Muak Sa-aak (autonym: mùak sɤ́ʔàak, meaning 'mountain slope') is an Angkuic language spoken in the Burma-China border region by over 4,000 people.
Demographics There are some 4,460 Muak Sa-aak in Burma and China. Muak Sa-aak speakers are located primarily in Mong Yawng Township, Shan State, Burma (Hall 2010:4). There are at least 2 villages in China, with speakers possibly located in Thailand as well, though it would be nearly extinct there (Hall 2010).
Hall (2010) analyzes phonological data from the Muak Sa-aak village of Wan Fai, eastern Shan State, Burma, which has 620 people and is located very close to the Chinese border.
Phonology The following content is from Hall (2010)'s MA Thesis, consisting of her field work documentation and materials gathered from Muak Sa-aak speakers at Wan Fan village, Eastern Shan State.
Word structure There are eight presyllables /p t k ʔ pʰ kʰ s m/, typically accompanied by a short vowel (either [ă] or [ɤ̆]) nucleus when realized, eg. /smɤɲ³/ [sɤ̆ˈmɤɲ³] 'star'. The phonological word in Muak Sa-aak is C1.ˈCi(Cm)V(Cf)T.
Suprasegmentals (tones) The Wan Fan variety of Muak Sa-aak has three tones: low, checked, and falling.
Tone Note Example V̀ With long vowel, diphthongs, + short nuclei with sonorant codas kjeː¹ 'root' V́ High tone on vowel and a high falling tone on long vowel kak² 'to bite' V̂ High falling tone, only on live syllables kʰraːŋ³ 'eagle'
Consonants Hall (2010) describes the following onset clusters /pr pw pʰr pʰw (tr) kr kw kʰr kʰw/ in Muak Sa-aak. /tr/ is limited in Tai Lue borrowed words.
Onsets + Muak onsets Labial Alveolar Palatal VelarGlottalPlosiveplainaspiratedvoicedFricativeNasalApproximant
Codas +Muak codasBilabialAlveolarPalatalVelarGlottal Plosive Nasal Approximant
Vowels + Muak vowelsFrontCentralBackClose Mid OpenDiphthongs[iə][uə]
References
Further reading
Journal articles