Myeik dialect

Myeik
Mergui, Merguese
Region Southeast
Native speakers
250,000 (1997)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3
Glottolog merg1238[2]

The Myeik dialect, also known as Beik in Burmese, Mergui and Merguese in English, and Marit (มะริด) in Thai, is a divergent dialect of Burmese, spoken in Myeik, the second largest town in Tanintharyi Region, the southernmost region of Burma.[3] Myeik shares many commonalities with the Tavoyan dialect, although there are substantial differences especially with regard to phonology.[3]

Phonology

Consonants

Myeik possesses 27 consonant phonemes:[4]

Bilabial Dental Alveolar Postalveolar
and palatal
Velar and
labiovelar
Glottal Placeless
Plosive and affricate p b t d tɕʰ k ɡ ʔ  
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ   t
Fricative   s z   h ɦ  
Approximant   j w  
Lateral   l  

Unlike Standard Burmese, the Myeik dialect does not have any preaspirated consonants.[5] Phonemes unique to the Myeik dialect include /ɦ/ and /t̪/.[5]

Vowels

The Myeik dialect has three types of vowels: plain, nasalized and glottalized, with each type having seven vowels.[6]

Monophthongs Diphthongs
Front Back Front offglide Back offglide
Close i u
Close-mid e o ei ou
Open-mid ɛ ɔ
Open ɡ ai au

Notes

  1. Burmese at Ethnologue (16th ed., 2009)
  2. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian, eds. (2016). "Merguese". Glottolog 2.7. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  3. 1 2 Kato 2012, p. 118.
  4. Kato 2012, p. 119.
  5. 1 2 Kato 2012, p. 120.
  6. Kato 2012, p. 121.

References

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