Endangered Languages Project

ALSO KNOWN AS		Lawa, 'Ugong, Gong, Ugawng, Kanburi Lawa
CLASSIFICATION		Sino-Tibetan, Lolo-Burmese
ORTHOGRAPHY		Thai-based scripts
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		ugo
VARIANTS & DIALECTS		Kok Chiang Suphanburi
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search

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Information from: “Language Endangerment and Resilience Linguistics: Case Studies of Gong and Lisu” (123-140) . David Bradley (2010)

Critically endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available
50
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
~500
CHILDREN
0
YOUNG ADULTS
0
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Speakers age above fifties.

DATE OF INFO: 2003

DOMAINS OF USE

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS

TRANSMISSION

MORE ON VITALITY

no children learn Gong at home, and people in their 30s-40s have limited language competence.

Documentation projects in Mahidol with participants from Gong communities (PI: Mayuree)

SPEAKER ATTITUDE

positive

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

Thai; Lao

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS

practice exogamy. Most non-Gong spouses in Kok Chiang are from Laos, and non-Gong spouses in Khok Khway are mostly Thai.

Scripts (Writing system)

Thai-based scripts

PLACES: Thailand

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Western Central Thailand (Kok Chiang village in Suphanburi สุพรรณบุรี, and Khok Khway village in Uthai Thani อุทัยธานี, Thailand)

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Some other Gong villages have been relocated due to constructions of dam.

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
80
Native speakers worldwide

PLACES: Thailand

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
80
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
500
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Speaker number data: (D. Bradley 2000)

MORE ON VITALITY

Children speak Thai as L1. Mainly older adults

PLACES: Thailand;

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Kanchanaburi, Uthai Thani, Suphanburi

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
80
Native speakers worldwide

Critically endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available
~80
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
500
CHILDREN
0
OLDER ADULTS
~20
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Of 500 people in these two villages, about eighty still speak the language: about twenty fluent speakers over fifty years old and additional semi-speakers of varying ability as young as thirty.

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS
TRANSMISSION
OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY
LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS: Called Lawa in Thai, a composite group which includes various Mon-Khmer groups as well as Gong.

PLACES: Thailand

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Northwestern Suphanburi and south- western Uthai Thani provinces

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Extinct in traditional territory in western Kanchanaburi (or Kanburi for short) Province, moribund (youngest fluent speakers over forty, but revival activities underway) in Kok Chiang village in Suphanburi Province, and endangered in Khok Khwai village in Uthai Thani Province, where the Gong have recently lost their land and dispersed into the surrounding forests.

Critically endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available
50
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
500
CHILDREN
0
YOUNG ADULTS
0

DATE OF INFO: 2004

DOMAINS OF USE

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS

TRANSMISSION

MORE ON VITALITY

"only elderly people are fluent, while the young do not speak Gong at all in any
interaction. Even the older Gong people use languages other than Gong within the
family domain."

SPEAKER ATTITUDE

positive

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

Thai; Lao

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS

This study is conducted in the Kok Chiang village of Suphanburi (สุพรรณบุรี) Province, Thailand. According to the author, "Gong speakers expressed a neutral attitude
toward their ethnic group, and a positive attitude toward their language and
themselves."

Scripts (Writing system)

Thai-based orthography

PLACES: Thailand

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: one village in Uthai Thani (อุทัยธานี) Province and two villages in Suphanburi (สุพรรณบุรี) Province, Thailand.

16		2009	Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)			M. Paul Lewis		SIL International			Dallas, TX		http://www.ethnologue.com/		Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16 edn. http://www.ethnologue.com/home.asp. (15 February, 2011.)	ll_pub		500		80		10-99	Speaker number data: (D. Bradley 2000)						Severely Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)		Children speak Thai as L1. Mainly older adults				Thailand;	Kanchanaburi, Uthai Thani, Suphanburi
			World Oral Literature Project										http://www.oralliterature.org		"World Oral Literature Project." Online: http://www.oralliterature.org.					80		10-99							Severely Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)
3rd		2010	Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger					UNESCO Publishing			Paris		http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas	Christopher Moseley (ed.)	Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn. http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas. (03 June, 2011.)	ll_pub				80		10-99							Severely Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)						Thailand		15.088,99.523
		2007	East and Southeast Asia	Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages	349-424	C. Moseley		London & New York: Routledge						David Bradley	Bradley, David. 2007. "East and Southeast Asia." In Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages, edited by C. Moseley. 349-424. London & New York: Routledge.	HHOLD	~20	500		~80		10-99	Of 500 people in these two villages, about eighty still speak the language: about twenty fluent speakers over fifty years old and additional semi-speakers of varying ability as young as thirty.		Thai; Lao		Called Lawa in Thai, a composite group which includes various Mon-Khmer groups as well as Gong.		Critically Endangered (80 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	15			15	Extinct in traditional territory in western Kanchanaburi (or Kanburi for short) Province, moribund (youngest fluent speakers over forty, but revival activities underway) in Kok Chiang village in Suphanburi Province, and endangered in Khok Khwai village in Uthai Thani Province, where the Gong have recently lost their land and dispersed into the surrounding forests.	Thailand	Northwestern Suphanburi and south- western Uthai Thani provinces
		2006	Gong: An endangered language of Thailand									Mahidol University, Thailand		Thawornpat Mayuree	Thawornpat Mayuree. Gong: An Endangered Language of Thailand. PhD thesis, Mahidol University, Thailand, 2006.			500	0	50	2004	10-99		all domains	Thai; Lao	positive	This study is conducted in the Kok Chiang village of Suphanburi (สุพรรณบุรี) Province, Thailand. According to the author, "Gong speakers expressed a neutral attitude toward their ethnic group, and a positive attitude toward their language and themselves."	almost all	Critically Endangered (100 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	15	"only elderly people are fluent, while the young do not speak Gong at all in any interaction. Even the older Gong people use languages other than Gong within the family domain."	14	15		Thailand	one village in Uthai Thani (อุทัยธานี) Province and two villages in Suphanburi (สุพรรณบุรี) Province, Thailand.
	2	2010	Language Endangerment and Resilience Linguistics: Case Studies of Gong and Lisu		123-140		online		Anthropological Linguistics	52				David Bradley	David Bradley. 2010. "Language Endangerment and Resilience Linguistics: Case Studies of Gong and Lisu." In Anthropological Linguistics, 52: 123-140.			~500	0	50	2003	10-99	Speakers age above fifties.	all domains	Thai; Lao	positive	practice exogamy. Most non-Gong spouses in Kok Chiang are from Laos, and non-Gong spouses in Khok Khway are mostly Thai.	almost all	Critically Endangered (100 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	15	no children learn Gong at home, and people in their 30s-40s have limited language competence. Documentation projects in Mahidol with participants from Gong communities (PI: Mayuree)	14	15	Some other Gong villages have been relocated due to constructions of dam.	Thailand	Western Central Thailand (Kok Chiang village in Suphanburi สุพรรณบุรี, and Khok Khway village in Uthai Thani อุทัยธานี, Thailand)

Ugong

Language metadata

Language information by source

Critically endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

50

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

80

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

80

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

80

Critically endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~80

Critically endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

50

Discussion

Ugong

Language metadata

Language information by source

Critically endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

50

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

80

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

80

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

80

Critically endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~80

Critically endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

50

Discussion

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Sources of information

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