Kayaw language

Not to be confused with Bwe language.

Kayaw
Brek
Native to	Myanmar
Ethnicity	Bwe people
Native speakers	(17,000 cited 1983 census) [1]
Language family	Sino-Tibetan (Tibeto-Burman) Karen languages Sgaw–Bghai Kayaw
Language codes
ISO 639-3	kvl
Glottolog	brek1238

Brek, also known as Brek Karen, Bre, and Kayaw, is a Karen language of Burma.

Distribution

• eastern Kayah State (30 villages)
• northeastern Kayin State: Yado area
• southern Shan State: Pekon township

Dialects

• Bwe-Kayaw
• Upper Kayaw (standardized variety used for literature)
• Lower Kayaw

Writing system

Kayaw alphabet ^[2]

Majuscules	A	Ǎ	Ā	B	C	D	E	Ě	Ē	È	È̌	È̄	G	H	I	Î	Î̌	Î̄	J	K	L	M	N	O	Ǒ	Ō	Ò	Ò̌	Ò̄	Ô	Ô̄	P	R	S	T	U	Ǔ	Ū	Û	Û̌	Û̄	W	Y
Minuscules	a	ǎ	ā	b	c	d	e	ě	ē	è	è̌	è̄	g	h	i	î	î̌	î̄	j	k	l	m	n	o	ǒ	ō	ò	ò̌	ò̄	ô	ô̄	p	r	s	t	u	ǔ	ū	û	û̌	û̄	w	y

References

1. Kayaw at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
2. Kayaw Ethnic Literature and Cultural Central Committee & SIL International 2017.

Works cited

• Kayaw Ethnic Literature and Cultural Central Committee; SIL International (2017). Kayaw – English – Myanmar Dictionary (in English, Kayaw, and Burmese). Kayaw Ethnic Literature and Cultural Central Committee.