Halang language
Encyclopedia
Halang, also known as Salang, is a Bahnaric language
of the Mon–Khmer branch of the Austroasiatic language family. It is spoken in the southern Laotian
province of Attapu by approximately 4000 people and in the neighboring Kon Tum Province
of Vietnam
by approximately 13,500 people (Ethnologue, 2000).
In more specific usage, Halang refers to the dialect spoken in Vietnam, whereas Salang refers to the dialect spoken in Laos. Halang or Salang
may also serve as an ethnonym for members of the ethnic group
that speak the language. However, in Vietnam, the Halang speakers are officially classified as a subgroup of the larger Sedang
ethnicity.
Bahnaric languages
The Bahnaric languages are a group of about thirty Mon–Khmer languages spoken by about 700,000 people in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Paul Sidwell notes that Austroasiatic/Mon–Khmer languages are lexically more similar to Bahnaric and Katuic the closer they are geographically, independently of...
of the Mon–Khmer branch of the Austroasiatic language family. It is spoken in the southern Laotian
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
province of Attapu by approximately 4000 people and in the neighboring Kon Tum Province
Kon Tum Province
Kon Tum province lies in the Central Highlands region of Vietnam and shares borders with Laos and Cambodia. It has an area of 9,934 square km and a population of approximately 330,000. The economy is primarily agricultural.-Name:...
of Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
by approximately 13,500 people (Ethnologue, 2000).
In more specific usage, Halang refers to the dialect spoken in Vietnam, whereas Salang refers to the dialect spoken in Laos. Halang or Salang
Salang
Salang is also the name of several locations named for these people:*Afghanistan*Salang, Afghanistan -town**Salang mountains**Salang tunnel**Salang pass**Salang river**Salang district of Parwan province*Salang, Nepal, a town in Nepal...
may also serve as an ethnonym for members of the ethnic group
Ethnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
that speak the language. However, in Vietnam, the Halang speakers are officially classified as a subgroup of the larger Sedang
Sedang
Sedang may refer to* Sedang people, a people in Vietnam* Kingdom of Sedang, a defunct nineteenth-century kingdom in Indochina...
ethnicity.