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Glite Dictionary
Karen language

Karen language

9.7
A group of related languages spoken by the Karen people in Myanmar and Thailand
  • noun
translation icon : idioma karen
  • The children at the school learn both Thai and the Karen language to communicate with their families.

Examples

  • Signs at the Transplanting Traditions Community Farm in Carrboro, N.C., list the produce for this week's CSA in English and the Karen language.

    Blog text (3)

  • During the festival, many attendees were eager to hear traditional songs sung in the Karen language.

  • The documentary explored various aspects of the Karen language, highlighting its unique phonetic features.

Synonyms

Karenic language
vsKaren language
9.9

A language spoken by the Karen people in Myanmar and Thailand

can mean that single language or the whole set of related languages
Karen
vsKaren language
9.9

A language spoken by the Karen people in Thailand and Myanmar

can mean that single language or a wider group of related tongues
Karenic
vsKaren language
9.9

A group of languages spoken by the Karen people along the Thailand-Myanmar border

is used also for one language, not only for the whole group

Surface Forms

Karen language singular
Karen languages plural

Morphology

Karen + language

This is a straightforward compositional noun phrase: a proper name 'Karen' combined with 'language' denotes the language spoken by the Karen people. The pattern 'X language' is a cross-linguistically common and predictable way to name a community's language, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

Karen language is named after the Karen people who live on the border between Myanmar and Thailand, and it simply means the language they speak. So 'Karen language' means 'the language spoken by the Karen people'.