title: Chru language
text: # Chru language
  
  Chru (Vietnamese: Chu Ru) is a Chamic language of Vietnam spoken by the Churu people in southern Lâm Đồng Province (especially in Đơn Dương District) and in Ninh Thuận Province.
  
  Like the other Chamic languages spoken in Vietnam (Cham, Jarai, Rade and Roglai), use of Chru is declining as native speakers are generally bilingual in Vietnamese, which is used for most official or public settings, like schools.
  
  ## Phonology
  
  ### Consonant inventory
  
  The following table lists the consonants of Chru.
  
      Labial Apical Alveolo- palatal Velar Glottal Nasal m n ɲ ŋ Plosive voiceless p t tɕ k ʔ voiced b d dʑ ɡ Fricative ɕ h Approximant w j
  
  There exist post-aspirated consonants [ph], [th], [kh], but these behave as sequences of stop plus [h]. For example, from the word phaː ('to plane') the nominal pənhaː ('a plane') can be derived by infixation of -n-.
  
  ### Vowel inventory
  
  The vowel inventory is given in the following table. All vowels but [eː, o, oː] exist in nasalized form.
  
      Front Central Back High i, iː u, uː Upper Mid eː ə, əː o, oː Lower Mid ɛ, ɛː ɔ, ɔː Low a, aː
      $^a$ The vowel [eː] is always followed by [ŋ].
  
  ### Phonotactics
  
  Words consist of up to two pre-syllables, and a main syllable. A full example is pətərbləʔ ('to turn over'). The vowels in the pre-syllables are always [ə] after a consonant and [a] otherwise.
  
  ## Grammar
  
  ### Syntax
  
  Like many other languages of Southeast Asia, including Vietnamese, Chru is an analytic (or isolating) language without morphological marking of case, gender, number, or tense. In its typological profile it reflects extensive language contact effects, as it more closely resembles a Mon-Khmer language with monosyllabic roots and impoverished morphology rather than a canonical Austronesian language with bisyllabic roots and derivational morphology (Grant 2005). It has subject-verb-object (SVO) word order.
  
  ### Negation
  
  Chru uses a pre-verbal negative particle, 'buh /ʔbuh/ as a simple negative in declarative sentences:
  
  kơu
  
  1SG
  
  'buh
  
  NEG
  
  mưnhũm
  
  drink
  
  alak
  
  wine
  
  kơu 'buh mưnhũm alak
  
  1SG NEG drink wine
  
  'I don't drink wine.' (Chru LL 3)
  
  An optional clause-final negative particle, ou, may also be used, particularly in negative questions and negative responses to questions:
  
  Du
  
  But
  
  phơn
  
  thing
  
  ni
  
  this
  
  nhũ
  
  will
  
  làn
  
  melt
  
  lam
  
  in
  
  ia
  
  water
  
  'buh
  
  NEG
  
  ơu?
  
  Du phơn ni nhũ làn lam ia 'buh ơu?
  
  But thing this will melt in water NEG
  
  'But this thing will melt in water, right?' (Chru 1st grade primer 59) Mismatch in the number of words between lines: 9 word(s) in line 1, 8 word(s) in line 2 (help);
  
  Lăm
  
  klơu
  
  Aràng
  
  hu
  
  Aràng
  
  sêi
  
  prong
  
  rơlau
  
  rêi?
  
  Lăm klơu Aràng hu Aràng sêi prong rơlau rêi?
  
  In the godhead is there one person bigger than another?
  
  'Bu
  
  ơu:
  
  Klơu
  
  Aràng
  
  ring
  
  gơu.
  
  'Bu ơu: Klơu Aràng ring gơu.
  
  No: The godhead is equal to each other. (Chru mass 40)
  
  