S'gaw Karen language

S’gaw Karen language
ကညီကျိာ်, K'nyaw
Pronunciation	[sɣɔʔ]
Native to	Myanmar, Thailand
Region	Kayin State, Myanmar Thailand Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India Malaysia
Ethnicity	Karen
Native speakers	2.2 million (2010–2017)[1]
Language family	Sino-Tibetan Tibeto-Burman Karenic S’gaw Karen language
Writing system	Mon–Burmese (S'gaw Karen alphabet) Latin script Karen Braille
Official status
Official language in	Myanmar ( Kayin State)
Recognised minority language in	Thailand
Language codes
ISO 639-2	kar
ISO 639-3	ksw – inclusive code Individual codes: ksw – S'gaw jkp – Paku jkm – Mopwa wea – Wewaw
Glottolog	sout1554
Karen languages
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S’gaw, S'gaw Karen, or S’gaw K’Nyaw, commonly known as Karen, is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the S'gaw Karen people of Myanmar and Thailand. A Karenic branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family, S'gaw Karen is spoken by over 2 million people in Tanintharyi Region, Ayeyarwady Region, Yangon Region, and Bago Region in Myanmar, and about 200,000 in northern and western Thailand along the border near Kayin State.^[1] It is written using the S'gaw Karen alphabet, derived from the Burmese script, although a Latin-based script is also in use among the S'gaw Karen in northwestern Thailand.^[2]

Various divergent dialects are sometimes seen as separate languages: Paku in the northeast, Mopwa (Mobwa) in the northwest, Wewew, and Monnepwa.^[3]