Proto-Mon-Khmer language
Encyclopedia
The Proto-Mon–Khmer language is the reconstructed
ancestor of the Mon–Khmer languages, which is a primary branch of the Austro-Asiatic language family
. Much work has been done on the reconstruction of Proto-Mon–Khmer in Harry L. Shorto
's Mon–Khmer Comparative Dictionary. However, very little work has been done on Proto-Austro-Asiatic itself, since the Munda languages
are not well documented. If Mon–Khmer is not a valid taxon, as some recent classifications would have it, then Proto-Mon–Khmer becomes synonymous with Proto-Austro-Asiatic.
Sidwell (2007, 2009) suggests that the likely homeland of Austro-Asiatic/Mon–Khmer is near central Vietnam, and that the family is not as old as frequently assumed.
s, 7 distinct vowel
s which can be lengthened and glottalized, and 3 diphthong
s (Shorto 2006).
Proto-Mon–Khmer is rich in vowel
s. The vowels are:
The diphthong
s are:
Note: R is one of the optional medial consonants /r, l, j, w, h/.
Sidwell (2008) considers the two most morphologically conservative Mon–Khmer branches to be Khmuic
and Aslian
. On the other hand, Vietnamese
morphology is far more similar to that of Chinese
and the Tai languages
and has lost many morphological features found in Proto-Mon–Khmer.
The following Proto-Mon–Khmer affixes, which are still tentative, have been reconstructed by Paul Sidwell
(Sidwell 2008:257-263).
, Proto-Mon–Khmer has an SVO
, or verb-medial, order. Proto-Mon–Khmer also makes use of noun classifiers
and serial verb construction
s (Shorto 2006).
Linguistic reconstruction
Linguistic reconstruction is the practice of establishing the features of the unattested ancestor of one or more given languages. There are two kinds of reconstruction. Internal reconstruction uses irregularities in a single language to make inferences about an earlier stage of that language...
ancestor of the Mon–Khmer languages, which is a primary branch of the Austro-Asiatic language family
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"...
. Much work has been done on the reconstruction of Proto-Mon–Khmer in Harry L. Shorto
Harry L. Shorto
Harry L. Shorto was a British expert in comparative Mon-Khmer studies.-Life:Shorto was Professor of Mon-Khmer Studies at the University of London until hisretirement in 1984.-Contributions:...
's Mon–Khmer Comparative Dictionary. However, very little work has been done on Proto-Austro-Asiatic itself, since 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...
are not well documented. If Mon–Khmer is not a valid taxon, as some recent classifications would have it, then Proto-Mon–Khmer becomes synonymous with Proto-Austro-Asiatic.
Sidwell (2007, 2009) suggests that the likely homeland of Austro-Asiatic/Mon–Khmer is near central Vietnam, and that the family is not as old as frequently assumed.
Phonology
Proto-Mon–Khmer has a total of 21 consonantConsonant
In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are , pronounced with the lips; , pronounced with the front of the tongue; , pronounced with the back of the tongue; , pronounced in the throat; and ,...
s, 7 distinct vowel
Vowel
In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
s which can be lengthened and glottalized, and 3 diphthong
Diphthong
A diphthong , also known as a gliding vowel, refers to two adjacent vowel sounds occurring within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: That is, the tongue moves during the pronunciation of the vowel...
s (Shorto 2006).
| Labial Labial consonant Labial consonants are consonants in which one or both lips are the active articulator. This precludes linguolabials, in which the tip of the tongue reaches for the posterior side of the upper lip and which are considered coronals... |
Alveolar Alveolar consonant Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli of the superior teeth... |
Palatal Palatal consonant Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate... |
Velar Velar consonant Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue against the soft palate, the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum).... |
Glottal Glottal consonant Glottal consonants, also called laryngeal consonants, are consonants articulated with the glottis. Many phoneticians consider them, or at least the so-called fricative, to be transitional states of the glottis without a point of articulation as other consonants have; in fact, some do not consider... |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unvoiced stop | p /p/ | t /t/ | c /c/ | k /k/ | ʔ /ʔ/ | |||||
| Voiced stop | b /b/ | d /d/ | j /ɟ/ | g /g/ | ||||||
| Glottalized Glottalization Glottalization is the complete or partial closure of the glottis during the articulation of another sound. Glottalization of vowels and other sonorants is most often realized as creaky voice... |
ɓ | ɗ | ||||||||
| Nasal Nasal consonant A nasal consonant is a type of consonant produced with a lowered velum in the mouth, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. Examples of nasal consonants in English are and , in words such as nose and mouth.- Definition :... |
m /m/ | n /n/ | ɲ /ɲ/ | ŋ /ŋ/ | ||||||
| Semivowel Semivowel In phonetics and phonology, a semivowel is a sound, such as English or , that is phonetically similar to a vowel sound but functions as the syllable boundary rather than as the nucleus of a syllable.-Classification:... |
w /w/ | y /j/ | ||||||||
| Liquid Liquid consonant In phonetics, liquids or liquid consonants are a class of consonants consisting of lateral consonants together with rhotics.-Description:... |
r /r/, l /l/ | |||||||||
| Fricative Fricative consonant Fricatives are consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. These may be the lower lip against the upper teeth, in the case of ; the back of the tongue against the soft palate, in the case of German , the final consonant of Bach; or... |
s /ç/ | h /h/ | ||||||||
Proto-Mon–Khmer is rich in vowel
Vowel
In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
s. The vowels are:
- *a, *aa
- *e, *ee
- *ə, *əə
- *i, *-iʔ, *ii, *-iiʔ
- *o, *oo
- *ɔ, *ɔɔ
- *u, *uu, *-uuʔ
| Height | Front Front vowel A front vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a front vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far in front as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Front vowels are sometimes also... |
Central Central vowel A central vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a central vowel is that the tongue is positioned halfway between a front vowel and a back vowel... |
Back Back vowel A back vowel is a type of vowel sound used in spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a back vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far back as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Back vowels are sometimes also called dark... |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close Close vowel A close vowel is a type of vowel sound used in many spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a close vowel is that the tongue is positioned as close as possible to the roof of the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.This term is prescribed by the... |
i /i/, ii /iː/ | u /u/, uu /uː/ | |||||
| Mid Mid vowel A mid vowel is a vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned mid-way between an open vowel and a close vowel... |
e /e/, ee /eː/ | ə /ə/, əə /əː/ | o /o/, oo /oː/ | ||||
| Open Open vowel An open vowel is defined as a vowel sound in which the tongue is positioned as far as possible from the roof of the mouth. Open vowels are sometimes also called low vowels in reference to the low position of the tongue... |
a /a/, aa /aː/ | ɔ /ɔ/, ɔɔ /ɔː/ |
The diphthong
Diphthong
A diphthong , also known as a gliding vowel, refers to two adjacent vowel sounds occurring within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: That is, the tongue moves during the pronunciation of the vowel...
s are:
- *iə, *uə, *ai
Morphology
Common structures include *CV(C) and *CCV(C) roots. *CVC roots can also be affixed either via prefixes or infixes, as in *C-CVC or *C⟨C⟩VC (Shorto 2006). Sidwell (2008) gives the following phonological shapes for two types of stems.- Monosyllabic - C(R)V(V)C
- Sesquisyllabic - CCV(V)C
Note: R is one of the optional medial consonants /r, l, j, w, h/.
Sidwell (2008) considers the two most morphologically conservative Mon–Khmer branches to be Khmuic
Khmuic languages
Khmuic languages are a subgroup of the Mon–Khmer languages.*Khao: Khao, Bit *Mlabri: Mlabri, Yumbri*Xinh Mul: Khang, Phong-Kniang, Puoc...
and Aslian
Aslian languages
The Aslian languages are the original languages of the Orang Asli, the aboriginal inhabitants of Malaya and peninsular Thailand, and a branch of the Mon–Khmer languages, in the Austro-Asiatic language family...
. On the other hand, Vietnamese
Vietnamese language
Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...
morphology is far more similar to that of Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
and the Tai languages
Tai languages
The Tai or Zhuang–Tai languages are a branch of the Tai–Kadai language family. The Tai languages include the most widely spoken of the Tai–Kadai languages, including standard Thai or Siamese, the national language of Thailand; Lao or Laotian, the national language of Laos; Burma's Shan language;...
and has lost many morphological features found in Proto-Mon–Khmer.
The following Proto-Mon–Khmer affixes, which are still tentative, have been reconstructed by Paul Sidwell
Paul Sidwell
Paul 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:...
(Sidwell 2008:257-263).
- Nominalizing *-n- (instrumental in Kammu, resultative in Khmu)
- Nominalizing agentive *-m-
- Expressive of repetitiveness/numerousness *-l-
- Nominalizing instrumental *-p-
- Causative *p- (allomorphs: p-, pn-, -m-)
- Reciprocal *tr-
Syntax
Like the Tai languagesTai languages
The Tai or Zhuang–Tai languages are a branch of the Tai–Kadai language family. The Tai languages include the most widely spoken of the Tai–Kadai languages, including standard Thai or Siamese, the national language of Thailand; Lao or Laotian, the national language of Laos; Burma's Shan language;...
, Proto-Mon–Khmer has an SVO
SVO
SVO is an acronym for several terms:* Mustang SVO, a car developed by Ford Motor Company* Saturn Valley Online, an EarthBound MMORPG.* Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow, Russia, IATA Airport Code...
, or verb-medial, order. Proto-Mon–Khmer also makes use of noun classifiers
Classifier (linguistics)
A classifier, in linguistics, sometimes called a measure word, is a word or morpheme used in some languages to classify the referent of a countable noun according to its meaning. In languages that have classifiers, they are often used when the noun is being counted or specified...
and serial verb construction
Serial verb construction
The serial verb construction, also known as serialization, is a syntactic phenomenon common to many African, Asian and New Guinean languages...
s (Shorto 2006).