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Mon-Khmer languages
 
 
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The Mon-Khmer languages are the autochthonous language family
Language family

A language family is a group of languages related Genetic from a common ancestor, called the proto-language of that family.As with Alpha taxonomy, the evidence of relationship is observable shared characteristics....
 of Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India and north of Australia....
. Together with the Munda languages
Munda languages

The Munda languages are a language family spoken by about nine million people in central and eastern India and Bangladesh. They constitute a branch of the Austroasiatic languages, generally placed in opposition to the Mon-Khmer languages of Southeast Asia, which means they are distantly related to Vietnamese language and Khmer language....
 of India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
, they are one of the two traditional primary branches of the Austroasiatic family. However, several recent classifications have abandoned this dichotomy, either reducing the scope of Mon-Khmer (Diffloth 2005) or breaking it up entirely (or equivalently reclassifying Munda as a branch of Mon-Khmer: Peiros 1998).






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The Mon-Khmer languages are the autochthonous language family
Language family

A language family is a group of languages related Genetic from a common ancestor, called the proto-language of that family.As with Alpha taxonomy, the evidence of relationship is observable shared characteristics....
 of Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India and north of Australia....
. Together with the Munda languages
Munda languages

The Munda languages are a language family spoken by about nine million people in central and eastern India and Bangladesh. They constitute a branch of the Austroasiatic languages, generally placed in opposition to the Mon-Khmer languages of Southeast Asia, which means they are distantly related to Vietnamese language and Khmer language....
 of India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
, they are one of the two traditional primary branches of the Austroasiatic family. However, several recent classifications have abandoned this dichotomy, either reducing the scope of Mon-Khmer (Diffloth 2005) or breaking it up entirely (or equivalently reclassifying Munda as a branch of Mon-Khmer: Peiros 1998). See Austroasiatic languages.

Mon-Khmer languages

This classification is based on Gérard Diffloth
Gérard Diffloth

G?rard Diffloth is a retired Austro-Asiatic Languages professor, formerly of the University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, and Cornell University, Ithaca, New York....
's widely cited 1974 Encyclopedia Britannica article.

Eastern

  • Bahnaric
    Bahnaric languages

    The Bahnaric languages are a group of about thirty Mon-Khmer languages spoken by about 700,000 people in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Internal diversity suggests that the family broke up about 3000 years ago....
     in Vietnam
    Vietnam

    Vietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by People's Republic of China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east....
    , Cambodia
    Cambodia

    The Kingdom of Cambodia is a country in South East Asia with a population of over 13 million people. The kingdom's capital and largest city is Phnom Penh....
    , and Laos
    Laos

    Laos , officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and People's Republic of China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west....
  • Katuic
    Katuic languages

    The fifteen Katuic languages form a branch of the Austroasiatic languages spoken by about 1.3 million people in Southeast Asia. People who speak Katuic languages are called the Katuic peoples....
     in central Laos
    Laos

    Laos , officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and People's Republic of China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west....
    , northeast Thailand, and central Vietnam
  • Khmer
    Khmer language

    Khmer , or Cambodian, is the language of the Khmer people and the official language of Cambodia. It is the second most widely spoken Austro-Asiatic languages, with speakers in the tens of millions....
     (or Cambodian) in Cambodia
    Cambodia

    The Kingdom of Cambodia is a country in South East Asia with a population of over 13 million people. The kingdom's capital and largest city is Phnom Penh....
    , and northeastern Thailand
    Thailand

    The Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Laos and Myanmar, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Myanmar....
     (15 million)
  • Pacoh
    Pacoh language

    The Pacoh language is a member of the Katuic language group, a part of the Eastern Mon-Khmer languages linguistic branch. Most Pacoh speakers live in central Laos and central Vietnam....
     in central Laos
    Laos

    Laos , officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and People's Republic of China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west....
     and central highlands of Vietnam
    Vietnam

    Vietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by People's Republic of China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east....
     
  • Pearic
    Pearic languages

    The Pearic languages are a group of endangered languages of the Eastern Mon-Khmer languages branch of the Austroasiatic languages, spoken by Pear living in western Cambodia and southeastern Thailand....
     in southern Cambodia
    Cambodia

    The Kingdom of Cambodia is a country in South East Asia with a population of over 13 million people. The kingdom's capital and largest city is Phnom Penh....
    , though some linguists have questioned the inclusion of Pearic so close to Khmer.
  • Vietic
    Vietic languages

    The Vietic languages are a branch of the Austroasiatic languages language family. Vietnamese was identified as an Austroasiatic language in the mid nineteenth century, and there is now evidence for this classification....
     in Vietnam
    Vietnam

    Vietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by People's Republic of China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east....
     and Laos
    Laos

    Laos , officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and People's Republic of China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west....
     (76 to 83 million speakers)
Pacoh language was unknown when the original classification was made.

Northern

  • Khasi
    Khasic languages

    The Khasic or Khasian languages are a language family of Austro-Asiatic languages. They consist of Khasi language, Pnar language and War language....
     in Meghalaya
    Meghalaya

    Meghalaya is a small States of India in north-eastern India. The word "Meghalaya" literally means "The Abode of Clouds" in Sanskrit and other Indic languages....
    , India
    India

    India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
    .
  • Khmuic
    Khmuic languages

    Khmuic languages are a subgroup of the Mon-Khmer languages.*Khao *Mlabri *Xinh Mul *Khmu? The Khmu is the only language in the group that has a large number of speakers, while, e.g., the Mlabri language is only spoken by a few hundreds....
     in northern Laos
    Laos

    Laos , officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and People's Republic of China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west....
  • Mang in Vietnam and China
  • Palaungic
    Palaungic languages

    The nearly thirty Palaungic or Palaung-Wa languages form a branch of the Austro-Asiatic languages.Most of the Palaungic languages lost the contrastive voiced consonant of the ancestral Austro-Asiatic consonants, with the distinction often shifting to the following vowel....
     in the upper Salween, Sino-Burmese border, northern Thailand
  • Palyu
    Palyu languages

    The Palyu languages, also known as Pakanic and Mangic, are a tentative recently identified branch of endangered Austro-Asiatic languages....
     in China
  • T'in in Nan Province
    Nan Province

    Nan is one of the northern Provinces of Thailand of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Uttaradit province, Phrae province and Phayao province....
    , Northern Thailand
    Thailand

    The Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Laos and Myanmar, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Myanmar....
     
Mang, Palyu, Kuy (Kuay) and T'in languages were not known when the original classification was made.

Southern

  • Aslian
    Aslian languages

    The Aslian languages are the languages of the Orang Asli, the aboriginal inhabitants of Malay Peninsula and peninsular Thailand, and a branch of the Mon-Khmer languages, in the Austro-Asiatic languages language family....
     in peninsular Malaysia
    Malaysia

    Malaysia is a federation that consists of States of Malaysia in Southeast Asia with a total landmass of . The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government....
    , split into three groups, Jahaic, Senoic
    Senoic languages

    The Senoic languages are a group of Aslian languages spoken by about 33,000 people in the main range of the Malay peninsula. Languages in the group are Semai language and Temiar language , along with Lanoh language, Sab?m language and Semnam language ....
     and Semelaic.
  • Monic
    Monic languages

    The Monic languages are a branch of the Austro-Asiatic languages language family descended from the Old Monic language of the kingdom of Dvaravati in what is now central Thailand....
     in the lower Salween, Burma (1 million).
  • Nicobarese
    Nicobarese languages

    The Nicobarese languages form an isolated group of six closely-related Mon-Khmer languages, spoken by the majority of the inhabitants of the Nicobar Islands of India....
     on the Alpha's Islands.


Unclassified

  • Bugan
    Bugan language

    Bugan, Bogan, or Pakan is an Austro-Asiatic languages language spoken in southeastern Yunnan province in China. ...
     in China
  • Kemiehua in China
  • Kuanhua in China
These languages were not known when the original classification was made

Further reading

  • Adams, K. L. (1989). Systems of numeral classification in the Mon-Khmer, Nicobarese and Aslian subfamilies of Austroasiatic. Canberra, A.C.T., Australia: Dept. of Linguistics, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University. ISBN 0858833735
  • Filbeck, D. (1978). T'in: a historical study. Pacific linguistics, no. 49. Canberra: Dept. of Linguistics, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University. ISBN 0858831724
  • Hemeling, K. (1907). Die Nanking Kuanhua. (German language)
  • Shorto, H. L. Bibliographies of Mon-Khmer and Tai Linguistics. London oriental bibliographies, v. 2. London: Oxford University Press, 1963.


External links

  • at Ethnologue