Kim Mun
Kim Mun language
Native to	China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand
Native speakers	(ca. 400,000 cited 1995–1999)[1]
Language family	Hmong–Mien Mienic Mian–Jin Kim Mun
Official status
Official language in	China (Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County)
Language codes
ISO 639-3	mji
Glottolog	kimm1245

Kim Mun (Chinese: 金門方言; also Lanten or Landian 蓝靛) is a Mienic language spoken by 200,000 of the Yao people in the Chinese provinces of Guangxi, Hunan and Yunnan, with about 61,000 of the speakers in Hainan Province.^[1] There are also speakers in Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand.

Iu Mien and Kim Mun are similar to each other, having a lexical similarity percentage of 78%.

Distribution

In China, Kim Mun is spoken in the following counties (Mao 2004:304-305).^[2]

• Yunnan: Hekou, Malipo, Maguan, Xichou, Qiubei, Guangnan, Funing, Yanshan, Shizong, Jiangcheng, Mojiang, Yuanyang, Jinping, Lüchun, Mengla, Jinghong
• Guangxi: Xilin, Lingyun, Napo, Tianlin, Fengshan, Bama, Lipu, Pingle, Mengshan, Jinxiu, Yongfu, Luzhai, Fangcheng, Shangsi
• Hainan: Qiongzhong, Baoting, Qionghai, Tunchang, Ledong, Wanning, Sanya. In Hainan, Kim Mun speakers are officially classified by the Chinese government as ethnic Miao, rather than Yao.

Ethnologue lists several counties in Vietnam where Kim Mun is spoken (in Bac Giang province, Ha Giang province, Lao Cai province, Quang Ninh province, Tuyen Quang province and Yen Bai province).. Van Ban district of Lao Cai province is one of the primary areas where Kim Mun is spoken in Vietnam. In Vietnam, Dao people belonging to the Quần Trắng, Thanh Y, and Áo Dài subgroups speak Kim Mun.^[3] Kim Mun speakers are also found in northern Laos (in Luang Namtha province, Oudomxai province and in Bokeo province).

Daniel Arisawa has performed fieldwork with an isolated speaker of Kim Mun (originally from Laos) in Lampang province, northern Thailand (along the border of Mae Mo district and Ngao district).^[4]

Phonology

Notes

References

External links

• Asia Harvest. (n.d.) "People Group Profiles: Kim Mun" Archived 2021-04-14 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 12 June 2019.