| Population |
258,000 in Myanmar (2000). Population total all countries: 272,000. |
| Region |
Southern Shan state area near Kalaw. 10,000 square mile area. In Kyawkme area in the northern Shan state. Lashio up to the China border. East of Lashio to the Salween. Some villages east of Salween River in Kokaing area. Also in China, Thailand. |
| Alternate names |
Di-Ang, Ngwe Palaung, Silver Palaung, Pale, Palay, Da’ang |
| Dialects |
Rulai dialect near Lashio, regular phonological changes and some lexical difference from Ruching. |
| Classification |
Austro-Asiatic, Mon-Khmer, Northern Mon-Khmer, Palaungic, Western Palaungic, Palaung |
| Language use |
Vigorous. Home, village, market, religion. All ages. Positive. Also use Shan [shn], Burmese [mya], Thai [tha], Tai Lue [khb]. |
| Language development |
Literacy rate in L1: Below 1%. Literacy rate in L2: Below 5%. Grammar. |
| Writing system |
Myanmar (Burmese) script. |
| Comments |
Kalaw dialect tends toward loss of final consonants, could be moving to develop tones. Tense vowels change into glides with a palatal final in the Pale variety. SVO. Peasant agriculturalists. Buddhist. |
| Language name |
Palaung, Pale |
| Population |
9,000 in China (2000). |
| Region |
West Yunnan, Dehong Prefecture, Luxi County, east of Rumai. |
| Language map |
Southwestern China
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| Alternate names |
Bulai, Bulei, Dlang, Ngwe Palaung, Palay, Pale, Pulei, Silver Palaung, Southern Ta’ang |
| Dialects |
Bulei, Raojin. |
| Language use |
Vigorous. 50% of the De’ang nationality speak Pale. Some speakers of other languages use it as L2. All domains. All ages. Some also use Lü [khb], Jingpho [kac], or Mandarin Chinese [cmn]. |
| Language development |
Literacy rate in L1: 79%. |
| Comments |
Classified as De’ang nationality. Agriculturalists; weavers; metal workers; potters; construction workers. Buddhist (Hinayana). |
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