# Yoy language

Yoy is a Tai language of Thailand and Laos. The Yoy language is now in the critical endangered state due to a rapid language shift, which may eventually lead to complete language loss.

## Phonology

The phonology of Yoy, according to Phakkahn (2017).

### Consonants

| | | Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
| Nasal | Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |
| Stop | Voiceless | p | t | | k | ʔ |
| Stop | Aspirated | pʰ | tʰ | | kʰ | ʔ |
| Stop | Voiced | b | d | | | ʔ |
| Affricate | Affricate | | | tɕ | | |
| Fricative | Fricative | | s | | | h |
| Approximant | Approximant | w | l | j | | |
Only /p t k ʔ m n ŋ j w/ occur in word-final position. Yoy also has six initial consonant clusters which are /tw-/, /kw-/, /kʰw-/, /sw-/, /hw-/, and /bw-/.
Some words show alternate pronunciations between the initial syllable consonants:
    /jaːk⁵/ ~ /ɲaːk⁵/ to want
    /jaːw²/ ~ /ɲaːw²/ long
    /joːj⁴/ ~ /ɲoːj⁴/ Yoy

### Vowels

| | | Front | Central | Back | Back |
| | | Front | Central | unr. | rnd. |
| Diphthongs | Diphthongs | ia | aɯ | ɯa | ua |
| Monophthongs | Close | i, iː | | ɯ, ɯː | u, uː |
| Monophthongs | Close-mid | e, eː | | ɤ, ɤː | o, oː |
| Monophthongs | Open-mid | æ, æː | | | ɔ, ɔː |
| Monophthongs | Open | | a, aː | | |
Yoy has two different phonemic vowel lengths. There are nine short vowels and nine long vowels. In the word-final open syllables, there is no contrast between short and long vowels, but in closed syllables and non-final open syllables, short and long vowels are distinctive.

### Tones

Yoy has five phonologically distinctive tones in non-checked syllables. Checked syllables in Yoy can carry only tone 1 (mid-leveled tone), tone 2 (high-rising tone), and tone 5 (low-falling creaky).

## Vocabulary
### Numerals

| English | Yoy |
| one | nɯŋ¹ |
| two | sɔːŋ³ |
| three | saːm³ |
| four | siː⁵ |
| five | haː⁵ |
| six | hok² |
| seven | tɕet² |
| eight | pæːt⁵ |
| nine | kaw¹ |
| ten | sip² |
| hundred | hoːj⁴ |
| thousand | pʰan² |

### Verbs

| English | Yoy |
| to go | paj³ |
| to open | pɤːt⁵ |
| to dream | pʰan³ |
| to fall | tok² |
| to wash (clothes) | top² |
| to die | taj³ |
| to wait | tʰaː⁵ |
| to bite | kat² |
| to ask | tʰaːm³ |
| to think | kʰɯt⁴ |
| to throw | kʰwæŋ⁵ |
| to smell | dom³ |
| to burn | ʔuːt⁵ |
| to sit | mep⁵ |
| to like | mak⁵ |
| to smile | ɲiːm⁴ |
| to want | ɲaːk⁵ |
| to eat | kin² |
| to do | het¹ |
| to teach | sɔːn³ |
| to run | læn⁴ |
| to play | lin⁵ |

### Nouns

| English | Yoy |
| eye | taː³ |
| sun | ta¹ wen² |
| sky | tʰɔŋ⁴ pʰaː⁵ |
| milk | tu² |
| skin | kʰiːŋ² |
| fire | pʰaj² |
| mountain | pʰu¹ kʰaw³ |
| fish | paː³ |
| wood | pæn⁴ |
| tree | kok¹ maj¹ |
| tooth | kʰæːw⁵ |
| leg | kʰaː³ |
| chin | kʰaːŋ² |
| egg | kʰaj² |
| people | kʰon² |
| rice | kʰaːw⁵ |
| leaf | baɯʔ³ |
| soil | din³ |
| water | naːm⁴ |
| cloud | mek¹ |
| dog | maː³ |
| bird | nok⁵ |
| blood | lɯat¹ |

### Adjectives

| English | Yoy |
| far | kaj³ |
| near, short (distance) | kaɯ⁴ |
| old | kaw¹ |
| new | maj⁵ |
| good | diː³ |
| fat | pʰiː² |
| beautiful | tɕop² |
| red | dæŋ³ |
| black | dam³ |
| white | kʰaːw⁵ |
| soft | ʔon⁵ |
| stupid | pɯk² |
| wet | ʔɯn³ |
| dry | hæŋ⁵ |
| big | ɲaɯ² |
| few | noj⁵ |