Dong, Southern

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A language of China

ISO 639-3
kmc
Alternate Names
Gam, Kam, Tong, Tung, Tung-Chia
Population

1,000,000.

Location

Area where west Hunan Province and north Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region meet, southeast Guizhou (Yuping autonomous county); Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, 20 contiguous counties.

Language Maps
Language Status

6a (Vigorous).

Classification
Tai-Kadai, Kam-Tai, Kam-Sui
Dialects

Similar to Mulam [mlm]. Lexical similarity: 93% with Southern Dong dialects, 71% with Northern Dong [doc], 46% with Lakkia [lbc], 29% with Qabiao [laq], 26% with Hlai [lic], 24% with Gelao, 22% with Lachi [lbt], 6% with Hmong Njua [hnj], 4% with Iu Mien [ium].

Typology

Tonal, 9 tones

Language Use

All domains. All ages. Neutral attitudes. Northern Dong [doc] users are more bilingual than Southern Dong [kmc]. Use Mandarin [cmn] for literature.

Language Development
Poetry. Magazines. New media. Films. TV. Videos. Dictionary. Grammar. NT: 2006.
Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Dong, Southern
Writing
Latin script.
Other Comments

Officially classified within Dong nationality. Ethnic autonym: Kam; Dong is Chinese name. Traditional way of life relatively undisturbed. Traditional religion.