# Bru language

Bruu (also spelled Bru, B'ru, Baru, Brou) is a Mon–Khmer dialect continuum spoken by the Bru people of mainland Southeast Asia. Sô and Khua are dialects.

## Names

There are various local and dialect designations for Bru (Sidwell 2005:11).
* So ~ Sô
* Tri (So Tri, Chali)
* Van Kieu
* Leu ~ Leung (Kaleu)
* Galler
* Khua
* Katang (not the same as Kataang)

## Distribution

The distribution of the Bru language spreads north and northeast from Salavan, Laos, through Savannakhet, Khammouane, and Bolikhamsai, and over into neighboring Thailand and Vietnam (Sidwell 2005:11). In Vietnam, Brâu (Braò) is spoken in Đắk Mế, Bờ Y commune, Đắk Tô District, Kon Tum Province.

## Dialects

Thailand has the following Western Bru dialects (Choo, et al. 2012).
* Bru Khok Sa-at of Phang Khon District and Phanna Nikhom District, Sakon Nakhon Province
* Bru Woen Buek of Woen Buek (Wyn Buek), Ubon Ratchathani Province (more similar to Katang)
* Bru Dong Luang of Dong Luang District, Mukdahan Province
The following Bru subgroups are found in Quảng Bình Province (Phan 1998).
* Vân Kiêu: 5,500 persons in Lệ Thủy District and Vĩnh Linh District (in Quảng Trị Province)
* Măng Coong: 600 persons in Bố Trạch District
* Tri: 300 persons in Bố Trạch District
* Khùa: 1,000 persons in Tuyên Hóa District
Below is a comparative vocabulary of Vân Kiêu, Măng Coong, Tri, and Khùa from Phan (1998:479-480), with words transcribed in Vietnamese orthography.
| Gloss | Vân Kiêu | Măng Coong | Tri | Khùa | Vietnamese |
| one | mui | muôi | muôi | muôi | một |
| two | bar | bar | bar | bar | hai |
| three | pei | pei | pei | pei | ba |
| four | pon | pon | pon | pon | bốn |
| five | shăng | shăng | t'shăng | t'shăng | năm |
| hair | sok | sok | sok | sok | tóc |
| eye | mat | mat | mat | mat | mắt |
| nose | lyu | mu | mu | mu | mũi |
| sky | plang | plang | plang | giang | trời |
| ground | kute | katek | katek | k'tek | đất |
| water | dơ | dơ | dơ | do | nước |
| fish | sia | sia | sia | sia | cá |
| bird | cham | cham | cham | cham | chim |
| water buffalo | trick | trick | trick | trick | trâu |
| cattle | ntro | tro | tro | tro | bò |

## Phonology
### Consonants

The consonant sounds in both East and West dialects consist of the following:
| | | Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
| Plosive/ Affricate | voiceless | p | t | tɕ | k | ʔ |
| Plosive/ Affricate | aspirated | pʰ | tʰ | | kʰ | |
| Plosive/ Affricate | voiced | b | d | | | |
| Nasal | Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |
| Liquid | rhotic | | r | | | |
| Liquid | lateral | | l | | | |
| Fricative | Fricative | w | s | | | h |
| Approximant | Approximant | w | | j | | |
* /w/ is typically pronounced as labiodental fricative [v] or approximant [ʋ] when occurring in initial position. In final position, it is always heard as [w].
* /r/ can be heard as either a trill [r] or a tap [ɾ].
* /tʰr/ as a consonant cluster, can be phonetically heard as [tʰɹ̥] in the Western dialect.
* /h/ can also be heard as a voiced glottal [ɦ] when a preceding a breathy vowel sound in the Western Bru dialects. It can also be heard as nasal [h̃] when preceding a nasal vowel in the Western dialects.
Final consonants :
| | | Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
| Plosive | Plosive | p | t | | k | ʔ |
| Nasal | Nasal | m | n | | ŋ | |
| Fricative | Fricative | | | | | h |
| Rhotic | Rhotic | | r | | | |
| Approximant | plain | w | l | j | | |
| Approximant | aspirated | wʰ | | jʰ | | |
| Approximant | glottalized | wˀ | | jˀ | | |
* Plosive sounds /p, t, k/ in final position are heard as unreleased [p̚, t̚, k̚].

### Vowels

| | Front | Central | Central | Back |
| Close | i iː | ɨ ɨː | ɨ ɨː | u uː |
| Close-mid | e eː | ə əː | ə əː | o oː |
| Open-mid | ɛ ɛː | ɜ ɜː | ɜ ɜː | ɔ ɔː |
| Open | | a aː | ɒ̈ ɒ̈ː | |
Vowels in the Western Bru dialect :
| | Front | Central | Central | Back | Back |
| Close | i iː | | | ɯ ɯː | u uː |
| Close-mid | e eː | | | ɤ ɤː | o oː |
| Open-mid | ɛ ɛː | | | ʌ ʌː | ɔ ɔː |
| Open | | a aː | ɒ̈ ɒ̈ː | | |

#### Breathy vowels

Vowel sounds may also be distinguished using breathy voice:
Breathy vowels :
| | Front | Central | Central | Back |
| Close | i̤ i̤ː | ɨ̤ ɨ̤ː | ɨ̤ ɨ̤ː | ṳ ṳː |
| Close-mid | e̤ e̤ː | ə̤ ə̤ː | ə̤ ə̤ː | o̤ o̤ː |
| Open-mid | ɛ̤ ɛ̤ː | ɜ̤ ɜ̤ː | ɜ̤ ɜ̤ː | ɔ̤ ɔ̤ː |
| Open | | a̤ a̤ː | ɒ̤̈ ɒ̤̈ː | |
Breathy vowels in the Western Bru dialect :
| | Front | Central | Central | Back | Back |
| Close | i̤ i̤ː | | | ɯ̤ ɯ̤ː | ṳ ṳː |
| Close-mid | e̤ e̤ː | | | ɤ̤ ɤ̤ː | o̤ o̤ː |
| Open-mid | ɛ̤ ɛ̤ː | | | ʌ̤ ʌ̤ː | ɔ̤ ɔ̤ː |
| Open | | a̤ a̤ː | ɒ̤̈ ɒ̤̈ː | | |

#### Nasal vowels

Nasal vowel sounds may occur in the Western Bru dialect:
Nasal vowels in the Western Bru dialect :
| | Front | Central | Central | Back | Back |
| Close | ĩː | | | ɯ̃ | ũ ũː |
| Open-mid | ɛ̃ ɛ̃ː | | | ʌ̃ː | ɔ̃ ɔ̃ː |
| Open | | ã ãː | ɒ̈̃ ɒ̈̃ː | | |