Alternate Names: Gam, Kam, Tong, Tung, Tung-Chia
Dialects: None known. Zhanglu speech in Rongjiang County, Guizhou Province is standard variety. Reportedly similar to Mulam ,. Lexical similarity: 80% with Northern Dong varieties, 71% with Southern Dong ,, 46% with Lakkia ,, 29% with Qabiao ,, 26% with Hlai ,, 24% with Gelao, 22% with Lachi ,, 6% with Hmong Njua ,, 4% with Iu Mien ,.
Status Notes: Language of recognized nationality: Dong.
Genealogy:
Demographics: 463,000 in China (2003).
Language Use: Vigorous. All domains. All ages. Also use Mandarin Chinese [cmn]. Used as L2 by Pa-Hng [pha], Southern Dong [kmc].
Language Development: Literacy rate in L2: 55%. Dictionary. Grammar.
Typology: Tonal, 9 tones.
Writing System: Latin (Pinyin-based)
Nation of Origin: China
Other Comments: Ethnic autonym: Kam; Dong is the Chinese name. Traditional way of life relatively undisturbed. Traditional religion.