Ta'Oi language
# Ta'Oi language

Ta'Oi (Ta'Oih, Ta Oi) is a Katuic dialect chain of Salavan and Sekong provinces in Laos, and in Thừa Thiên-Huế province in Vietnam (Sidwell 2005:12).

## Varieties

Sidwell (2005) lists the following varieties of Ta'Oi, which is a name applied to speakers of various related dialects.

* Ta'Oi proper
* Ong/Ir/Talan
* Chatong is spoken about 50 to 100 km northeast of Sekong. It has been recorded only by Theraphan L-Thongkum.
* Kriang (Ngkriang, Ngeq) is spoken by up to 4,000 people living in villages between Tatheng and Sekong, such as Ban Chakamngai.
* Kataang (Katang) is a dialect that has been documented by Michel Ferlus, Gerard Diffloth, and other linguists. It is not to be confused with the Bru dialect of Katang.

## Phonology

### Consonants

| | | Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Nasal | Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |
| Plosive | voiceless | p | t | c | k | ʔ |
| Plosive | voiced | b | d | ɟ | ɡ | ʔ |
| Fricative | Fricative | | s | | | h |
| Rhotic | Rhotic | | r | | | |
| Approximant | Approximant | w | l | j | | |

* There are also creaky syllable-final segments /mʔ, nʔ, ŋʔ, wʔ, lʔ, jʔ/, however; they are not noted as a distinct series.
* /ɟ/ may also be heard as a preglottal sound [ʔj].

### Vowels

| | Front | Central | Back |
| - | - | - | - |
| Close | i iː | ɨ ɨː | u uː |
| Mid | e eː | ə əː | o oː |
| Open | ɛ ɛː | a aː | ɔ ɔː |

Diphthongs :

| | Front | Central | Back |
| - | - | - | - |
| Close | ia | ɨa | ua |
