ABSTRACT
Eastern Kayah Li is spoken in the area of Kayah State (Karenni) of Burma east of the Pun river (west of and parallel to the Salween) and extending a short distance into Mae Hong Son province, northwestern Thailand. ‘Kayah Li’ corresponds to the self-designation /kəj* li phú/ (for the people; the language is /kəj* li ŋò/). kə j* is ‘person’, ‘Kayah’ and li is ‘red’. An older term is Karenni, which is anglicized Burmese; Burmese <ni> is also ‘red’. ‘Karenni’ is still preferred over ‘Kayah State’ for the geographic/political area by those affiliated with or sympathetic to the local insurgent organization.
