Khmu is the language of the Khmu people of the northern Laos region. It is also spoken in adjacent areas of Vietnam, Thailand and China. Khmu lends its name to the Khmuic branch of the Austroasiatic language family, the latter of which also includes Khmer and Vietnamese. Within Austroasiatic, Khmu is often cited as being most closely related to the Palaungic and Khasic languages. The name "Khmu" can also be seen romanized as Kmhmu, Khmu', Kammu, or Khamuk in various publications or alternatively referred to by the name of a local dialect.

Dialects

Khmu has several dialects but no standard variety. Dialects differ primarily in consonant inventory, existence of register, and the degree to which the language has been influenced by the surrounding national language(s). Dialects are, for the most part, mutually intelligible; however communication can be difficult between speakers of geographically distant dialects. The dialects of Khmu can be broadly categorized into two groups, Western Khmu and Eastern Khmu.

Suwilai Premsrirat (2002)

Suwilai Premsrirat (2002) reports the following locations and dialects of Kmhmu' in Laos, Vietnam, China, and Thailand.

Phonology

Consonants

The consonant inventory of Khmu' is shown in the table below. The phoneme /f/, present in dialects of both Eastern and Western Khmu', is a result of borrowings from the surrounding Tai languages.

Vowels

The vowels of the Khmu' language show little variation across the dialects with all varieties having 19 monophthongs and three diphthongs (, and ).

Grammar

Pronouns

Syntax

Khmu uses mainly an SVO word order although an OVS order is also possible.

Vocabulary

Numeral

Comparison with Khmer