# Mày language

Mày is a Vietic language spoken by the May people of Minh Hóa district, Quảng Bình province, Central Vietnam. It is a member of the Cheut language cluster, which belongs to the Vietic branch of the Austroasiatic family. With only several hundred speakers, May is a critically endangered language, with only about half of the estimated ethnic population of 1,228 people able to speak the language.

## Distribution

May is spoken in the villages of Ca Oóc, Bai Dinh, and Cha Lo. The villages are located in Minh Hóa district, Quang Binh province (in the communities or xã of Dân Hóa (formerly Trung Hóa), Thượng Hóa, Hóa Tiến, and Hóa Thanh). Dân Hóa is the only monolingual May village, while the others are mixed with various other ethnic groups.

## Phonology

May phonology preserves many archaic features. Syllable structure is sesquisyllabic. Unique phonological characteristics in May include the coda -ɽ, derived from proto-Vietic *-s, which stands behind a consonant nucleus, in contrast to final -l/-h/-i̯ found in most other Vietic languages.
May Consonants (Babaev & Samarina 2021):
Consonants :
| | | Bilabial | Alveolar | Retroflex | Alveopalatal | Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
| Nasal | Nasal | m | n | | | ɲ | ŋ | |
| Lateral | Lateral | | l | | | | | |
| semi-vowel | semi-vowel | | | | | i̯~i̯̥ | u̯ | |
| Trilled/Flap | Trilled/Flap | | | ɽ | | | | |
| Occlusive | plain | p | t | ʈ | | c | k | ʔ |
| Occlusive | aspirated | pʰ | tʰ | | | | kʰ | |
| Implosive | Implosive | ɓ | ɗ | | | ʄ | | |
| Fricative | voiceless | | | ʂ | ɕ | | | h |
| Fricative | voiced | β | | | ʑ | | ɣ | |
May vowels (Babaev & Samarina 2021):
Vowels :
| | | Front | Central | Back |
| Close | long | i | ɯ | u |
| Close | short | ǐ | ɯ̌ | ǔ |
| Close-mid | long | e | ɤ | o |
| Close-mid | short | ě | ɤ̌ | ǒ |
| Middle | long | ɛ | | ɔ |
| Middle | short | ɛ̌ | | ɔ̌ |
| Open | long | | a | |
| Open | short | | ǎ | |
| Diphthongs | Diphthongs | [ie] | [ɯɤ] | [uo] |
In "di-syllables" or sesquisyllables, the accent is rising; the first syllable/mora is a minor one and has its vowel length reduced while the second syllable is always the strong and stressed syllable.
May prosodic bi-syllable words and Vietnamese correspondences :
| gloss | May | (orthographic) Vietnamese | (IPA) Vietnamese |
| Nouns ||||
| deer | kaɗi1 | nai | nai̯1 |
| chicken | taka1 | gà | ɣa2 |
| sunlight | kaɽaŋ1 | nắng | năŋ5 |
| farbic | kupal3 | vải | vai̯3 |
| sickle | muɽa̤4 | rựa | zɯɤ6 |
| bitter melon | muɽaʔ3 | mướp | mɨəp5 |
| yeast | tama̤4 | – | – |
| ancient time | tane1 | – | – |
| king | tapuo1 | vua | vuɤ1 |
| Transitive verbs ||||
| to lead/guide | haʑɛt3 | dắt | zăt5 |
| to owe | panɯ4 | nợ | nɤ6 |
| to put | patɤ̆t4 | đặt | ɗăt6 |
| to pickle, marinate | taɓɔi̯3 | muối | muɤi̯5 |
| to lull | kaɽu1 | ru | zu1 |
| Intransitive verbs ||||
| to dance | kumɤ3 | múa | muɤ5 |
| to rise | paleŋ1 | lên | len1 |
| to cross | paŋaŋ1 | ngang | ŋaŋ1 |

## Morphology
### Pronouns

May pronouns often have shorter forms without ʔa. They are syntactically distinct. The full forms occupy the Subject/Agent role in transitive verb phrase that is located at the absolute beginning of the phrase and the direct object role after a transitive verb. The shorter forms are used to denote possessive constructions and pronominal dative/benefactive objects.
Personal pronouns :
| | | Singular | Dual | Dual | Plural | General |
| | | Singular | Exclusive | Inclusive | Exclusive | Inclusive |
| 1st person | 1st person | [ʔa]ho | [ʔa]ɲal | [ʔa]tɛ | [ta]pa, tupa | [ʔa]meŋ, [ʔa]miŋ |
| 2nd person | 2nd person | [ʔa]mi | [ʔa]mal | [ʔa]mal | pani | |
| 3rd person | 3rd person | [ʔa]hăn | [ʔa]ɽɛ̤m | [ʔa]ɽɛ̤m | [ʔa]pa | |

### Word derivation and syntactic functions

May has a limited inventory of affixes and clitics. Some morpheme clitics may host multiple functions that could only be distinguished by context.
* Transitivizing pa-
* Nominalizing pV-, ʔa-, ʔu-, -Vn-, kV-, tV-, cV-
* Stativizing ta-
* Pluralizing pa=
* Singular mu=, m̤=, ma=
* Dative-Oblique pa=
* Negation ku=
* Imperative/Causative ci=

## Syntax

As an isolating language, May can only utilize word order and particles. The use of clitics and affixes is generally limited and does not undermine the analytical grammar structure. The basic word order of May is SVO. The basic word order in a verbal clause is S-V-P-OBL. Depending on speeches, the word order may undergo ellipsis in cases that the speech is comprehensive enough to the listener.
Pu$^1$
grandfather
ho$^1$
1SG
[k]acit$^3$
to.kill
klu$^1$
buffalo
Pu1 ho1 [k]acit3 klu1
grandfather 1SG to.kill buffalo
"My grandfather killed buffalo."
Pʰaʝ
must
li
take
cɤ
BEN
pa=ho
OBL=1SG
hal
two
poŋ
CLF
päɽ
flower
ʔaliŋ
top
kɤ̌i
tree
heh
DIST
Pʰaʝ li cɤ pa=ho hal poŋ päɽ ʔaliŋ kɤ̌i heh
must take BEN OBL=1SG two CLF flower top tree DIST
"Pick for me two flowers from that tree."