The Bunong in Kratie

“The people in Kauv Seima speak differently.” The village chief of Purang V5 said Bunong in Kauv Seima speak differently; he can understand when they speak but he has a hard time understanding. When asked to be more specific, he did not give the names of any villages, and then responded that only people with speech impediments speak differently. The Putang V9 chief included Kaev Seima, along with Ou Reang and Bu Sra, in his “different” list, saying they use different words. An example he gave was once again a vegetable; in those places, Bunong people speak “hard” when they say the word for pumpkin. Mae Bai, Churi Chan, and Chong Phang speak the same as Putang village. In Nang Bua, the village in Kaoh Nheaek from which we also elicited Jarai and Tampuan wordlists, the Bunong village chief listed three places in which Bunong is spoken differently: • Kaev Seima: the Bunong Ra’ong • Sokh Sant: the Bunong Mpiet • Bu Sra: the Bunong Preah 37 The Bunong village chief was from Srae Huy in Sokh Sant as was the chief of Memom, and said that the Bunong in Srae Huy speak the same as in Nang Bua. He also stated that the Bunong in Nang Bua usually used Lao or Khmer, rather than Bunong. Other Bunong village reports from Mondul Kiri In Srae Thom village V13 in Kaoh Nheaek, the chief considered their variety of Bunong to be the same as Bu Chri commune where Putang is located and Ku’un in Kaoh Nheaek. According to this chief, the village of Srae Thaih in Kaoh Nheaek uses different names for some fruits and vegetables. The village chief of Memom village, where we elicited the Thmon wordlist, is a Bunong man originally from Srae Huy. We did not collect a Bunong wordlist from this site but, according to the chief, the villages that speak Bunong differently from Memom are Yulo, Srae Huy, and Neyo. 38 Villages that speak the same are Srae Chis in Kratie 39 and Obphe. 40 In Ou Rona V18, located in southwestern Kaev Seima, the village chief said that no villages speak Bunong even a little differently. 41 Villages he specifically mentioned that speak the same are Srae Ktum, Preah, and Puta. Srae Lvei village Group 4 uses just a few words that are different, but everything is understandable.

4.2.7 The Bunong in Kratie

The village chief of Chukrang V22 reported that the Bunong in his village use Khmer more than Bunong. The small children do not speak Bunong, but can understand it. The Bunong in Chukrang are originally from Chung commune, but were forced to move because of the war. In Chung commune, he said, they only use Bunong, not Khmer. However, whether the chief was telling us of the past or the present is unclear. Perhaps the village chief meant that back when they lived in Chung they only spoke Bunong, or perhaps he was trying to tell us that the 37 Recall that Gordon 2005 lists Pre’h Pre as a dialect of Central Mnong. Also refer to section 1.4. One of the wordlists elicited in Vietnam in the 1970s was of the Preh dialect of Central Bu Nong. Many of those we interviewed said that the Bunong of Bu Sra are from Vietnam. 38 Note that he says that he comes from an area that speaks differently than the village in which he lives now. 39 A predominantly Kraol village. 40 Neither one of these latter villages he mentions is nearby. 41 This chief said that he does not really go to places where people do not speak Bunong, although he has traveled to Phnom Penh once. Bunong still living in Chung only use Bunong. Those in Chukrang village who still speak Bunong speak it in the same manner as those in Trapeang Chey, although the chief could not think of any villages that speak differently. According to the chief in Chung village V23, no villages speak differently, although the villages that specifically speak the same are Srae Preng, Ptoal, and Chukrang. The commune chief in Kosang V24 also stated that no villages speak Bunong differently, although now the minority children including the Khaonh also living in his commune are too lazy to speak their languages. In the village of Bung Run V27, there are Bunong people who do not speak Khmer, but Khmer is the predominate language of the village. The deputy chief did not list any villages that spoke Bunong either the same or differently.

4.3 Sociolinguistic questionnaires: Between the varieties