Laha (Chinese: 拉哈; Vietnamese: La Ha) is a Kra language spoken by approximately 1,400 people out of a total population of 5,686 Laha. It is spoken in Lào Cai and Sơn La provinces, Vietnam. Laha dialects had been documented in 1986 by Russian linguists and in 1996 by American linguist Jerold A. Edmondson. Many Laha can also converse in the Khmu language, and Laha-speaking areas also have significant Black Thai (Tai Dam), Kháng, Ksongmul (Ksingmul, Xinh-mun), and Hmong populations.
Ostapirat (2000) considers the Laha dialects to form a subgroup of their own (Southern Kra) within the Kra branch.[2]
Geographic distribution
Gregerson & Edmondson (1997) and Wardlaw (2000) report the following locations of two Laha dialects, namely the Wet Laha and Dry Laha dialects.
Tà Mít Commune, Tân Uyên, Lai Châu, Vietnam (just north of the Black River) — known as the "Wet Laha". Edmondson's informant is from Bản Muot Village, Tà Mít Commune (Edmondson & Gregerson 1997). There are 8 Laha villages numbering no more than 1,000 people in Than Uyên District, Lai Châu, Vietnam.
Chiền Xòm, Liềp Tè, Noong Giông, and Nặm Ét in Sơn La
Nặm Giôn, Chiền Xàng, Chiền Dong, Pi Toong, and Mường Bú of Mường La District, Sơn La Province. Laha of Nà Tạy, Pi Toong commune is documented in Hsiu (2017).[3]
Ostapira, Weera. 1995. "Notes on Laha final -l". In Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 173–181.
Wardlaw, Terrance Randall. A phonological comparison between two varieties of Laha: Syllable constituents and tone in Ta Mit and Noong Lay Laha. M.A. Thesis, The University of Texas at Arlington, 2000.