Mon love poem

My love poem is here translated into Môn (ဘာသာ မန်), an Austro-Asiatic, Môn-Khmer language spoken in Burma (Moulmein, is the capital of Mon State), and in Thailand by about 1 million people. In these two countries Mon is a recognized language.

You will find other names for this language and its dialects: Mou, Taleng, Ye (Mon Nya, Southern Mon), Raman, Takanoon, Teguan, Peguan, Pegu (Mon Tang, Northern Mon), Rman, Mun, Rmen, Aleng, Martaban-Moulmein (Central Mon, Mon Te), Talaing,

Môn and its close relative Nyah Kur, are descendants of the language of the Môn kingdom of Dvâravatî (4th-10th century, central Thailand).

The Mon script (3rd-4th century) comes from southern India, a time when the Mons wrote their language on palm leaves. Ten centuries later, Thais and Burmese adapted it to their languages. Today the mon is written with the Burmese alphabet.

The Mons (Talaing, Peguans) who have been in the central region of Thailand since the first centuries, will be pushed towards the west coast, due to Burmese and Thai expansion (after the 6th century).

The Mon will still remain the Frankish language of the entire Irrawaddy valley, and the literary language of the Burmese kingdoms until the 11th-12th century. It would later be the Frankish language of the kingdom of Hanthawaddy.

Under a strong Burmese pressure, Mon will see its number of speakers decrease. Today, it is increasing, and the Mons reprint their ancient books, and teach their language in their schools.

Intercomprehension between dialects is possible, even if some dialects borrow from Burmese and others from Thai. The Mon dialects of Thailand are today considered endangered.