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Kim Mun
Native to	China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand
Native speakers	(ca. 400,000 cited 1995–1999)
Language family	Hmong–Mien Mienic Mian–Jin Kim Mun
Official status
Official language in	China (Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County)
Language codes
ISO 639-3	mji
Glottolog	kimm1245

Kim Mun (Chinese: 金門方言; also Lanten or Landian 蓝靛) is a Mienic language spoken by 200,000 of the Yao people in the Chinese provinces of Guangxi, Hunan and Yunnan, with about 61,000 of the speakers in Hainan Province. There are also speakers in Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand.

Iu Mien and Kim Mun are similar to each other, having a lexical similarity percentage of 78%.

Distribution

In China, Kim Mun is spoken in the following counties (Mao 2004:304-305).

• Yunnan: Hekou, Malipo, Maguan, Xichou, Qiubei, Guangnan, Funing, Yanshan, Shizong, Jiangcheng, Mojiang, Yuanyang, Jinping, Lüchun, Mengla, Jinghong
• Guangxi: Xilin, Lingyun, Napo, Tianlin, Fengshan, Bama, Lipu, Pingle, Mengshan, Jinxiu, Yongfu, Luzhai, Fangcheng, Shangsi
• Hainan: Qiongzhong, Baoting, Qionghai, Tunchang, Ledong, Wanning, Sanya. In Hainan, Kim Mun speakers are officially classified by the Chinese government as ethnic Miao, rather than Yao.

Ethnologue lists several counties in Vietnam where Kim Mun is spoken. Van Ban district of Lao Cai province is one of the primary areas where Kim Mun is spoken in Vietnam. In Vietnam, Dao people belonging to the Quần Trắng, Thanh Y, and Áo Dài subgroups speak Kim Mun. Kim Mun speakers are also scattered across northern Laos.

Daniel Arisawa has performed fieldwork with an isolated speaker of Kim Mun (originally from Laos) in Lampang province, northern Thailand (along the border of Mae Mo district and Ngao district).

Phonology

Consonants

• Lateral-released sounds are also present as /pˡ, bˡ, kˡ, ɡˡ/.
• Sounds /b, d, ȡ/ are more stiff-voiced in free variation.
• Sounds /p, t, k/ are heard as unreleased in word-final position.

Vowels

• /ɐ/ is heard as in the Laos dialects of Kim Mun.
• /i, u/ can be heard as when in closed syllables.
• /o/ may be labialized as in word-final position.
• /e/ may have a palatal off-glide as in word-final syllables.
• /ɔ/ when before a velar consonant can be heard as a diphthong .
• /o, ɔ/ may also be heard as lowered in free variation in the Laos dialects.

Notes

1. ^ Kim Mun at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
2. 毛宗武, 李云兵 / Mao Zongwu, Li Yunbing. 1997. 巴哼语研究 / Baheng yu yan jiu (A Study of Baheng ). Shanghai: 上海远东出版社 / Shanghai yuan dong chu ban she.
3. Phan Hữu Dật & Hoàng Hoa Toàn. 1998. "Về vấn đề xác minh tên gọi và phân loại các ngành Dao Tuyên Quang." In Phan Hữu Dật (ed). Một số vấn đề về dân tộc học Việt Nam, p.483-567. Hà Nội: Nhà xuất bản Đại Học Quốc Gia Hà Nội.
4. Arisawa, Daniel. 2023. A preliminary phonological analysis of the dislocated Kim Mun in Lampang, Thailand. Chiang Mai: SEALS 32 conference presentation.
5. Clark (2008)
6. Tadahiko (2008)

References

• Clark, Eddie. (2008). A phonological analysis and comparison of two Kim Mun varieties in Laos and Vietnam (Master's thesis) Archived 2020-05-01 at the Wayback Machine. Payap University.
• Phạm Văn Duy. 2014. Văn hóa dân gian Kinh Môn. Hanoi: Nhà xuất bản văn hóa thông tin. ISBN 978-604-50-1486-8
• Phan Hữu Dật & Hoàng Hoa Toàn. 1998. "Về vấn đề xác minh tên gọi và phân loại các ngành Dao Tuyên Quang." In Phan Hữu Dật (ed). Một số vấn đề về dân tộc học Việt Nam, p.483-567. Hà Nội: Nhà xuất bản Đại Học Quốc Gia Hà Nội.
• Shintani Tadahiko. 1990. The Mun language of Hainan Island: its classified lexicon . Tokyo: ILCAA.
• Shintani Tadahiko. 2008. The Mun language of Funing County: its classified lexicon. Tokyo: ILCAA.

External links

• Asia Harvest. (n.d.) "People Group Profiles: Kim Mun" Archived 2021-04-14 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 12 June 2019.

• Mienic languages
• Languages of Guangxi
• Languages of Yunnan
• Languages of Hainan
• Languages of Vietnam
• Languages of Laos
• Languages of Thailand