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Mulam
Native to	China
Region	Luocheng County, Hechi, Northern Guangxi
Ethnicity	210,000 (2000 census)
Native speakers	86,000 (2005) < 10,000 monolinguals
Language family	Kra–Dai Kam–Sui Mulam
Language codes
ISO 639-3	mlm
Glottolog	mula1253
ELP	Mulam
Mulam is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

The Mulam language (Chinese: 仫佬; pinyin: Mùlǎo) is a Kam–Sui language spoken mainly in Luocheng County, Hechi, Northern Guangxi by the Mulao people. The greatest concentrations are in Dongmen and Siba communes. Their autonym is mu6 lam1. The Mulam also call themselves kjam1, which is probably cognate with lam1 and the Dong people's autonym "Kam" (Wang & Zheng 1980).

Phonology

The Mulam language, like Dong, does not have voiced stop, but does have a phonemic distinction between unvoiced and voiced nasals and laterals. It has a system of eleven distinct vowels. It is a tonal language with ten tones, and 65% of its vocabulary is shared with the Zhuang and Dong languages.

Dialects

The following Mulam dialects are listed in Wang & Zheng (1980) (all of which are spoken in Luocheng Mulao Autonomous County).

• Dongmen 东门镇 (in Dayin 大银, Dafu 大福村, Le'e 勒俄村 etc.); documented in detail by Wang & Zheng (1980)
• Long'an 龙岸镇 (in Liangsi 良泗, etc.)
• Huangjin 黄金镇 (in Zhongjian 中间寨, etc.); documented in Qiu (2004)
• Qiaotou 桥头镇 (in Dongnong 洞弄屯, etc.)
• Siba 四把镇 (in Dawu 大梧, Miao'er 苗儿屯, Shuangzhai 双寨村, etc.); documented in Guangxi (2008)
• Xiali 下里乡 (in Xiecun 谢村, etc.)

The following comparison of Mulam dialects is from Ni Dabai (2010:221-222).

References

1. ^ Mulam at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
2. ^ See Proto-Tai language#Tones for an explanation of the tone codes.
3. Qiu Jing . 2004. Huangjinzhen Mulaoyu gaikuang . Minzu Yuwen 民族语文 2004(4).
4. Guangxi Minority Languages Orthography Committee. 2008. Vocabularies of Guangxi ethnic languages . Beijing: Nationalities Publishing House .
5. Ni Dabai . 2010. 侗台语概论 . Beijing: Ethnic Publishing House . ISBN 978-7-105-10582-3

Further reading

• Edmondson, Jerold A. and David B. Solnit, eds. Comparative Kadai: Linguistic studies beyond Tai. Summer Institute of Linguistics Publications in Linguistics, 86. Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics and the University of Texas at Arlington, 1988.
• 王均, 郑国乔 / Wang Jun, Zheng Guoqiao. 仫佬语简志 / Mulao yu jian zhi (A Sketch of Mulao ). Beijing: 民族出版社: 新華書店发行 / Min zu chu ban she: Xin hua shu dian fa xing, 1980.
• Zheng, G. 1988. The influences of Han on the Mulam language. In Edmondson, Jerold, A (ed). Comparative Kadai: Linguistic Studies Beyond Tai. SIL International Publications in Linguistics.
• Thurgood, G. Tai-Kadai and Austronesian: The Nature of the Historical Relationship University of Hawaiʼi Press. Oceanic Linguistics. 1962–2012.
• "The Mulam Ethnic Group." MSD China. Web. 1 May 2016.

External links

• Mulam (Dongmen) word list from the Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database
• Mulam (Siba) word list from the Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database
• The Endangered Languages Project
• An audio sample of the Mulam language can be listened through Global Recordings Network.
• Mulam Phonology
• Mulam Ethnic Group

• Languages of Guangxi
• Kam–Sui languages