Mon-Khmer languages
Encyclopedia
The Mon–Khmer languages are a language family
of Southeast Asia
. Together with the Munda languages
of India
, they are one of the two traditional primary branches of the Austro-Asiatic
family. However, several recent classifications have abandoned this dichotomy, either reducing the scope of Mon–Khmer (Diffloth 2005) or breaking it up entirely, effectively reclassifying Munda as a branch of Mon–Khmer (Sidwell 2009). (See Austro-Asiatic languages
for details.)
The reconstructed ancestor of the Mon–Khmer languages is Proto-Mon–Khmer.
(1974), now abandoned by Diffloth himself. (See Austroasiatic languages for details.) The only proper classification in recent years is that of Diffloth (2005), though the evidence has not been published and so cannot be evaluated by other researchers. Diffloth (2005) breaks up his 1974 conception of Mon–Khmer, resulting in Khasi–Khmuic (see) and Nuclear Mon–Khmer:
Sidwell (2005) casts doubt on Diffloth's Vieto-Katuic hypothesis, saying that the evidence is ambiguous, and that it is not clear where Katuic belongs in the family. Using lexicostatistics
, Sidwell (2009) sees no strong evidence for grouping the branches of Mon–Khmer, and abandons the distinction between Mon–Khmer and Austroasiatic, resulting in a family with potentially thirteen primary branches.
Language family
A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ancestor, called the proto-language of that family. The term 'family' comes from the tree model of language origination in historical linguistics, which makes use of a metaphor comparing languages to people in a...
of Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
. Together with the Munda languages
Munda languages
-Anderson :Gregory Anderson's 1999 proposal is as follows. Individual languages are highlighted in italics.*North Munda **Korku**Kherwarian***Santhali***Mundari*South Munda **Kharia–Juang***Juang***Kharia...
of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, they are one of the two traditional primary branches of the Austro-Asiatic
Austro-Asiatic languages
The Austro-Asiatic languages, in recent classifications synonymous with Mon–Khmer, are a large language family of Southeast Asia, also scattered throughout India and Bangladesh. The name Austro-Asiatic comes from the Latin words for "south" and "Asia", hence "South Asia"...
family. However, several recent classifications have abandoned this dichotomy, either reducing the scope of Mon–Khmer (Diffloth 2005) or breaking it up entirely, effectively reclassifying Munda as a branch of Mon–Khmer (Sidwell 2009). (See Austro-Asiatic languages
Austro-Asiatic languages
The Austro-Asiatic languages, in recent classifications synonymous with Mon–Khmer, are a large language family of Southeast Asia, also scattered throughout India and Bangladesh. The name Austro-Asiatic comes from the Latin words for "south" and "Asia", hence "South Asia"...
for details.)
The reconstructed ancestor of the Mon–Khmer languages is Proto-Mon–Khmer.
Languages
The classic classification of Mon–Khmer is that of DifflothGérard Diffloth
Gérard Diffloth is a retired Austro-Asiatic Languages professor, formerly of the University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, and Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. He received his Ph.D...
(1974), now abandoned by Diffloth himself. (See Austroasiatic languages for details.) The only proper classification in recent years is that of Diffloth (2005), though the evidence has not been published and so cannot be evaluated by other researchers. Diffloth (2005) breaks up his 1974 conception of Mon–Khmer, resulting in Khasi–Khmuic (see) and Nuclear Mon–Khmer:
Sidwell (2005) casts doubt on Diffloth's Vieto-Katuic hypothesis, saying that the evidence is ambiguous, and that it is not clear where Katuic belongs in the family. Using lexicostatistics
Lexicostatistics
Lexicostatistics is an approach to comparative linguistics that involves quantitative comparison of lexical cognates. Lexicostatistics is related to the comparative method but does not reconstruct a proto-language...
, Sidwell (2009) sees no strong evidence for grouping the branches of Mon–Khmer, and abandons the distinction between Mon–Khmer and Austroasiatic, resulting in a family with potentially thirteen primary branches.
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
- Diffloth, Gérard. A History of the Khmer Language. [199-].
- Diffloth, Gérard 2005. "The contribution of linguistic palaeontology and Austroasiatic". in Laurent Sagart, Roger Blench and Alicia Sanchez-Mazas, eds. The Peopling of East Asia: Putting Together Archaeology, Linguistics and Genetics. 77–80. London: Routledge Curzon.
- 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.
- Shorto, Harry L. edited by Sidwell, PaulPaul SidwellPaul Sidwell is a researcher and director at the Centre for Research in computational Linguistics and the Australian National University. Sidwell is a leading specialist in Mon-Khmer languages, especially the Katuic and Bahnaric branches.-Publications:...
, Cooper, Doug and Bauer, Christian (2006). A Mon–Khmer comparative dictionary. Canberra: Australian National University. Pacific Linguistics. ISBN 0-85883-570-3 - Sidwell, Paul (2005). "Proto-Katuic Phonology and the Sub-grouping of Mon–Khmer Languages". In Sidwell, ed., SEALSXV: papers from the 15th meeting of the Southeast Asian Linguistic Society.
- Sidwell, Paul (2009). The Austroasiatic Central Riverine Hypothesis. Keynote address, SEALS, XIX.