ISO 639-3 Registration Authority Request for New Language Code Element in ISO 639-3 This form is to be used in conjunction with a “Request for Change to ISO 639-3 Language Code” form Date: 2017-10-18 Name of Primary Requester: Nate Cheeseman E-mail address: Nate underscore Cheeseman at sil dot org Names, affiliations and email addresses of additional supporters of this request: Ryan Gehrmann - Payap University ryangehrmann at gmail dot com Associated Change request number : 2018-006 (completed by Registration Authority) Tentative assignment of new identifier : lvi (completed by Registration Authority) PLEASE NOTE: This completed form will become part of the public record of this change request and the history of the ISO 639-3 code set. Use Shift-Enter to insert a new line in a form field (where allowed). 1. NAMES and IDENTIFICATION a) Preferred name of language for code element denotation: Lavi (ethnonym) b) Autonym (self-name) for this language: Salwoeng [səlwəŋ] c) Common alternate names and spellings of language, and any established abbreviations: Lavy, Lawi, Lak-wi, Swoeng, Saveung d) Reason for preferred name: Lavi is the official Lao government designation for this group and the main Lavi village is called Ban Lavi Fang Daeng. Furthemore, of the few publications that meantion this group, they all agree in referring to the group as Lavi (Theraphan 1997, Chazée1999, Theraphan 2001, Schliesinger 2003, Sidwell & Jacq 2003). Schliesinger (2003) warns us that, "The ethnic Lao people call them Lavy, Lawi or Lak-wi. Lak-wi in Lao language means "theft", implying that the Lavy are considered by the Lao to be thieves." However this is likely a folk etymology imposed on Lavi by Lao speakers, since ethnonyms beginning with "lav-" are thematic across the West Bahnaric languages (cf. Laven [lbo] and Laveh [brb]). e) Name and approximate population of ethnic group or community who use this language (complete individual language currently in use): 1,215 (2015 census) f) Preferred three letter identifier, if available: lvi Your suggestion will be taken into account, but the Registration Authority will determine the identifier to be proposed. The identifiers is not intended to be an abbreviation for a name of the language, but to serve as a device to identify a given language uniquely. With thousands of languages, many sets of which have similar names, it is not possible to provide identifiers that resemble a language name in every case. Request for New Language Code Element in ISO 639-3, page 1 2. TEMPORAL DESCRIPTION and LOCATION a) Is this a Living language Nearly extinct/secondary use only (includes languages in revival) Recently extinct language Historical language Ancient language Artificially constructed language Macrolanguage (Select one. See explanations of these types at http://www.sil.org/iso639%2D3/types.asp) For individual languages, also complete: b) Countries where used: Laos c) Region within each country: towns, districts, states or provinces where used. Include GPS coordinates of the approximate center of the language, if possible: Spoken only in Lavi Fang Daeng village on Highway 11 (just a few kilometers south of Xekong town) and also in a few smaller surrounding villages. (Chazee 1999, Sidwell & Jacq 2003) d) For an ancient or historical language, give approximate time frame; for a recently extinct language, give the approximate date of the last known user’s death 3. MODALITY AND LINGUISTIC AFFILIATION a) This language is: Signed Spoken Attested only in writings b) Language family, if classified; origin, if artificially constructed: Austroasiaitc > Bahnaric > West Bahnaric (Ferlus 1974, Sidwell & Jacq 2003, Sidwell 2015) c) Closest language linguistically. For a Macrolanguage, list the individual languages (adopted and/or proposed) to be included in its group. For signed language, note influence from other signed or spoken languages: It stands in its own sub-branch of West Bahnaric and is geographically isolated from the rest of the West Bahnaric languages (Sidwell & Jacq 2003). The closest West Bahnaric language to Lavi geographically (not genetically) is Nyaheun [nev]. 4. LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT AND USE a) What written literature, inscriptions or recordings exist in this language? Are there newspapers, radio or television broadcasts, etc.?: None known Request for New Language Code Element in ISO 639-3, page 2 b) Is this language officially recognized by any level of government? Is it used in any levels of formal education as a language of instruction (for other subjects)? Is it taught in schools?: Lavi is one of the 49 officially recognized ethnic groups of Laos, despite its small population. c) Comment on factors of ethnolinguistic identity and informal domains of use: Very little is documented on this point. We can say that, due to their small population size and to their being found on a main road near to the provicial capital of Xekong, a center for Lao langauge and culture in this mostly Austroasiatic region, the Lavi language and culture, as Sidwell & Jacq (2003) put it, "…should be considered seriously endangered, as the langauge is effectively moribund." Nevertheless, the Lavi language is very clearly distinct in terms of phonological innovations from any other known Bahnaric language and the Lavi people are recognized as an official ethnic group in Laos. For these reasons, the language is deserving of its own ISO 639-3 code. Request for New Language Code Element in ISO 639-3, page 3 SOURCES OF INFORMATION You do not need to repeat sources previously identified in the form, “Request for Change to ISO 639-3 Language Code” a) First-hand knowledge. Describe: None. b) Knowledge through personal communication. Describe: None. c) Knowledge from published sources. Include known dictionaries, grammars, etc. (please give complete bibliographical references): Chazée, Laurent. 1999. The Peoples of Laos Rural and Ethnic Diversities.White Lotus. p.95 Cheeseman, Nathaniel, Jennifer Herington and Paul Sidwell. 2013. Bahnaric linguisitc bibliography with selected annotations. Mon-Khmer Studies 42: xxxiv-lxvii. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268390843_Bahnaric_Linguistic_Bibliography_wit h_Selected_Annotations Ferlus, Michel. 1974. Délimitation des groupes linguistiques austroasiatiques dans le centre indochinois. [An outline of the Austroasiatic language groups in central Indochina]. Asie du Sud-Est et Monde Insulindien 5.1: 15-23. Schliesinger, Joachim. 2003. Ethnic Groups of Laos Vol. 2 - Profile of Austro-Asiatic Speaking Peoples. (an excellent write up on Lawi, p.272-278). Sidwell, Paul & Pascale Jacq. 2003. A handbook of comparative Bahnaric: Volume 1, West Bahnaric. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. https://www.academia.edu/1540081/A_handbook_of_comparative_Bahnaric_Vol._1_West _Bahnaric p. 11 Theraphan L-Thongkum. 1997. The place of Lawi, Harak and Tariang within Bahnaric. Mon-Khmer Studies 27: 109-117. Theraphan L-Thongkum. 2001. ภาษาของนานาชนเผ่าในแขวงเชกองลาวใต้. Phasa khong nanachon phaw nai khweng sekong lao tai. [Languages of the tribes in Xekong province southern Laos]. Bangkok: The Thailand Research Fund. ====Other References==== Glottolog 3.0 lists this language: http://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/lawi1235 Endangered language project has Lavi listed as Swoeng: http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/6045 Lao census data for Lavy has a population of 538 in 1995. population of 1,193 in 2005, and a population of 1,215 in 2015. see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Laos Request for New Language Code Element in ISO 639-3, page 4 Please return this form to: ISO 639-3 Registrar SIL International, Office of Language Information Systems 7500 West Camp Wisdom Road Dallas, Texas 75236 USA ISO 639-3/RA web site: http://www.sil.org/iso639-3/default.asp Email: [email protected] An email attachment of this completed form is preferred. Further information: If your request for a new language code element is supported by the Registration Authority as a formal proposal, you may be contacted separately by researchers working with the Ethnologue or with LinguistList asking you to provide additional information. Sources of documentation for ISO 639-3 identifiers: Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.), 2005. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com/ . LinguistList. Ancient and Extinct Languages. http://linguistlist.org/forms/langs/GetListOfAncientLgs.html LinguistList. Constructed Languages. http://linguistlist.org/forms/langs/GetListOfConstructedLgs.html Request for New Language Code Element in ISO 639-3, page 5 .