Karenni language

Karenni
Kayah
ꤊꤢꤛꤢ꤭ ꤜꤟꤤ꤬ ကယး လီူး; ကရင်နီ
Native toBurma, Thailand
EthnicityKarenni
Native speakers
187,000 (2000–2007)[1]
Sino-Tibetan
Kayah Li (eky,kyu)
Latin (kyu,kxf)
Myanmar (kyu,kxf)
unwritten (kvy)
Official status
Recognised minority
language in
Language codes
ISO 639-3Variously:
eky – Eastern Kayah
kyu – Western Kayah
kvy – Yintale
kxf – Manumanaw (Manu)
Glottologkaya1317  Kayah
yint1235  Yintale Karen
manu1255  Manumanaw Karen

Karenni or Red Karen (Kayah Li: ꤊꤢꤛꤢ꤭ ꤜꤟꤤ꤬; Burmese: ကရင်နီ), known in Burmese as Kayah (Burmese: ကယား), is a Karen dialect continuum spoken by over half a million Kayah people (Red Karen) in Burma.

The name Kayah has been described as "a new name invented by the Burmese to split them off from other Karen".[2]

Eastern Kayah is reported to have been spoken by 260,000 in Burma and 100,000 in Thailand in 2000, and Western Kayah by 210,000 in Burma in 1987. They are rather divergent. Among the Western dialects are Yintale and kayahManu (Manumanaw in Burmese).

  1. ^ Eastern Kayah at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Western Kayah at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Yintale at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Manumanaw (Manu) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Christopher Beckwith, International Association for Tibetan Studies, 2002. Medieval Tibeto-Burman languages, p. 108.