Hmong or Mong (/หmสล/ MUNG; RPA: Hmoob, Nyiakeng Puachue: ๐๐ฉ๐ฐโ, Pahawh: ๐ฌ๐ฌฃ๐ฌต, [mฬฅษฬฬ]) 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 (ๅคงๅๅฑฑ) 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.
Mong Leng (Moob Leeg) and Hmong Daw (Hmoob Dawb) are part of a dialect cluster known in China as Chuanqiandian Miao (Chinese: ๅท้ปๆป่; lit. 'SichuanโGuizhouโYunnan 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" (็ฌฌไธๅ่ฏญ) 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" (็ฌฌไธๅ่ฏญ) 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]
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]
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]
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.
The vowel systems of Hmong Daw and Mong Leeg are as shown in the following charts.[12] (Phonemes particular to Hmong Dawโ and Mong Leegโก are color-coded and indicated by a dagger or double dagger respectively.)
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 โจiโฉ, much like Mandarin Chinese. /u/ is pronounced [y] after palatal consonants. There is also a triphthong /jeฮฒ/ โจieuโฉ, as well as other i- and u-initial sequences in Chinese borrowings, such as /waj/.
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 Leegโก are color-coded and indicated by a dagger or double dagger respectively.)
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 "๐ฌ" (3rd-Stage Version).
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 โจlโฉ) in Chinese loans, such as lf 'two' and lx 'child'.
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 (ๆต้ๆฐ), 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]
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.[citation needed] 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.[18]
Other experiments by Hmong and non-Hmong orthographers have been undertaken using invented letters.[19]
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.[16]
The Dananshan standard in China is written in a pinyin-based alphabet, with tone letters similar to those used in RPA.
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 โจngโฉ; RPA uses โจhโฉ for aspiration, whereas pinyin uses the voicing distinction of the Latin script; pinyin uses โจhโฉ (and โจrโฉ) to derive the retroflex and uvular series from the dental and velar, whereas RPA uses sequences based on โจt, x, kโฉ vs. โจr, s, qโฉ for the same.
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.[20]
Example: lus Hmoob /ฬค lแนณหงหฉ mฬฅฬฅรตหฆ / ๐๐ง๐ด๐๐๐ฐ๐ฉโ / (White Hmong) / lug Moob / ๐๐ง๐ต๐๐ฉ๐ฐโ / (Mong Leng) / lol Hmongb (Dananshan) / lus Hmรดngz (Vietnamese) "Hmong language".
Hmong is an analytic SVO language in which adjectives and demonstratives follow the noun.
Noun phrases can contain the following elements (parentheses indicate optional elements):[21]
(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:
Classifiers are one of the features recurrently found in languages of Southeast Asia.[22] 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):[23]
ob
๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌฎ๐ฌฐ
๐จ๐ฐโ
two
tug
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌง๐ฌต
๐๐ง๐ถโ
CLF
dlev
๐ฌ๐ฌญ๐ฌฐ
๐๐ช๐ณโ
dog
'two dogs'
ob
๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌฎ๐ฌฐ
๐จ๐ฐโ
two
(tug)
(๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌง๐ฌต)
(๐๐ง๐ถ)โ
CLF
nyuas
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌฎ๐ฌต
๐๐ง๐ค๐ดโ
little
dlev
๐ฌ๐ฌญ๐ฌฐ
๐๐ช๐ณโ
dog
'two little dogs'
Also, classifiers may occur with a noun without any numerals for definite and/or specific reference in Hmong.[24] The following examples are again from Green Hmong:[25]
kuv
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ
๐๐ง๐ณโ
1SG
pum
๐ฌ๐ฌช๐ฌต
๐๐ง๐ฑโ
see
dlev
๐ฌ๐ฌญ๐ฌฐ
๐๐ช๐ณโ
dog
'I saw dogs/a dog.' (indefinite and non-specific)
kuv
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ
๐๐ง๐ณโ
1SG
pum
๐ฌ๐ฌช๐ฌต
๐๐ง๐ฑโ
see
tug
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌง๐ฌต
๐๐ง๐ถโ
CLF
dlev
๐ฌ๐ฌญ๐ฌฐ
๐๐ช๐ณโ
dog
'I saw the dog.' (definite and specific)
kuv
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ
๐๐ง๐ณโ
1SG
pum
๐ฌ๐ฌช๐ฌต
๐๐ง๐ฑโ
see
ib
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌฎ๐ฌฐ
๐ฆ๐ฐโ
one
tug
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌง๐ฌต
๐๐ง๐ถโ
CLF
dlev
๐ฌ๐ฌญ๐ฌฐ
๐๐ช๐ณโ
dog
'I saw a (specific) dog.' (indefinite and specific)
kuv
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ
๐๐ง๐ณโ
1SG
pum
๐ฌ๐ฌช๐ฌต
๐๐ง๐ฑโ
see
ob
๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌฎ๐ฌฐ
๐จ๐ฐโ
two
tug
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌง๐ฌต
๐๐ง๐ถโ
CLF
dlev
๐ฌ๐ฌญ๐ฌฐ
๐๐ช๐ณโ
dog
hov
๐ฌ๐ฌถ๐ฌ
๐๐จ๐ณโ
DEM:3
'I saw those two dogs.' (definite and specific)
Moreover, nominal possessive phrases are expressed with a classifier;[26] 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:[27]
nws
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌฌ
๐ ๐ฌ๐ดโ
3SG
rab
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌก
๐๐ค๐ฐโ
CLF
ntaj
๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌฉ๐ฌต
๐๐ค๐ฒโ
sword
'his sword'
kuv
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ
๐๐ง๐ณโ
1SG
txiv
๐ฌ๐ฌถ๐ฌฏ๐ฌต
๐๐ฆ๐ณโ
father
'my father'
Relativization is also expressed with classifiers.[27][28]
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.[29]
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.[30]
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
๐ฌ๐ฌค
๐๐ค๐ฑโ
Thing
zoo
jรดng
๐ฌ๐ฌฅ๐ฌฐ
๐๐ฉโ
best
tshaj
tshax
๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌช๐ฌฐ
๐๐๐ค๐ฒโ
very
plaws,
plฦกฦฐs,
๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌ๐ฌต,
๐ก๐ค๐ฌ๐ดโ,
full,
nej
nรชx
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌฌ
๐ ๐ช๐ฒโ
you
yuav
zuรดr
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌค
๐๐ง๐ค๐ณโ
(plural)
tsum
tsuv
๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฌฐ
๐๐ง๐ฑโ
must
mus,
mus,
๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌฆ,
๐๐ง๐ดโ,
go,
nrhiav,
nriรชz,
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌจ๐ฌฐ,
๐๐๐ฆ๐ค๐ณโ,
seek,
nug,
nuv,
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌฌ,
๐ ๐ง๐ถโ,
ask,
xyuas,
shuรดs,
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌง๐ฌฐ,
๐๐ง๐ค๐ดโ,
examine,
saib
saiz
๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌค๐ฌต
๐๐ค๐ฆ๐ฐโ
look
luag
luรดv
๐ฌ๐ฌถ๐ฌ
๐๐ง๐ค๐ถโ
others
muaj
muรดj
๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌฆ
๐๐ง๐ค๐ฒโ
have
kev
cรชr
๐ฌ
๐๐ช๐ณโ
services
pab
paz
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌช๐ฌต
๐๐ค๐ฐโ
variations
hom
hov
๐ฌ๐ฌ
๐๐จ๐ฑโ
type
dab
ฤaz
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌ๐ฌฐ
๐๐ค๐ฐโ
what
tsi
tsi
๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฌฐ
๐๐ฆโ
around
nyob
nhoz
๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌฎ๐ฌต
๐๐จ๐ฐโ
the
ncig
ndil
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌค๐ฌฐ
๐๐ฆ๐ถโ
area
ib
ib
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌฎ๐ฌฐ
๐ฆ๐ฐโ
at
cheeb
qรชnhz
๐ฌ๐ฌถ๐ฌง
๐๐๐ซ๐ฐโ
you
tsam
tsav
๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฌฐ
๐๐ค๐ฑโ
(plural)
ntawm
ntฦกฦฐv
๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌฉ๐ฌต
๐๐ค๐ฌ๐ฑโ
ย
nej.
nรชx.
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌฌ.
๐ ๐ช๐ฒโ.
ย
'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);
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
๐ฌ๐ฌถ๐ฌฌ ๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌฃ๐ฌต
๐ ๐ค๐ต ๐๐๐จโ
yesterday
kuv
cur
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ
๐๐ง๐ณโ
I
mus
mus
๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌฆ
๐๐ง๐ดโ
go
tom
tov
๐ฌ๐ฌง๐ฌต
๐๐จ๐ฑโ
LOC
khw.
khฦฐ.
๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌฉ๐ฌฐ.
๐๐๐ฌโ.
market
'I went to the market yesterday.'
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
๐ฌ๐ฌถ๐ฌช๐ฌต
๐๐ง๐ฐ๐คโ
they
taab tom
tangz tov
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌง๐ฌต ๐ฌ๐ฌง๐ฌต
๐๐ฅ๐ฐโ ๐๐จ๐ฑโ
PROG
haus
hรขus
๐ฌ ๐ฌฐ๐ฌ
๐๐ค๐ด๐จโ
drink
dlej.
ฤrรชx
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌญ.
๐๐ช๐ฒโ.
water
(Mong Leeg)
ย
ย
ย
ย
'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
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ
๐๐ง๐ณโ
I
noj
nox
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌฌ
๐ ๐จ๐ฒโ
eat
mov
mor
๐ฌ๐ฌถ๐ฌฆ
๐๐จ๐ณโ
rice
lawm.
lฦกฦฐv
๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌ.
๐๐ค๐ฑ๐ฌโ.
PERF
(Leeg and White Hmong)
ย
ย
ย
ย
'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
๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌง๐ฌต
๐๐ง๐ดโ
CLF
tub
๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌง๐ฌต
๐๐ง๐ฐโ
boy
tau
๐ฌง๐ฌต
๐๐ค๐จโ
get
rab
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌก
๐๐ค๐ฐโ
CLF
hneev,
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌฉ,
๐ ๐๐ณ๐ซโ,
crossbow
nws
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌฌ
๐ ๐ฌ๐ดโ
he
thiaj
๐ฌ๐ฌถ๐ฌ๐ฌฐ
๐๐๐ฆ๐ฒ๐คโ
then
mus
๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌฆ
๐๐ง๐ดโ
go
ua si
๐ฌ๐ฌฎ๐ฌฐ ๐ฌ๐ฌค๐ฌต
๐ง๐คโ ๐๐ฆโ
play
lawm.
๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌ.
๐๐ค๐ฑ๐ฌโ.
PFV
(White Hmong)
ย
ย
ย
'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
๐ฌ๐ฌถ๐ฌ
๐๐ค๐ณ๐ฌโ
they
tau
๐ฌง๐ฌต
๐๐ค๐จโ
attain
noj
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌฌ
๐ ๐จ๐ฒโ
eat
nqaij
๐ฌ๐ฌถ๐ฌฌ๐ฌฐ
๐๐ค๐ฒ๐ฆโ
meat
nyug.
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌฎ๐ฌต.
๐๐ง๐ตโ.
beef
(White Hmong)
ย
ย
ย
'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
๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฌฐ
๐๐๐ค๐ฑ๐จโ
when
txog
๐ฌ๐ฌฏ๐ฌต
๐๐จ๐ตโ
arrive
peb
๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌช๐ฌต
๐๐ช๐ฐโ
New
caug
๐ฌ ๐ฌฒ๐ฌฏ
๐๐ค๐ต๐จโ
Year
lawm
๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌ
๐๐ค๐ฑ๐ฌโ
PFV
sawv daws
๐ฌ๐ฌถ๐ฌค๐ฌต ๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌ๐ฌฐ
๐๐ค๐ณ๐ฌโ ๐๐ค๐ด๐ฌโ
everybody
thiaj
๐ฌ๐ฌถ๐ฌ๐ฌฐ
๐๐๐ฆ๐ฒ๐คโ
then
tau
๐ฌง๐ฌต
๐๐ค๐จโ
attain
hnav
๐ฌ๐ฌฉ
๐ ๐๐ณ๐คโ
wear
khaub ncaws
๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌฉ๐ฌฐ ๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌค๐ฌฐ
๐๐๐ค๐ฐ๐จโ ๐๐ค๐ด๐ฌโ
clothes
tshiab.
๐ฌ๐ฌช๐ฌฐ.
๐๐๐ฆ๐ฐ๐คโ.
new
(White Hmong)
ย
ย
ย
'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
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ
๐๐ง๐ณโ
I
xaav
๐ฌ๐ฌฎ
๐๐ฅ๐ณโ
think
xaav
๐ฌ๐ฌฎ
๐๐ฅ๐ณโ
think
ib plag,
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌฎ๐ฌฐ ๐ฌ๐ฌถ๐ฌ๐ฌต,
๐ฆ๐ฐโ ๐ก๐ค๐ตโ,
awhile,
kuv
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ
๐๐ง๐ณโ
I
xaav
๐ฌ๐ฌฎ
๐๐ฅ๐ณโ
think
tau
๐ฌง๐ฌต
๐๐ค๐จโ
get
tswv yim.
๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฌฐ ๐ฌ๐ฌค.
๐๐ฌ๐ณโ ๐๐ฆ๐ฑโ.
idea
(Mong Leeg)
ย
ย
ย
'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.
Future: yuav + verb:
Kuv
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ
๐๐ง๐ณโ
yuav
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌค
๐๐ง๐ณ๐คโ
moog.
๐ฌ๐ฌถ๐ฌฆ.
๐๐ฉ๐ตโ.
(Mong Leeg)
ย
ย
'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
๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌง๐ฌต
๐๐ง๐ดโ
CLF
Tsov
๐ฌ๐ฌถ๐ฌ๐ฌฐ
๐๐จ๐ณโ
Tiger
hais tias,
๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌง๐ฌต,
๐๐ค๐ด๐ฆโ ๐๐ฆ๐ด๐คโ,
say,
"Kuv
"๐ฌ๐ฌฒ
"๐๐ง๐ณโ
I
tshaib
๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌช๐ฌฐ
๐๐๐ค๐ฐ๐ฆโ
hungry
tshaib
๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌช๐ฌฐ
๐๐๐ค๐ฐ๐ฆโ
hungry
plab
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌ๐ฌต
๐ก๐ค๐ฐโ
stomach
li
๐ฌ๐ฌ
๐๐ฆโ
INT
kuv
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ
๐๐ง๐ณโ
I
yuav
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌค
๐๐ง๐ณ๐คโ
IRR
noj
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌฌ
๐ ๐จ๐ฒโ
eat
koj".
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ."
๐๐จ๐ฒโ".
you
(from a White Hmong folk tale)
ย
ย
ย
'The Tiger said, "I'm very hungry and I'm going to eat you.'
Tus
๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌง๐ฌต
๐๐ง๐ดโ
CLF
Qav
๐ฌ๐ฌฆ๐ฌต
๐๐ค๐ณโ
Frog
tsis
๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌ๐ฌฐ
๐๐ฆ๐ดโ
NEG
paub
๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌช๐ฌต
๐๐ค๐ฐ๐จโ
know
yuav
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌค
๐๐ง๐ณ๐คโ
IRR
ua
๐ฌ๐ฌฎ๐ฌฐ
๐ง๐คโ
do
li
๐ฌ๐ฌ
๐๐ฆโ
ย
cas
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌฏ
๐๐ค๐ดโ
what
li.
๐ฌ๐ฌ.
๐๐ฆโ.
INT
'The frog didn't know what to do.'
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:
๐ฌ๐ฌ Liab [red]
๐ฌ๐ฌถ๐ฌ Ntsuab [green]
๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฌฐ ๐ฌ๐ฌฎTsam xem [purple]
๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌ๐ฌฐDub [black]
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌฎXiav [blue]
๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฌฐDawb [white]
๐ฌ๐ฌฎ๐ฌฐ / ๐ฌ๐ฌฒ ๐ฌ๐ฌฒ๐ฌ๐ฌตAv / Kas fes [brown]
๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌ๐ฌฐDaj [yellow]
๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌฆ๐ฌฐTxho [grey]
๐ฌ๐ฌฒ ๐ฌ๐ฌข๐ฌฐKab ntxwv [orange]
๐ฌ๐ฌฐ๐ฌช๐ฌต ๐ฌ๐ฌถ๐ฌคPaj yeeb [pink]
The number 57023 would be written as ๐ญ๐ญ๐ญ๐ญ๐ญ.
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.
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 5 November 1975.[31]
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.[32]
In February 2012, Microsoft released "Hmong Daw" as an option in Bing Translator.[33] In May 2013, Google Translate introduced support for Hmong Daw (referred to only as Hmong).[34]
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.[35]
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:[36][37][38]
The 2008 film Gran Torino by Clint Eastwood features a large American Hmong speaking cast.[39][40] 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.[41] 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.[42][43]
The following films feature the Hmong language: