| Myeik | |
|---|---|
| Mergui, Merguiese | |
| Region | Southeast |
| Native speakers | (250,000 cited 1997) |
| Language family | Sino-Tibetan |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | merg1238 |
The Myeik dialect, also known as Beik in Burmese, Mergui and Merguiese in English, and Marit (มะริด) in Thai, is a divergent dialect of Burmese, spoken in Myeik, the second largest town in Tanintharyi Region, the southernmost region of Myanmar. Beik shares many commonalities with the Tavoyan dialect, although there are substantial differences especially with regard to phonology.
Phonology
Consonants
Beik possesses 27 consonant phonemes:
| Bilabial | Dental | Alveolar | Postalveolar and palatal |
Velar and labiovelar |
Glottal | Placeless | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive and affricate | pʰ p b | tʰ t d t̪ | tɕʰ tɕ dʑ | kʰ k ɡ | ʔ | ||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ɴ | ||
| Fricative | sʰ s z | h ɦ | |||||
| Approximant | j | w | |||||
| Lateral | l | ||||||
Unlike Standard Burmese, the Myeik dialect does not have any preaspirated consonants. Phonemes unique to the Myeik dialect include /ɦ/ and /t̪/.
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Vowels
The Myeik dialect has three types of vowels: plain, nasalized and glottalized, with each type having seven vowels.
| Monophthongs | Diphthongs | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front | Back | Front offglide | Back offglide | |
| Close | i | u | ||
| Close-mid | e | o | ei | ou |
| Open-mid | ɛ | ɔ | ||
| Open | a | ai | au | |
Notes
- Burmese at Ethnologue (16th ed., 2009)
- ^ Kato & Khin Pale 2012, p. 118.
- Kato & Khin Pale 2012, p. 119.
- ^ Kato & Khin Pale 2012, p. 120.
- Mergui, Archipelago (November 9, 2021). "Mergui Archipelago". Mergui Archipelago. Archived from the original on November 9, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
- Kato & Khin Pale 2012, p. 121.
References
- Kato, Atsuhiko; Khin Pale (2012). "The Myeik (Beik) Dialect of Burmese sounds, conversational texts, and basic vocabulary". Journal of Asian and African Studies. 83: 117–160.
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