Jahai language

Jahai
Native toMalaysia, a few in Thailand
Ethnicity1,800 Jahai people (2008)[1]
Native speakers
1,000 in Malaysia (2006)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3jhi
Glottologjeha1242
ELPJahai

Jahai (Jehai) is an aboriginal Mon–Khmer language spoken by the Jahai people living in the montane rainforests of northern Peninsular Malaysia and southernmost Thailand. It is the largest Northern Aslian language. Though spoken by only a little more than 1,000 people, Jahai does not appear to be in immediate danger of extinction due to the prevalence of Jahai parents passing on the language to their children as their mother tongue.[2]

Jahai has a unique vocabulary for describing odors.[3]

  1. ^ a b Jahai at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Burenhult, Niclas (2005). A Grammar of Jahai (PDF). Pacific Linguistics 566. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University. doi:10.15144/pl-566. hdl:1885/146729. ISBN 0-85883-554-1.
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