Tavoyan dialects
language
Tavoyan or Dawei (ထားဝယ်စကား, abbreviated ဝယ်စကား) is a divergent dialect of Burmese is spoken in Dawei (Tavoy), in the coastal Tanintharyi Region of southern Myanmar (Burma). Tavoyan speakers self-identify as Bamar, and are classified by the Burmese government as a subgroup of the Bamar. Approximately 400,000 people speak Tavoyan. Burmese speakers further south speak the Palaw and Myeik dialects. Tavoyan and Burmese have 87% lexical similarity.
Distinct phonological features of Tavoyan have been strengthened by language contact with the Karenic languages. Tavoyan prosody is markedly different from Standard Burmese, especially with respect to rhythm and intonation. Similar to Karen speakers, Tavoyan speakers do not draw out their vowels like Standard Burmese speakers. Tavoyan retains an /-l-/ medial that has since merged into the /-j-/ medial in standard Burmese. Also, voicing can only occur with unaspirated consonants in Tavoyan, whereas in standard Burmese, voicing can occur with both aspirated and unaspirated consonants.
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