| Mlabri | |
|---|---|
| Yumbri | |
| Native to | Thailand, Laos |
Native speakers | 130 (2007)[1] |
Austroasiatic
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | mra |
| Glottolog | mlab1235 |
| ELP | Mlabri |
Mlabri is a language spoken by the Mlabri people in the border area between Thailand and Laos.
It is usually classified as a Khmuic language, a subgroup of the Austroasiatic languages. Linguist Jørgen Rischel has studied the language and described its peculiarities in several works. He divides the language into three varieties: one spoken by a small group in Laos and previously called Yumbri, and two others spoken by larger groups in Thailand. They differ in intonation and in lexicon.
Although it is possible to count up to ten in Mlabri, only the numerals one and two may be used to modify a noun, and the word for 'two' has uses closer to 'pair' or 'couple' in English than a numeral.