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Neng Now

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Neng Thao, known as Neng Now, is a filmmaker, musician, and scholar based in Wisconsin. He studies Hmong musical surrogate languages, a rare art form where music itself carries words and meaning. Neng went to Harvard. He earned a degree in human biology. Later, he won a Fulbright grant to study language, and he finished that work in 2023. His research looks at how the brain hears and reads sung language. He uses brain scans, like fMRI and MEG, to study this. His work has taken him to over 100 countries. He has spoken at more than 50 schools and events around the world. Neng speaks two Hmong dialects. He can play these musical languages on nine instruments. He also sings kwv txhiaj and lug txaj, two old Hmong song styles. Outside his research, Neng runs a small shop for Hmong instruments. In 2021, he started Gaur, a project to save old Hmong items. He now owns the largest known set of antique Hmong flintlocks in the world. He wrote and drew a kids' book about the big bang. He has also made three films that won several awards. In 2019, Neng won the Hmong American Partnership Community Impact Award for his work in the Hmong community.

Social Media InfluencersDocumentarianHmong Musical Surrogate Language ScholarFulbright ScholarTraditional Hmong Musician

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