

Hmong syllables have simple structure: all syllables have an onset consonant (except in a few particles); nuclei may consist of a monophthong or diphthong; and the only coda consonants that occur are nasals. In Hmong Daw and Mong Leeg, nasal codas have become nasalized vowels, though they may be accompanied by weakly articulated [ล‹]. Similarly, a short [ส”] may accompany the low-falling creaky tone.

Dananshan has a syllabic /lฬฉ/ (written โŸจlโŸฉ) in Chinese loans, such as lf 'two' and lx 'child'.

Tones

Hmong is a tonal language and makes use of seven (Hmong Daw and Mong Leeg) or eight (Dananshan) distinct tones.

The Dananshan tones are transcribed as pure tone. However, given how similar several of them are, it is likely that there are also phonational differences as in Hmong Daw and Mong Leeg. Tones 4 and 6, for example, are said to make tenuis plosives breathy voiced (ๆตŠ้€ๆฐ”), suggesting they may be breathy/murmured like the Hmong g-tone. Tones 7 and 8 are used in early Chinese loans with entering tone, suggesting they may once have marked checked syllables.

Because voiceless consonants apart from tenuis plosives are restricted to appearing before certain tones (1, 3, 5, 7), those are placed first in the table:

So much information is conveyed by the tones that it is possible to speak intelligibly using musical tunes only; there is a tradition of young lovers communicating covertly playing a Jew's harp to convey vowel sounds.[15]

Orthography

Robert Cooper, an anthropologist, collected a Hmong folktale saying that the Hmong used to have a written language, and important information was written down in a treasured book. The folktale explains that cows and rats ate the book, so, in the words of Anne Fadiman, author of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, "no text was equal to the task of representing a culture as rich as that of the Hmong." Therefore, the folktale states that the Hmong language was exclusively oral from that point onwards.[16]

Natalie Jill Smith, author of "Ethnicity, Reciprocity, Reputation and Punishment: An Ethnoexperimental Study of Cooperation among the Chaldeans and Hmong of Detroit (Michigan)", wrote that the Qing Dynasty had caused a previous Hmong writing system to die out when it stated that the death penalty would be imposed on those who wrote it down.[17]

Since the end of the 19th century, linguists created over two dozen Hmong writing systems, including systems using Chinese characters, the Lao alphabet, the Russian alphabet, the Thai alphabet, and the Vietnamese alphabet. In addition, in 1959 Shong Lue Yang, a Hmong spiritual leader from Laos, created an 81 symbol writing system called Pahawh. Yang was not previously literate in any language. Chao Fa, an anti-Laotian government Hmong group, uses this writing system.[16]

In the 1980s, Nyiakeng Puachue Hmong script was created by a Hmong Minister, Reverend Chervang Kong Vang, to be able to capture Hmong vocabulary clearly and also to remedy redundancies in the language as well as address semantic confusions that was lacking in other scripts. Nyiakeng Puachue Hmong script was mainly used by United Christians Liberty Evangelical Church, a church also founded by Vang, although the script have been found to be in use in Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, France, and Australia.[18] The script bears strong resemblance to the Lao alphabet in structure and form and characters inspired from the Hebrew alphabets, although the characters themselves are different.[19]

Other experiments by Hmong and non-Hmong orthographers have been undertaken using invented letters.[20]

The Romanized Popular Alphabet (RPA), the most widely used script for Hmong Daw and Mong Leeg, was developed in Laos between 1951 and 1953 by three Western missionaries.[16] In the United States Hmong do not use RPA for spelling of proper nouns, because they want their names to be easily pronounced by people unfamiliar with RPA. For instance Hmong in the U.S. spell Hmoob as "Hmong," and Liab Lis is spelled as Lia Lee.[21]

The Dananshan standard in China is written in a pinyin-based alphabet, with tone letters similar to those used in RPA.

Correspondence between orthographies

The following is a list of pairs of RPA and Dananshan segments having the same sound (or very similar sounds). Note however that RPA and the standard in China not only differ in orthographic rules, but are also used to write different languages. The list is ordered alphabetically by the RPA, apart from prenasalized stops and voiceless sonorants, which come after their oral and voiced homologues. There are three overriding patterns to the correspondences: RPA doubles a vowel for nasalization, whereas pinyin uses โŸจngโŸฉ; RPA uses โŸจhโŸฉ for aspiration, whereas pinyin uses the voicing distinction of the Latin script; pinyin uses โŸจhโŸฉ (and โŸจrโŸฉ) to derive the retroflex and uvular series from the dental and velar, whereas RPA uses sequences based on โŸจt, x, kโŸฉ vs. โŸจr, s, qโŸฉ for the same.

Vowels

Consonants

There is no simple correspondence between the tone letters. The historical connection between the tones is as follows. The Chinese names reflect the tones given to early Chinese loan words with those tones in Chinese.

Tones 4 and 7 merged in Hmoob Dawb, whereas tones 4 and 6 merged in Mong Leeg.[22]

Example: lus Hmoob /ฬค lแนณหงหฉ mฬฅฬฅรตหฆ / ๐ž„‰๐ž„ง๐ž„ด๐ž„€๐ž„„๐ž„ฐ๐ž„ฉโ€Ž / (White Hmong) / lug Moob / ๐ž„‰๐ž„ง๐ž„ต๐ž„€๐ž„ฉ๐ž„ฐโ€Ž / (Mong Leng) / lol Hmongb (Dananshan) / lus Hmรดngz (Vietnamese) "Hmong language".

Grammar

Hmong is an analytic SVO language in which adjectives and demonstratives follow the noun.

Nouns

Noun phrases can contain the following elements (parentheses indicate optional elements):[23]

(possessive) + (quantifier) + (classifier) + noun + (adjective) + (demonstrative)

The Hmong pronominal system distinguishes between three grammatical persons and three numbers โ€“ singular, dual, and plural. They are not marked for case, that is, the same word is used to translate both "I" and "me", "she" and "her", and so forth. These are the personal pronouns of Hmong Daw and Mong Leeg:

  1. 1st Row: IPA, Hmong RPA
  2. 2nd Row: Vietnamese Hmong
  3. 3rd Row: Pahawh Hmong
  4. 4th Row: Nyiakeng Puachue

Classifiers

Classifiers are one of the features recurrently found in languages of Southeast Asia.[24] In Hmong, the noun does not directly follow a numeral, and a classifier or an adjective is required to count objects. Here are examples from Mong Leeg (Green Hmong):[25]

ob

๐–ฌ’๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌฎ๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„จ๐ž„ฐโ€Ž

two

tug

๐–ฌ‡๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌง๐–ฌต

๐ž„ƒ๐ž„ง๐ž„ถโ€Ž

CLF

dlev

๐–ฌ‰๐–ฌญ๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„๐ž„ช๐ž„ณโ€Ž

dog

ob tug dlev

๐–ฌ’๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌฎ๐–ฌฐ ๐–ฌ‡๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌง๐–ฌต ๐–ฌ‰๐–ฌญ๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„จ๐ž„ฐโ€Ž ๐ž„ƒ๐ž„ง๐ž„ถโ€Ž ๐ž„๐ž„ช๐ž„ณโ€Ž

two CLF dog

'two dogs'

ob

๐–ฌ’๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌฎ๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„จ๐ž„ฐโ€Ž

two

(tug)

(๐–ฌ‡๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌง๐–ฌต)

(๐ž„ƒ๐ž„ง๐ž„ถ)โ€Ž

CLF

nyuas

๐–ฌ‘๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌฎ๐–ฌต

๐ž„๐ž„ง๐ž„ค๐ž„ดโ€Ž

little

dlev

๐–ฌ‰๐–ฌญ๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„๐ž„ช๐ž„ณโ€Ž

dog

ob (tug) nyuas dlev

๐–ฌ’๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌฎ๐–ฌฐ (๐–ฌ‡๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌง๐–ฌต) ๐–ฌ‘๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌฎ๐–ฌต ๐–ฌ‰๐–ฌญ๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„จ๐ž„ฐโ€Ž (๐ž„ƒ๐ž„ง๐ž„ถ)โ€Ž ๐ž„๐ž„ง๐ž„ค๐ž„ดโ€Ž ๐ž„๐ž„ช๐ž„ณโ€Ž

two CLF little dog

'two little dogs'

Also, classifiers may occur with a noun without any numerals for definite and/or specific reference in Hmong.[26] The following examples are again from Green Hmong:[27]

kuv

๐–ฌ†๐–ฌฒ

๐ž„Ž๐ž„ง๐ž„ณโ€Ž

1SG

pum

๐–ฌ†๐–ฌช๐–ฌต

๐ž„š๐ž„ง๐ž„ฑโ€Ž

see

dlev

๐–ฌ‰๐–ฌญ๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„๐ž„ช๐ž„ณโ€Ž

dog

kuv pum dlev

๐–ฌ†๐–ฌฒ ๐–ฌ†๐–ฌช๐–ฌต ๐–ฌ‰๐–ฌญ๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„Ž๐ž„ง๐ž„ณโ€Ž ๐ž„š๐ž„ง๐ž„ฑโ€Ž ๐ž„๐ž„ช๐ž„ณโ€Ž

1SG see dog

'I saw dogs/a dog.' (indefinite and non-specific)

kuv

๐–ฌ†๐–ฌฒ

๐ž„Ž๐ž„ง๐ž„ณโ€Ž

1SG

pum

๐–ฌ†๐–ฌช๐–ฌต

๐ž„š๐ž„ง๐ž„ฑโ€Ž

see

tug

๐–ฌ‡๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌง๐–ฌต

๐ž„ƒ๐ž„ง๐ž„ถโ€Ž

CLF

dlev

๐–ฌ‰๐–ฌญ๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„๐ž„ช๐ž„ณโ€Ž

dog

kuv pum tug dlev

๐–ฌ†๐–ฌฒ ๐–ฌ†๐–ฌช๐–ฌต ๐–ฌ‡๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌง๐–ฌต ๐–ฌ‰๐–ฌญ๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„Ž๐ž„ง๐ž„ณโ€Ž ๐ž„š๐ž„ง๐ž„ฑโ€Ž ๐ž„ƒ๐ž„ง๐ž„ถโ€Ž ๐ž„๐ž„ช๐ž„ณโ€Ž

1SG see CLF dog

'I saw the dog.' (definite and specific)

kuv

๐–ฌ†๐–ฌฒ

๐ž„Ž๐ž„ง๐ž„ณโ€Ž

1SG

pum

๐–ฌ†๐–ฌช๐–ฌต

๐ž„š๐ž„ง๐ž„ฑโ€Ž

see

ib

๐–ฌ‚๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌฎ๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„ฆ๐ž„ฐโ€Ž

one

tug

๐–ฌ‡๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌง๐–ฌต

๐ž„ƒ๐ž„ง๐ž„ถโ€Ž

CLF

dlev

๐–ฌ‰๐–ฌญ๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„๐ž„ช๐ž„ณโ€Ž

dog

kuv pum ib tug dlev

๐–ฌ†๐–ฌฒ ๐–ฌ†๐–ฌช๐–ฌต ๐–ฌ‚๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌฎ๐–ฌฐ ๐–ฌ‡๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌง๐–ฌต ๐–ฌ‰๐–ฌญ๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„Ž๐ž„ง๐ž„ณโ€Ž ๐ž„š๐ž„ง๐ž„ฑโ€Ž ๐ž„ฆ๐ž„ฐโ€Ž ๐ž„ƒ๐ž„ง๐ž„ถโ€Ž ๐ž„๐ž„ช๐ž„ณโ€Ž

1SG see one CLF dog

'I saw a (specific) dog.' (indefinite and specific)

kuv

๐–ฌ†๐–ฌฒ

๐ž„Ž๐ž„ง๐ž„ณโ€Ž

1SG

pum

๐–ฌ†๐–ฌช๐–ฌต

๐ž„š๐ž„ง๐ž„ฑโ€Ž

see

ob

๐–ฌ’๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌฎ๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„จ๐ž„ฐโ€Ž

two

tug

๐–ฌ‡๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌง๐–ฌต

๐ž„ƒ๐ž„ง๐ž„ถโ€Ž

CLF

dlev

๐–ฌ‰๐–ฌญ๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„๐ž„ช๐ž„ณโ€Ž

dog

hov

๐–ฌ’๐–ฌถ๐–ฌŸ

๐ž„„๐ž„จ๐ž„ณโ€Ž

DEM:3

kuv pum ob tug dlev hov

๐–ฌ†๐–ฌฒ ๐–ฌ†๐–ฌช๐–ฌต ๐–ฌ’๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌฎ๐–ฌฐ ๐–ฌ‡๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌง๐–ฌต ๐–ฌ‰๐–ฌญ๐–ฌฐ ๐–ฌ’๐–ฌถ๐–ฌŸ

๐ž„Ž๐ž„ง๐ž„ณโ€Ž ๐ž„š๐ž„ง๐ž„ฑโ€Ž ๐ž„จ๐ž„ฐโ€Ž ๐ž„ƒ๐ž„ง๐ž„ถโ€Ž ๐ž„๐ž„ช๐ž„ณโ€Ž ๐ž„„๐ž„จ๐ž„ณโ€Ž

1SG see two CLF dog DEM:3

'I saw those two dogs.' (definite and specific)

Moreover, nominal possessive phrases are expressed with a classifier;[28] however, it may be omitted when the referent of the possessed noun is inalienable from the possessor as shown in the following Hmong Daw (White Hmong) phrases:[29]

nws

๐–ฌ™๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌฌ

๐ž„…๐ž„ฌ๐ž„ดโ€Ž

3SG

rab

๐–ฌ–๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌก

๐ž„–๐ž„ค๐ž„ฐโ€Ž

CLF

ntaj

๐–ฌ–๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌฉ๐–ฌต

๐ž„‚๐ž„ค๐ž„ฒโ€Ž

sword

nws rab ntaj

๐–ฌ™๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌฌ ๐–ฌ–๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌก ๐–ฌ–๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌฉ๐–ฌต

๐ž„…๐ž„ฌ๐ž„ดโ€Ž ๐ž„–๐ž„ค๐ž„ฐโ€Ž ๐ž„‚๐ž„ค๐ž„ฒโ€Ž

3SG CLF sword

'his sword'

kuv

๐–ฌ†๐–ฌฒ

๐ž„Ž๐ž„ง๐ž„ณโ€Ž

1SG

txiv

๐–ฌ‚๐–ฌถ๐–ฌฏ๐–ฌต

๐ž„”๐ž„ฆ๐ž„ณโ€Ž

father

kuv txiv

๐–ฌ†๐–ฌฒ ๐–ฌ‚๐–ฌถ๐–ฌฏ๐–ฌต

๐ž„Ž๐ž„ง๐ž„ณโ€Ž ๐ž„”๐ž„ฆ๐ž„ณโ€Ž

1SG father

'my father'

Relativization is also expressed with classifiers.[29][30]

Although absent in Mandarin Chinese, definite reference by bare classifier constructions are found in Cantonese (Sinitic) and Zhuang (Kra-dai), which is the case for possessive classifier constructions as well.[31]

Verbs

Hmong is an isolating language in which most morphemes are monosyllables. As a result, verbs are not overtly inflected. Tense, aspect, mood, person, number, gender, and case are indicated lexically.[32]

Serial verb construction

Hmong verbs can be serialized, with two or more verbs combined in one clause. It is common for as many as five verbs to be strung together, sharing the same subject.

Here is an example from White Hmong:

Yam

Zav

๐–ฌ–๐–ฌค

๐ž„˜๐ž„ค๐ž„ฑโ€Ž

Thing

zoo

jรดng

๐–ฌ๐–ฌฅ๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„‹๐ž„ฉโ€Ž

best

tshaj

tshax

๐–ฌ–๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌช๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„๐ž„„๐ž„ค๐ž„ฒโ€Ž

very

plaws,

plฦกฦฐs,

๐–ฌ๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌŸ๐–ฌต,

๐ž„ก๐ž„ค๐ž„ฌ๐ž„ดโ€Ž,

full,

nej

nรชx

๐–ฌˆ๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌฌ

๐ž„…๐ž„ช๐ž„ฒโ€Ž

you

yuav

zuรดr

๐–ฌ๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌค

๐ž„˜๐ž„ง๐ž„ค๐ž„ณโ€Ž

(plural)

tsum

tsuv

๐–ฌ†๐–ฌ๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„๐ž„ง๐ž„ฑโ€Ž

must

mus,

mus,

๐–ฌ‡๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌฆ,

๐ž„€๐ž„ง๐ž„ดโ€Ž,

go,

nrhiav,

nriรชz,

๐–ฌ”๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌจ๐–ฌฐ,

๐ž„‘๐ž„„๐ž„ฆ๐ž„ค๐ž„ณโ€Ž,

seek,

nug,

nuv,

๐–ฌ‡๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌฌ,

๐ž„…๐ž„ง๐ž„ถโ€Ž,

ask,

xyuas,

shuรดs,

๐–ฌ‘๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌง๐–ฌฐ,

๐ž„›๐ž„ง๐ž„ค๐ž„ดโ€Ž,

examine,

saib

saiz

๐–ฌŠ๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌค๐–ฌต

๐ž„Š๐ž„ค๐ž„ฆ๐ž„ฐโ€Ž

look

luag

luรดv

๐–ฌ‘๐–ฌถ๐–ฌž

๐ž„‰๐ž„ง๐ž„ค๐ž„ถโ€Ž

others

muaj

muรดj

๐–ฌ๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌฆ

๐ž„€๐ž„ง๐ž„ค๐ž„ฒโ€Ž

have

kev

cรชr

๐–ฌ‰

๐ž„Ž๐ž„ช๐ž„ณโ€Ž

services

pab

paz

๐–ฌ–๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌช๐–ฌต

๐ž„š๐ž„ค๐ž„ฐโ€Ž

variations

hom

hov

๐–ฌ’๐–ฌŸ

๐ž„„๐ž„จ๐ž„ฑโ€Ž

type

dab

ฤ‘az

๐–ฌ–๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌž๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„๐ž„ค๐ž„ฐโ€Ž

what

tsi

tsi

๐–ฌƒ๐–ฌ๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„๐ž„ฆโ€Ž

around

nyob

nhoz

๐–ฌ’๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌฎ๐–ฌต

๐ž„๐ž„จ๐ž„ฐโ€Ž

the

ncig

ndil

๐–ฌƒ๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌค๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„Œ๐ž„ฆ๐ž„ถโ€Ž

area

ib

ib

๐–ฌ‚๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌฎ๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„ฆ๐ž„ฐโ€Ž

at

cheeb

qรชnhz

๐–ฌ€๐–ฌถ๐–ฌง

๐ž„ˆ๐ž„„๐ž„ซ๐ž„ฐโ€Ž

you

tsam

tsav

๐–ฌ–๐–ฌ๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„๐ž„ค๐ž„ฑโ€Ž

(plural)

ntawm

ntฦกฦฐv

๐–ฌŽ๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌฉ๐–ฌต

๐ž„‚๐ž„ค๐ž„ฌ๐ž„ฑโ€Ž

ย 

nej.

nรชx.

๐–ฌˆ๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌฌ.

๐ž„…๐ž„ช๐ž„ฒโ€Ž.

ย 

Yam zoo tshaj plaws, nej yuav tsum mus, nrhiav, nug, xyuas, saib luag muaj kev pab hom dab tsi nyob ncig ib cheeb tsam ntawm nej.

Zav jรดng tshax plฦกฦฐs, nรชx zuรดr tsuv mus, nriรชz, nuv, shuรดs, saiz luรดv muรดj cรชr paz hov ฤ‘az tsi nhoz ndil ib qรชnhz tsav ntฦกฦฐv nรชx.

๐–ฌ–๐–ฌค ๐–ฌ๐–ฌฅ๐–ฌฐ ๐–ฌ–๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌช๐–ฌฐ ๐–ฌ๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌŸ๐–ฌต, ๐–ฌˆ๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌฌ ๐–ฌ๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌค ๐–ฌ†๐–ฌ๐–ฌฐ ๐–ฌ‡๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌฆ, ๐–ฌ”๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌจ๐–ฌฐ, ๐–ฌ‡๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌฌ, ๐–ฌ‘๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌง๐–ฌฐ, ๐–ฌŠ๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌค๐–ฌต ๐–ฌ‘๐–ฌถ๐–ฌž ๐–ฌ๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌฆ ๐–ฌ‰ ๐–ฌ–๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌช๐–ฌต ๐–ฌ’๐–ฌŸ ๐–ฌ–๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌž๐–ฌฐ ๐–ฌƒ๐–ฌ๐–ฌฐ ๐–ฌ’๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌฎ๐–ฌต ๐–ฌƒ๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌค๐–ฌฐ ๐–ฌ‚๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌฎ๐–ฌฐ ๐–ฌ€๐–ฌถ๐–ฌง ๐–ฌ–๐–ฌ๐–ฌฐ ๐–ฌŽ๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌฉ๐–ฌต ๐–ฌˆ๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌฌ.

๐ž„˜๐ž„ค๐ž„ฑโ€Ž ๐ž„‹๐ž„ฉโ€Ž ๐ž„๐ž„„๐ž„ค๐ž„ฒโ€Ž ๐ž„ก๐ž„ค๐ž„ฌ๐ž„ดโ€Ž, ๐ž„…๐ž„ช๐ž„ฒโ€Ž ๐ž„˜๐ž„ง๐ž„ค๐ž„ณโ€Ž ๐ž„๐ž„ง๐ž„ฑโ€Ž ๐ž„€๐ž„ง๐ž„ดโ€Ž, ๐ž„‘๐ž„„๐ž„ฆ๐ž„ค๐ž„ณโ€Ž, ๐ž„…๐ž„ง๐ž„ถโ€Ž, ๐ž„›๐ž„ง๐ž„ค๐ž„ดโ€Ž, ๐ž„Š๐ž„ค๐ž„ฆ๐ž„ฐโ€Ž ๐ž„‰๐ž„ง๐ž„ค๐ž„ถโ€Ž ๐ž„€๐ž„ง๐ž„ค๐ž„ฒโ€Ž ๐ž„Ž๐ž„ช๐ž„ณโ€Ž ๐ž„š๐ž„ค๐ž„ฐโ€Ž ๐ž„„๐ž„จ๐ž„ฑโ€Ž ๐ž„๐ž„ค๐ž„ฐโ€Ž ๐ž„๐ž„ฆโ€Ž ๐ž„๐ž„จ๐ž„ฐโ€Ž ๐ž„Œ๐ž„ฆ๐ž„ถโ€Ž ๐ž„ฆ๐ž„ฐโ€Ž ๐ž„ˆ๐ž„„๐ž„ซ๐ž„ฐโ€Ž ๐ž„๐ž„ค๐ž„ฑโ€Ž ๐ž„‚๐ž„ค๐ž„ฌ๐ž„ฑโ€Ž ๐ž„…๐ž„ช๐ž„ฒโ€Ž.

Thing best very full, you (plural) must go, seek, ask, examine, look others have services variations type what around the area at you (plural)

'The best thing you can do is to explore your neighborhood and find out what services are available.' Mismatch in the number of words between lines: 26 word(s) in line 1, 26 word(s) in line 2, 26 word(s) in line 3, 26 word(s) in line 4, 24 word(s) in line 5 (help);

Tense

Because the verb form in Hmong does not change to indicate tense, the simplest way to indicate the time of an event is to use temporal adverb phrases like "last year," "today," or "next week."

Here is an example from White Hmong:

Nag hmo

Nav hmo

๐–ฌ—๐–ฌถ๐–ฌฌ ๐–ฌ“๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌฃ๐–ฌต

๐ž„…๐ž„ค๐ž„ต ๐ž„€๐ž„„๐ž„จโ€Ž

yesterday

kuv

cur

๐–ฌ†๐–ฌฒ

๐ž„Ž๐ž„ง๐ž„ณโ€Ž

I

mus

mus

๐–ฌ‡๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌฆ

๐ž„€๐ž„ง๐ž„ดโ€Ž

go

tom

tov

๐–ฌ’๐–ฌง๐–ฌต

๐ž„ƒ๐ž„จ๐ž„ฑโ€Ž

LOC

khw.

khฦฐ.

๐–ฌ™๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌฉ๐–ฌฐ.

๐ž„Ž๐ž„„๐ž„ฌโ€Ž.

market

{Nag hmo} kuv mus tom khw.

{Nav hmo} cur mus tov khฦฐ.

๐–ฌ—๐–ฌถ๐–ฌฌ ๐–ฌ“๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌฃ๐–ฌต ๐–ฌ†๐–ฌฒ ๐–ฌ‡๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌฆ ๐–ฌ’๐–ฌง๐–ฌต ๐–ฌ™๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌฉ๐–ฌฐ.

๐ž„…๐ž„ค๐ž„ต ๐ž„€๐ž„„๐ž„จโ€Ž ๐ž„Ž๐ž„ง๐ž„ณโ€Ž ๐ž„€๐ž„ง๐ž„ดโ€Ž ๐ž„ƒ๐ž„จ๐ž„ฑโ€Ž ๐ž„Ž๐ž„„๐ž„ฌโ€Ž.

yesterday I go LOC market

'I went to the market yesterday.'

Aspect

Aspectual differences are indicated by a number of verbal modifiers. Here are the most common ones:

Progressive: (Mong Leeg) taab tom + verb, (White Hmong) tab tom + verb = situation in progress

Puab

Puรดz

๐–ฌ๐–ฌถ๐–ฌช๐–ฌต

๐ž„š๐ž„ง๐ž„ฐ๐ž„คโ€Ž

they

taab tom

tangz tov

๐–ฌš๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌง๐–ฌต ๐–ฌ’๐–ฌง๐–ฌต

๐ž„ƒ๐ž„ฅ๐ž„ฐโ€Ž ๐ž„ƒ๐ž„จ๐ž„ฑโ€Ž

PROG

haus

hรขus

๐–ฌ…๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌŸ

๐ž„„๐ž„ค๐ž„ด๐ž„จโ€Ž

drink

dlej.

ฤ‘rรชx

๐–ฌˆ๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌญ.

๐ž„๐ž„ช๐ž„ฒโ€Ž.

water

(Mong Leeg)

ย 

ย 

ย 

ย 

Puab {taab tom} haus dlej.

Puรดz {tangz tov} hรขus ฤ‘rรชx

๐–ฌ๐–ฌถ๐–ฌช๐–ฌต {๐–ฌš๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌง๐–ฌต ๐–ฌ’๐–ฌง๐–ฌต} ๐–ฌ…๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌŸ ๐–ฌˆ๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌญ.

๐ž„š๐ž„ง๐ž„ฐ๐ž„คโ€Ž {๐ž„ƒ๐ž„ฅ๐ž„ฐโ€Ž ๐ž„ƒ๐ž„จ๐ž„ฑโ€Ž} ๐ž„„๐ž„ค๐ž„ด๐ž„จโ€Ž ๐ž„๐ž„ช๐ž„ฒโ€Ž.

they PROG drink water

'They are drinking water.'

Taab/tab tom + verb can also be used to indicate a situation that is about to start. That is clearest when taab/tab tom occurs in conjunction with the irrealis marker yuav. Note that the taab tom construction is not used if it is clear from the context that a situation is ongoing or about to begin.

Perfective: sentence/clause + lawm = completed situation

Kuv

Cur

๐–ฌ†๐–ฌฒ

๐ž„Ž๐ž„ง๐ž„ณโ€Ž

I

noj

nox

๐–ฌ’๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌฌ

๐ž„…๐ž„จ๐ž„ฒโ€Ž

eat

mov

mor

๐–ฌ’๐–ฌถ๐–ฌฆ

๐ž„€๐ž„จ๐ž„ณโ€Ž

rice

lawm.

lฦกฦฐv

๐–ฌŽ๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌž.

๐ž„‰๐ž„ค๐ž„ฑ๐ž„ฌโ€Ž.

PERF

(Leeg and White Hmong)

ย 

ย 

ย 

ย 

Kuv noj mov lawm.

Cur nox mor lฦกฦฐv

๐–ฌ†๐–ฌฒ ๐–ฌ’๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌฌ ๐–ฌ’๐–ฌถ๐–ฌฆ ๐–ฌŽ๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌž.

๐ž„Ž๐ž„ง๐ž„ณโ€Ž ๐ž„…๐ž„จ๐ž„ฒโ€Ž ๐ž„€๐ž„จ๐ž„ณโ€Ž ๐ž„‰๐ž„ค๐ž„ฑ๐ž„ฌโ€Ž.

I eat rice PERF

'I am finished/I am done eating rice.' / 'I have already eaten "rice".'

Lawm at the end of a sentence can also indicate that an action is underway:

Tus

๐–ฌ‡๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌง๐–ฌต

๐ž„ƒ๐ž„ง๐ž„ดโ€Ž

CLF

tub

๐–ฌ†๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌง๐–ฌต

๐ž„ƒ๐ž„ง๐ž„ฐโ€Ž

boy

tau

๐–ฌง๐–ฌต

๐ž„ƒ๐ž„ค๐ž„จโ€Ž

get

rab

๐–ฌ–๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌก

๐ž„–๐ž„ค๐ž„ฐโ€Ž

CLF

hneev,

๐–ฌ€๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌฉ,

๐ž„…๐ž„„๐ž„ณ๐ž„ซโ€Ž,

crossbow

nws

๐–ฌ™๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌฌ

๐ž„…๐ž„ฌ๐ž„ดโ€Ž

he

thiaj

๐–ฌ”๐–ฌถ๐–ฌŸ๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„ƒ๐ž„„๐ž„ฆ๐ž„ฒ๐ž„คโ€Ž

then

mus

๐–ฌ‡๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌฆ

๐ž„€๐ž„ง๐ž„ดโ€Ž

go

ua si

๐–ฌ‘๐–ฌฎ๐–ฌฐ ๐–ฌƒ๐–ฌค๐–ฌต

๐ž„ง๐ž„คโ€Ž ๐ž„Š๐ž„ฆโ€Ž

play

lawm.

๐–ฌŽ๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌž.

๐ž„‰๐ž„ค๐ž„ฑ๐ž„ฌโ€Ž.

PFV

(White Hmong)

ย 

ย 

ย 

Tus tub tau rab hneev, nws thiaj mus {ua si} lawm.

๐–ฌ‡๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌง๐–ฌต ๐–ฌ†๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌง๐–ฌต ๐–ฌง๐–ฌต ๐–ฌ–๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌก ๐–ฌ€๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌฉ, ๐–ฌ™๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌฌ ๐–ฌ”๐–ฌถ๐–ฌŸ๐–ฌฐ ๐–ฌ‡๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌฆ ๐–ฌ‘๐–ฌฎ๐–ฌฐ ๐–ฌƒ๐–ฌค๐–ฌต ๐–ฌŽ๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌž.

๐ž„ƒ๐ž„ง๐ž„ดโ€Ž ๐ž„ƒ๐ž„ง๐ž„ฐโ€Ž ๐ž„ƒ๐ž„ค๐ž„จโ€Ž ๐ž„–๐ž„ค๐ž„ฐโ€Ž ๐ž„…๐ž„„๐ž„ณ๐ž„ซโ€Ž, ๐ž„…๐ž„ฌ๐ž„ดโ€Ž ๐ž„ƒ๐ž„„๐ž„ฆ๐ž„ฒ๐ž„คโ€Ž ๐ž„€๐ž„ง๐ž„ดโ€Ž {๐ž„ง๐ž„คโ€Ž ๐ž„Š๐ž„ฆโ€Ž} ๐ž„‰๐ž„ค๐ž„ฑ๐ž„ฌโ€Ž.

CLF boy get CLF crossbow he then go play PFV

'The boy got the crossbow and went off to play.' / 'The boy went off to play because he got the bow.'

Another common way to indicate the accomplishment of an action or attainment is by using tau, which, as a main verb, means 'to get/obtain.' It takes on different connotations when it is combined with other verbs. When it occurs before the main verb (i.e. tau + verb), it conveys the attainment or fulfillment of a situation. Whether the situation took place in the past, the present, or the future is indicated at the discourse level rather than the sentence level. If the event took place in the past, tau + verb translates to the past tense in English.

Lawv

๐–ฌŽ๐–ฌถ๐–ฌž

๐ž„‰๐ž„ค๐ž„ณ๐ž„ฌโ€Ž

they

tau

๐–ฌง๐–ฌต

๐ž„ƒ๐ž„ค๐ž„จโ€Ž

attain

noj

๐–ฌ’๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌฌ

๐ž„…๐ž„จ๐ž„ฒโ€Ž

eat

nqaij

๐–ฌŠ๐–ฌถ๐–ฌฌ๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„™๐ž„ค๐ž„ฒ๐ž„ฆโ€Ž

meat

nyug.

๐–ฌ‡๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌฎ๐–ฌต.

๐ž„๐ž„ง๐ž„ตโ€Ž.

beef

(White Hmong)

ย 

ย 

ย 

Lawv tau noj nqaij nyug.

๐–ฌŽ๐–ฌถ๐–ฌž ๐–ฌง๐–ฌต ๐–ฌ’๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌฌ ๐–ฌŠ๐–ฌถ๐–ฌฌ๐–ฌฐ ๐–ฌ‡๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌฎ๐–ฌต.

๐ž„‰๐ž„ค๐ž„ณ๐ž„ฌโ€Ž ๐ž„ƒ๐ž„ค๐ž„จโ€Ž ๐ž„…๐ž„จ๐ž„ฒโ€Ž ๐ž„™๐ž„ค๐ž„ฒ๐ž„ฆโ€Ž ๐ž„๐ž„ง๐ž„ตโ€Ž.

they attain eat meat beef

'They ate beef.'

Tau is optional if an explicit past time marker is present (e.g. nag hmo, last night). Tau can also mark the fulfillment of a situation in the future:

Thaum

๐–ฌ„๐–ฌŸ๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„ƒ๐ž„„๐ž„ค๐ž„ฑ๐ž„จโ€Ž

when

txog

๐–ฌ“๐–ฌฏ๐–ฌต

๐ž„”๐ž„จ๐ž„ตโ€Ž

arrive

peb

๐–ฌˆ๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌช๐–ฌต

๐ž„š๐ž„ช๐ž„ฐโ€Ž

New

caug

๐–ฌ…๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌฏ

๐ž„ˆ๐ž„ค๐ž„ต๐ž„จโ€Ž

Year

lawm

๐–ฌŽ๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌž

๐ž„‰๐ž„ค๐ž„ฑ๐ž„ฌโ€Ž

PFV

sawv daws

๐–ฌŽ๐–ฌถ๐–ฌค๐–ฌต ๐–ฌ๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌž๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„Š๐ž„ค๐ž„ณ๐ž„ฌโ€Ž ๐ž„๐ž„ค๐ž„ด๐ž„ฌโ€Ž

everybody

thiaj

๐–ฌ”๐–ฌถ๐–ฌŸ๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„ƒ๐ž„„๐ž„ฆ๐ž„ฒ๐ž„คโ€Ž

then

tau

๐–ฌง๐–ฌต

๐ž„ƒ๐ž„ค๐ž„จโ€Ž

attain

hnav

๐–ฌ—๐–ฌฉ

๐ž„…๐ž„„๐ž„ณ๐ž„คโ€Ž

wear

khaub ncaws

๐–ฌ„๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌฉ๐–ฌฐ ๐–ฌ๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌค๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„Ž๐ž„„๐ž„ค๐ž„ฐ๐ž„จโ€Ž ๐ž„Œ๐ž„ค๐ž„ด๐ž„ฌโ€Ž

clothes

tshiab.

๐–ฌ”๐–ฌช๐–ฌฐ.

๐ž„๐ž„„๐ž„ฆ๐ž„ฐ๐ž„คโ€Ž.

new

(White Hmong)

ย 

ย 

ย 

Thaum txog peb caug lawm {sawv daws} thiaj tau hnav {khaub ncaws} tshiab.

๐–ฌ„๐–ฌŸ๐–ฌฐ ๐–ฌ“๐–ฌฏ๐–ฌต ๐–ฌˆ๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌช๐–ฌต ๐–ฌ…๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌฏ ๐–ฌŽ๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌž {๐–ฌŽ๐–ฌถ๐–ฌค๐–ฌต ๐–ฌ๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌž๐–ฌฐ} ๐–ฌ”๐–ฌถ๐–ฌŸ๐–ฌฐ ๐–ฌง๐–ฌต ๐–ฌ—๐–ฌฉ {๐–ฌ„๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌฉ๐–ฌฐ ๐–ฌ๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌค๐–ฌฐ} ๐–ฌ”๐–ฌช๐–ฌฐ.

๐ž„ƒ๐ž„„๐ž„ค๐ž„ฑ๐ž„จโ€Ž ๐ž„”๐ž„จ๐ž„ตโ€Ž ๐ž„š๐ž„ช๐ž„ฐโ€Ž ๐ž„ˆ๐ž„ค๐ž„ต๐ž„จโ€Ž ๐ž„‰๐ž„ค๐ž„ฑ๐ž„ฌโ€Ž {๐ž„Š๐ž„ค๐ž„ณ๐ž„ฌโ€Ž ๐ž„๐ž„ค๐ž„ด๐ž„ฌโ€Ž} ๐ž„ƒ๐ž„„๐ž„ฆ๐ž„ฒ๐ž„คโ€Ž ๐ž„ƒ๐ž„ค๐ž„จโ€Ž ๐ž„…๐ž„„๐ž„ณ๐ž„คโ€Ž {๐ž„Ž๐ž„„๐ž„ค๐ž„ฐ๐ž„จโ€Ž ๐ž„Œ๐ž„ค๐ž„ด๐ž„ฌโ€Ž} ๐ž„๐ž„„๐ž„ฆ๐ž„ฐ๐ž„คโ€Ž.

when arrive New Year PFV everybody then attain wear clothes new

'So when the New Year arrives, everybody gets to wear new clothes.'

When tau follows the main verb (i.e. verb + tau), it indicates the accomplishment of the purpose of an action.

Kuv

๐–ฌ†๐–ฌฒ

๐ž„Ž๐ž„ง๐ž„ณโ€Ž

I

xaav

๐–ฌ›๐–ฌฎ

๐ž„†๐ž„ฅ๐ž„ณโ€Ž

think

xaav

๐–ฌ›๐–ฌฎ

๐ž„†๐ž„ฅ๐ž„ณโ€Ž

think

ib plag,

๐–ฌ‚๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌฎ๐–ฌฐ ๐–ฌ—๐–ฌถ๐–ฌŸ๐–ฌต,

๐ž„ฆ๐ž„ฐโ€Ž ๐ž„ก๐ž„ค๐ž„ตโ€Ž,

awhile,

kuv

๐–ฌ†๐–ฌฒ

๐ž„Ž๐ž„ง๐ž„ณโ€Ž

I

xaav

๐–ฌ›๐–ฌฎ

๐ž„†๐ž„ฅ๐ž„ณโ€Ž

think

tau

๐–ฌง๐–ฌต

๐ž„ƒ๐ž„ค๐ž„จโ€Ž

get

tswv yim.

๐–ฌ™๐–ฌ๐–ฌฐ ๐–ฌ‚๐–ฌค.

๐ž„๐ž„ฌ๐ž„ณโ€Ž ๐ž„˜๐ž„ฆ๐ž„ฑโ€Ž.

idea

(Mong Leeg)

ย 

ย 

ย 

Kuv xaav xaav {ib plag}, kuv xaav tau {tswv yim}.

๐–ฌ†๐–ฌฒ ๐–ฌ›๐–ฌฎ ๐–ฌ›๐–ฌฎ {๐–ฌ‚๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌฎ๐–ฌฐ ๐–ฌ—๐–ฌถ๐–ฌŸ๐–ฌต}, ๐–ฌ†๐–ฌฒ ๐–ฌ›๐–ฌฎ ๐–ฌง๐–ฌต ๐–ฌ™๐–ฌ๐–ฌฐ ๐–ฌ‚๐–ฌค.

๐ž„Ž๐ž„ง๐ž„ณโ€Ž ๐ž„†๐ž„ฅ๐ž„ณโ€Ž ๐ž„†๐ž„ฅ๐ž„ณโ€Ž {๐ž„ฆ๐ž„ฐโ€Ž ๐ž„ก๐ž„ค๐ž„ตโ€Ž}, ๐ž„Ž๐ž„ง๐ž„ณโ€Ž ๐ž„†๐ž„ฅ๐ž„ณโ€Ž ๐ž„ƒ๐ž„ค๐ž„จโ€Ž {๐ž„๐ž„ฌ๐ž„ณโ€Ž ๐ž„˜๐ž„ฆ๐ž„ฑโ€Ž}.

I think think awhile, I think get idea

'I thought it over and got an idea.'

Tau is also common in serial verb constructions that are made up of a verb, followed by an accomplishment: (White Hmong) nrhiav tau, to look for; caum tau, to chase; yug tau, to give birth.

Mood

Future: yuav + verb:

Kuv yuav moog.

Kuv

๐–ฌ†๐–ฌฒ

๐ž„Ž๐ž„ง๐ž„ณโ€Ž

yuav

๐–ฌ๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌค

๐ž„˜๐ž„ง๐ž„ณ๐ž„คโ€Ž

moog.

๐–ฌ๐–ฌถ๐–ฌฆ.

๐ž„€๐ž„ฉ๐ž„ตโ€Ž.

(Mong Leeg)

ย 

ย 

Kuv yuav moog.

๐–ฌ†๐–ฌฒ ๐–ฌ๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌค ๐–ฌ๐–ฌถ๐–ฌฆ.

๐ž„Ž๐ž„ง๐ž„ณโ€Ž ๐ž„˜๐ž„ง๐ž„ณ๐ž„คโ€Ž ๐ž„€๐ž„ฉ๐ž„ตโ€Ž.

'I will be going.'

Yuav + verb may also be seen as indicative of the irrealis mood, for situations that are unfulfilled or unrealized. That includes hypothetical or non-occurring situations with past, present, or future time references:

Tus

๐–ฌ‡๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌง๐–ฌต

๐ž„ƒ๐ž„ง๐ž„ดโ€Ž

CLF

Tsov

๐–ฌ’๐–ฌถ๐–ฌ๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„๐ž„จ๐ž„ณโ€Ž

Tiger

hais tias,

๐–ฌ‹๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌŸ ๐–ฌ•๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌง๐–ฌต,

๐ž„„๐ž„ค๐ž„ด๐ž„ฆโ€Ž ๐ž„ƒ๐ž„ฆ๐ž„ด๐ž„คโ€Ž,

say,

"Kuv

"๐–ฌ†๐–ฌฒ

"๐ž„Ž๐ž„ง๐ž„ณโ€Ž

I

tshaib

๐–ฌŠ๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌช๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„๐ž„„๐ž„ค๐ž„ฐ๐ž„ฆโ€Ž

hungry

tshaib

๐–ฌŠ๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌช๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„๐ž„„๐ž„ค๐ž„ฐ๐ž„ฆโ€Ž

hungry

plab

๐–ฌ–๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌŸ๐–ฌต

๐ž„ก๐ž„ค๐ž„ฐโ€Ž

stomach

li

๐–ฌƒ๐–ฌž

๐ž„‰๐ž„ฆโ€Ž

INT

kuv

๐–ฌ†๐–ฌฒ

๐ž„Ž๐ž„ง๐ž„ณโ€Ž

I

yuav

๐–ฌ๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌค

๐ž„˜๐ž„ง๐ž„ณ๐ž„คโ€Ž

IRR

noj

๐–ฌ’๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌฌ

๐ž„…๐ž„จ๐ž„ฒโ€Ž

eat

koj".

๐–ฌ’๐–ฌฒ."

๐ž„Ž๐ž„จ๐ž„ฒโ€Ž".

you

(from a White Hmong folk tale)

ย 

ย 

ย 

Tus Tsov {hais tias}, "Kuv tshaib tshaib plab li kuv yuav noj koj".

๐–ฌ‡๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌง๐–ฌต ๐–ฌ’๐–ฌถ๐–ฌ๐–ฌฐ {๐–ฌ‹๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌŸ ๐–ฌ•๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌง๐–ฌต}, "๐–ฌ†๐–ฌฒ ๐–ฌŠ๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌช๐–ฌฐ ๐–ฌŠ๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌช๐–ฌฐ ๐–ฌ–๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌŸ๐–ฌต ๐–ฌƒ๐–ฌž ๐–ฌ†๐–ฌฒ ๐–ฌ๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌค ๐–ฌ’๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌฌ ๐–ฌ’๐–ฌฒ."

๐ž„ƒ๐ž„ง๐ž„ดโ€Ž ๐ž„๐ž„จ๐ž„ณโ€Ž {๐ž„„๐ž„ค๐ž„ด๐ž„ฆโ€Ž ๐ž„ƒ๐ž„ฆ๐ž„ด๐ž„คโ€Ž}, "๐ž„Ž๐ž„ง๐ž„ณโ€Ž ๐ž„๐ž„„๐ž„ค๐ž„ฐ๐ž„ฆโ€Ž ๐ž„๐ž„„๐ž„ค๐ž„ฐ๐ž„ฆโ€Ž ๐ž„ก๐ž„ค๐ž„ฐโ€Ž ๐ž„‰๐ž„ฆโ€Ž ๐ž„Ž๐ž„ง๐ž„ณโ€Ž ๐ž„˜๐ž„ง๐ž„ณ๐ž„คโ€Ž ๐ž„…๐ž„จ๐ž„ฒโ€Ž ๐ž„Ž๐ž„จ๐ž„ฒโ€Ž".

CLF Tiger say, I hungry hungry stomach INT I IRR eat you

'The Tiger said, "I'm very hungry and I'm going to eat you.'

Tus

๐–ฌ‡๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌง๐–ฌต

๐ž„ƒ๐ž„ง๐ž„ดโ€Ž

CLF

Qav

๐–ฌ—๐–ฌฆ๐–ฌต

๐ž„—๐ž„ค๐ž„ณโ€Ž

Frog

tsis

๐–ฌƒ๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌ๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„๐ž„ฆ๐ž„ดโ€Ž

NEG

paub

๐–ฌ„๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌช๐–ฌต

๐ž„š๐ž„ค๐ž„ฐ๐ž„จโ€Ž

know

yuav

๐–ฌ๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌค

๐ž„˜๐ž„ง๐ž„ณ๐ž„คโ€Ž

IRR

ua

๐–ฌ‘๐–ฌฎ๐–ฌฐ

๐ž„ง๐ž„คโ€Ž

do

li

๐–ฌƒ๐–ฌž

๐ž„‰๐ž„ฆโ€Ž

ย 

cas

๐–ฌ—๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌฏ

๐ž„ˆ๐ž„ค๐ž„ดโ€Ž

what

li.

๐–ฌƒ๐–ฌž.

๐ž„‰๐ž„ฆโ€Ž.

INT

Tus Qav tsis paub yuav ua li cas li.

๐–ฌ‡๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌง๐–ฌต ๐–ฌ—๐–ฌฆ๐–ฌต ๐–ฌƒ๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌ๐–ฌฐ ๐–ฌ„๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌช๐–ฌต ๐–ฌ๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌค ๐–ฌ‘๐–ฌฎ๐–ฌฐ ๐–ฌƒ๐–ฌž ๐–ฌ—๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌฏ ๐–ฌƒ๐–ฌž.

๐ž„ƒ๐ž„ง๐ž„ดโ€Ž ๐ž„—๐ž„ค๐ž„ณโ€Ž ๐ž„๐ž„ฆ๐ž„ดโ€Ž ๐ž„š๐ž„ค๐ž„ฐ๐ž„จโ€Ž ๐ž„˜๐ž„ง๐ž„ณ๐ž„คโ€Ž ๐ž„ง๐ž„คโ€Ž ๐ž„‰๐ž„ฆโ€Ž ๐ž„ˆ๐ž„ค๐ž„ดโ€Ž ๐ž„‰๐ž„ฆโ€Ž.

CLF Frog NEG know IRR do {} what INT

'The frog didn't know what to do.'

Phrases

Colors

Many Hmong and non-Hmong people who are learning the Hmong language tend to use the word "Xim" (Thai/Lao word) to indicate a specific color, while the true Hmong word for color is "Kob". For example, "Liab yog xim ntawm kev phom sij;" meaning "Red is the color of danger / The red color is of danger".

List of colors:

๐–ฌ”๐–ฌž Liab [red]

๐–ฌ๐–ฌถ๐–ฌ Ntsuab [green]

๐–ฌ–๐–ฌ๐–ฌฐ ๐–ฌˆ๐–ฌฎTsam xem [purple]

๐–ฌ†๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌž๐–ฌฐDub [black]

๐–ฌ”๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌฎXiav [blue]

๐–ฌŽ๐–ฌž๐–ฌฐDawb [white]

๐–ฌ—๐–ฌฎ๐–ฌฐ / ๐–ฌ—๐–ฌฒ ๐–ฌ‰๐–ฌฒ๐–ฌœ๐–ฌตAv / Kas fes [brown]

๐–ฌ–๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌž๐–ฌฐDaj [yellow]

๐–ฌ“๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌฆ๐–ฌฐTxho [grey]

๐–ฌ–๐–ฌฒ ๐–ฌ™๐–ฌข๐–ฌฐKab ntxwv [orange]

๐–ฌ–๐–ฌฐ๐–ฌช๐–ฌต ๐–ฌ€๐–ฌถ๐–ฌคPaj yeeb [pink]


Numbers

The number 57023 would be written as ๐–ญ•๐–ญ—๐–ญ๐–ญ’๐–ญ“.

Days of the Week

A sentence like, "Today is Monday" would be translated as "Hnub no yog zwj hli", and not "Hnub no yog hnub ib/Monday" in Hmong.

Months of the Year

Worldwide usage

Presence in Community and Education

The Hmong language has found a significant presence in the United States, particularly in Minnesota. The Hmong people first arrived in Minnesota in late 1975 following the communist seizure of power in Indochina. Many educated Hmong elites with leadership experience and English-language skills were among the first to be welcomed by Minnesotans. These elites worked to solidify the social services targeted to refugees, attracting others to migrate to the region. The first Hmong family arrived in Minnesota on November 5, 1975.[33]

The Hmong language program in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Minnesota is one of the first programs in the United States to teach language-accredited Hmong classes.[34]

Translation

In February 2012, Microsoft released "Hmong Daw" as an option in Bing Translator.[35] In May 2013, Google Translate introduced support for Hmong Daw (referred to only as Hmong).[36]

Research in nursing shows that when translating from English to Hmong, the translator must take into account that Hmong comes from an oral tradition and equivalent concepts may not exist. For example, the word and concept for "prostate" does not exist.[37]

Sample texts

The following is a sample text in Hmong of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with Pahawh Hmong, Nyiakeng Puachue, Hmong RPA, Vietnamese Hmong, Hmong IPA, and English translation.

Sample text in both Hmong RPA and Pahawh Hmong:[38][39][40]

In popular culture

The 2008 film Gran Torino by Clint Eastwood features a large American Hmong speaking cast.[41][42] The screenplay was written in English and the actors improvised the Hmong parts of the script. The decision to cast Hmong actors received a positive reception in Hmong communities.[43] The film also gained recognition and collected awards such as the Ten Best Films of 2008 from the American Film Institute and a Cรฉsar Award in France for Best Foreign Film.[44][45]

Films

The following films feature the Hmong language:

See also

References

  1. ^ Hmong at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024) Closed access icon
    Chuanqiandian Cluster Miao (cover term for Hmong in China) at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024) Closed access icon
    Northern Qiandong Miao at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024) Closed access icon
    Southern Mashan Hmong at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024) Closed access icon
    Central Huishui Hmong at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024) Closed access icon
    Large Flowery Miao at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024) Closed access icon
    Eastern Huishui Hmong at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024) Closed access icon
    (Additional references under 'Language codes' in the information box)
  2. ^ Ratliff, Martha (1992). Meaningful Tone: A Study of Tonal Morphology in Compounds, Form Classes, and Expressive Phrases in White Hmong. Dekalb, Illinois: Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Northern Illinois University.
  3. ^ Elizabeth M. Hoeffel; Sonya Rastogi; Myoung Ouk Kim; Hasan Shahid (March 2012). "The Asian Population: 2010" (PDF). 2010 Census Briefs. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  4. ^ Not of Chinese Miao as a whole for which the standard language is based on Hmu
  5. ^ "2007-188 - ISO 639-3". www.sil.org.
  6. ^ a b c d "Chapter 2. Overview of Lao Hmong Culture." (Archive) Promoting Cultural Sensitivity: Hmong Guide. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. p. 14. Retrieved on May 5, 2013.
  7. ^ Note however that "Black Miao" is more commonly used for Hmu.
  8. ^ "ISO 639-3 New Code Request" (PDF). Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  9. ^ Golston, Chris; Phong Yang (2001). "Hmong loanword phonology". In C. Fรฉry; A. D. Green; R. van de Vijver (eds.). Proceedings of HILP 5 (Linguistics in Potsdam 12ย ed.). Potsdam: University of Potsdam. pp.ย 40โ€“57. ISBNย 3-935024-27-4. [1]
  10. ^ Smalley, William et al. Mother of Writing. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990. p. 48-51. See also: Mortensen, David. โ€œPreliminaries to Mong Leng (Mong Njua) Phonologyโ€ Unpublished, UC Berkeley. 2004. Archived 29 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ ็Ž‹่พ…ไธ–ไธป็ผ–๏ผŒใ€Š่‹—่ฏญ็ฎ€ๅฟ—ใ€‹๏ผŒๆฐ‘ๆ—ๅ‡บ็‰ˆ็คพ๏ผŒ1985ๅนดใ€‚
  12. ^ "Hmong Dictionary - Dictionary Hmong".
  13. ^ Even the landmark book The Sounds of the World's Languages specifically describes lateral release as involving a homorganic consonant.
  14. ^ Examples taken from: Heimbach, Ernest H. White Hmongโ€“English Dictionary [White Meo-English Dictionary]. 2003 ed. Ithaca, NY: Cornell Southeast Asia Program Publications, 1969. Note that many of these words have multiple meanings.
  15. ^ Robson, David. "The beautiful languages of the people who talk like birds". BBC Future. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  16. ^ a b c Fadiman, Anne. "Note on Hmong Orthography, Pronunciation, and Quotations." The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 1997. 291.
  17. ^ Smith, Natalie Jill. "Ethnicity, Reciprocity, Reputation and Punishment: An Ethnoexperimental Study of Cooperation among the Chaldeans and Hmong of Detroit (Michigan)" (PhD dissertation). University of California, Los Angeles, 2001. p. 225. UMI Number: 3024065. Cites: Hamilton-Merritt, 1993 and Faderman [sic], 1998
  18. ^ Ian James & Mattias Persson. "New Hmong Script". Retrieved April 7, 2018. This excellent script has been used by members of the United Christians Liberty Evangelical church in America for more than 25 years, in printed material and videos.
  19. ^ Everson, Michael (2017-02-15). "L2/17-002R3: Proposal to encode the Nyiakeng Puachue Hmong script in the UCS" (PDF).
  20. ^ http://www.hmonglanguage.net Hmong Language online encyclopedia.
  21. ^ Fadiman, Anne. "Note on Hmong Orthography, Pronunciation, and Quotations." The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 1997. 292.
  22. ^ Mortensen (2004)
  23. ^ Ratliff, Martha (1997). "Hmongโ€“Mien demonstratives and pattern persistence" (PDF). Monโ€“Khmer Studies Journal. 27: 317โ€“328. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-18. Retrieved 2007-06-06. ()
  24. ^ Enfield 2018, p.ย 17.
  25. ^ Mortensen 2019, pp.ย 624โ€“625.
  26. ^ Bisang 1993, pp.ย 22โ€“26.
  27. ^ Mortensen 2019, pp.ย 625โ€“626.
  28. ^ Mortensen 2019, pp.ย 622โ€“624.
  29. ^ a b Bisang 1993, p.ย 27.
  30. ^ Mortensen 2019, p.ย 623.
  31. ^ Matthews 2007, pp.ย 230โ€“231.
  32. ^ Strecker, David and Lopao Vang. White Hmong Grammar. 1986.
  33. ^ "Hmong and Hmong Americans in Minnesota". MNopedia. 2023-07-02. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  34. ^ "Hmong". College of Liberal Arts. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  35. ^ "Microsoft Translator celebrates International Mother Language Day with the release of Hmong". Microsoft Translator Blog. 2012-02-21. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
  36. ^ Donald Melanson (8 May 2013). "Google Translate adds five more languages to its repertoire". Engadget. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  37. ^ Lor, Maichou (2020-04-30). Sha, Mandy (ed.). Hmong and Chinese Qualitative Research Interview Questions: Assumptions and Implications of Applying the Survey Back Translation Method (Chapter 9) in The Essential Role of Language in Survey Research. RTI Press. pp.ย 181โ€“202. doi:10.3768/rtipress.bk.0023.2004. ISBNย 978-1-934831-24-3.
  38. ^ "Pahawh Hmong alphabet and pronunciation". omniglot.com. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  39. ^ Oppitz, Michael. "Die geschichte der verlorenen schrift" (PDF). Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  40. ^ "์„ธ๊ณ„์˜ ๋ฌธ์ž๋“ค". podor.egloos.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  41. ^ Ebert, Roger. "Gran Torino movie review and film summary (2008) | Roger Ebert". Retrieved 2022-09-15.
  42. ^ "Hmong get a mixed debut in new Eastwood film". MPR News. 19 December 2008. Retrieved 2022-09-15.
  43. ^ O'Brien, Kathleen. "Rutgers scholar sheds light on 'Gran Torino' ethnic stars Archived November 17, 2020, at the Wayback Machine." The Star-Ledger. Thursday January 15, 2009. Retrieved on March 16, 2012.
  44. ^ "Prison drama A Prophet sweeps French Oscars". BBC News. March 1, 2010. Archived from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  45. ^ "AFI Awards 2008". afi.com. American Film Institute. Archived from the original on May 11, 2011. Retrieved December 16, 2008.

Bibliography

Further reading

External links

Hmong Daw test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator