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
Regarding the relationships between the Bahnaric varieties, we sought answers to the following questions:
• What are the LWCs spoken in Mondul Kiri and Kratie provinces? Questions 41, 43, 54e, 55g–h, 58f, 59d, 60f, 61h
• What is the sociolinguistic relationship between the Bahnaric language varieties in Mondul Kiri and Kratie? Questions 29, 30, 42, 52, 54, 55, 58
• What are the types, natures, and extents of interactions between these Bahnaric varieties? Questions 29, 30, 43, 52, 54, 55, 58–61
Regarding interaction between the varieties, a brief summary of the answers, given village by village, to the relevant questions from the questionnaire can be found in Appendix D and
Appendix C. Sections 5.3 and 5.4 summarize the answers to the research questions regarding relationships between the varieties.
5 Conclusions
This section summarizes the answers to all the research questions and highlights the main points and common themes.
5.1 LWC
• What is the LWC spoken in Mondul Kiri and Kratie provinces? The LWC is the common language that speakers from different linguistic communities use in
order to communicate with each other. In Kratie province, Khmer is decidedly the LWC. Overall, ethnic minority groups in Mondul
Kiri use Khmer, Bunong, or Lao to speak together. Mother-tongue Bunong speakers reportedly account for about 80 percent of the population of Mondul Kiri province and, so the
entire province of Mondul Kiri could be considered a “Bunong speaking area,” although Khmer is spoken in the provincial capital. In parts of Kaoh Nheaek district very near to
Ratank Kiri Rattanakiri province, Lao is an important LWC between language communities. In both Mondul Kiri and Kratie provinces, every ethnic group contains
members who are able to speak Khmer.
At this point, it should be emphasized that, although Khmer may be the LWC of Kratie and one LWC of Mondul Kiri, it does not necessarily mean that all or even most of the residents
are able to speak or understand it. Referring to the Bunong in Mondul Kiri, for instance, previous research has shown that nearly three-fourths of the women and over one-half of the
men either speak Khmer poorly or have no Khmer language ability at all.
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We asked the village leaders questions about villagers’ travel patterns and the language they use with
strangers, but not all villagers travel or verbally interact with outsiders. Therefore, to say a certain language is the LWC does not imply that the majority of residents can speak it
fluently or even marginally.
5.2 Vernacular languages
