Hmong

The Hmong language branches into two dialects: White Hmong and Blue (or Green) Hmong. The colors in these names represent the colors used in the traditional women's costumes of the different groups, reflecting somewhat different cultural heritages and residential distributions in distinct regions of China.

White and Green Hmong are mutually intelligible. The differences between White and Green Hmong are probably not much greater than those which distinguish British and American English. It is true, however, that some Hmong (especially White Hmong) claim to have occasional problems understanding the speakers of the other dialect.

Neither White nor Green Hmong has ever had any official status in Laos, Thailand, or China. Thus, there are no grounds for preferring one of the dialects over the other. In spite of this, White Hmong has been favored in many ways. The Hmong writing system most commonly used, the Romanized Practical Alphabet, generally is closest to the White Hmong pronunciation. Most dictionaries of Hmong only present the White Hmong dialect. In Laos, the majority of the Hmong population with an education, probably spoke the White Hmong dialect. The English name "Hmong" as opposed to "Mong" represents the White Hmong pronounciation.

The Hmong language is one of a group of closely related languages of Southeast Asia and Southern China often referred to as the Miao-Yao languages. Besides being spoken by Hmong people in Laos, Thailand, Burma, and Vietnam, the Hmong language is widely spoken by the Miao minority in Southern China. The Hmong language is also related to the Yao languages which include Iu Mien, spoken in Laos and Thailand as well as China, and five other languages spoken by minority groups in the larger region

Hmong-English Dictionary
Hmong Language Institute of Australia [NEW]
Hmong Romanized Popular Alphabets Recognition
Books on the Hmong Language
Hmong Lessons (Language Lessons)
Golden Valley High School (California) Hmong Language Web (emphasis on stories about the Hmong before, during, and after the Vietnam War)
Hmong Language Users Group
Saturn Hmong Talking Stories
Saturn Hmong Page (Hmong/English Dictionaries, Lesson Plans, Talking Dictionaries)

Hmong Language is a tone-based language, and that means each word might sound very close to each others, if not carefully listen to they sound the same to non-Hmong people, but they have different meanings. Take a look at the following examples (I will provide sounds soon): Kuv (English: kook, but no "H" or not like khook, however) This means I, my, me and mine in Hmong Kub (English: koob, but no ending "B" sound, however).

The Hmong constitute one of the most ancient peoples in Asia. Today, they number about 8 million, including other subgroups of Miao, scattered by the events of history, over centuries, from China to Southeast Asian, from Laos to Australia, Europe and America. Since 1975, which marked the end of the Vietnam War, more than 150,000 Hmong refugees from the Secret War of Laos have been resettled in the United States.

If the Hmong had a long and rich oral tradition, their language was provided with a writing system only 45 years ago. Thus, in 1952, in Luang Prabang, the Royal City of the former Kingdom of Laos, three men - Dr. Linwood Barney, Father Yves Bertrais and Dr. William Smalley - put their efforts and knowledge together to create the Hmong Romanized Popular Alphabet (R.P.A.) script. Immediately after, Father Bertrais started teaching the Hmong R.P.A. to a first group of young Hmong in his adopted Hmong village of the Guars Mountains (Roob Nyuj Qus), some 50 miles south of Luang Prabang, where in 1950 he had begun his apostolic mission with the Hmong in Laos, whom he has never left since then.

Hmong or Mong is the common name for a group of dialects of the West Hmongic branch of the Hmong-Mien/Miao-Yao language family spoken by the Hmong people of Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, northern Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos.The total number of speakers worldwide has been estimated to be over 4 million, including 170,000 Hmong Americans.