Tai languages
Encyclopedia
The Tai or Zhuang–Tai languages ( transliteration
: ) 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 Zhuang, a major language in southern Chinese province of Guangxi
.
for the Vietnamese, kɛɛuA1, Jerold A. Edmondson
of the University of Texas, Arlington posited that the split between Zhuang (a Central Tai language) and the Southwest Tai languages happened no earlier than the founding of Jiaozhi
(交址) in Vietnam in 112 BCE but no later than the 5th–6th century.
.
Other Tai languages are Kuan (Laos), Rien (Laos), Tai Do (Viet Nam), Tai Pao (Laos), Tay Khang (Laos).
, classifies the Tai languages in a recursive-like fashion based on shared phonological innovations (Pittayaporn 2009:298). In Pittayaporn's classification system, the Zhuang dialects of Chóngzuǒ
(崇左) in Guangxi
have the most internal diversity. Only the Southwestern Tai branch remains unchanged from Fang-Kuei Li's 1977 classification system, and several of the Southern Zhuang languages of Ethnologue are shown to be paraphyletic. The classification is as follows, with Ethnologue equivalents in brackets:
), and C (Chongzuo
, Shangsi
, Caolan) subgroups (Pittayaporn 2009:300-301).
Furthermore, the following shifts occurred at various nodes leading up to node Q.
has been reconstructed in 1977 by Fang-Kuei Li and by Pittayawat Pittayaporn in 2009.
Proto-Southwestern Tai has also been reconstructed in 1977 by Fang-Kuei Li and by Nanna L. Jonsson in 1991.
ISO 11940
ISO 11940 is an ISO standard for the romanization of the Thai alphabet, published in 1998 and updated in September 2003.-Consonants:The transliteration of the pure consonants is derived from their usual pronunciation as an initial consonant. An unmarked h is used to form digraphs denoting...
: ) are a branch of the Tai–Kadai language family
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...
. The Tai languages include the most widely spoken of the Tai–Kadai languages, including standard Thai
Thai language
Thai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...
or Siamese, the national language of Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
; Lao
Lao language
Lao or Laotian is a tonal language of the Tai–Kadai language family. It is the official language of Laos, and also spoken in the northeast of Thailand, where it is usually referred to as the Isan language. Being the primary language of the Lao people, Lao is also an important second language for...
or Laotian, the national language of Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
; Burma's Shan language
Shan language
The Shan language is the native language of Shan people and spoken mostly in Shan State, Burma. It is also used in pockets of Kachin State in Burma, in northern Thailand, and in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China. Shan is a member of the Tai–Kadai language family, and...
; and Zhuang, a major language in southern Chinese province of Guangxi
Guangxi
Guangxi, formerly romanized Kwangsi, is a province of southern China along its border with Vietnam. In 1958, it became the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, a region with special privileges created specifically for the Zhuang people.Guangxi's location, in...
.
Name
Cognates with the name Tai (Thai, Dai, etc.) are used by speakers of many Tai languages. The term Tai is now well-established as the generic name in English. Several Lao linguists have objected to this, opining that Siamese Thai should be considered a Lao language, but that hasn't made much headway in English usage. Because Tai and Thai, the national language of Thailand, are homonyms, some linguists continue to use Siamese for the latter. Similarly, the terms Dai and Daic have fallen somewhat out of favor as the name for the entire family, with forms based on Kadai now more common.History
Citing the fact that both the Zhuang and Thai peoples have the same exonymExonym and endonym
In ethnolinguistics, an endonym or autonym is a local name for a geographical feature, and an exonym or xenonym is a foreign language name for it...
for the Vietnamese, kɛɛuA1, Jerold A. Edmondson
Jerold A. Edmondson
Jerold A. Edmondson is a professor of linguistics at the University of Texas at Arlington. Edmondson is a leading specialist in Tai–Kadai languages, especially the Kam–Sui branch. He was one of the researchers who discovered the En language during a linguistic field expedition in the late...
of the University of Texas, Arlington posited that the split between Zhuang (a Central Tai language) and the Southwest Tai languages happened no earlier than the founding of Jiaozhi
Jiaozhi
Jiaozhi was the name of all or part of Vietnam's territory, from the Hùng Vương era to the middle of the Third Chinese domination, and during the Fourth Chinese domination.-Giao Chỉ in the Văn Lang era:...
(交址) in Vietnam in 112 BCE but no later than the 5th–6th century.
Internal classification
Tai has traditionally been divided into Northern, Central, and Southwestern (Thai) branches. However, Central Tai does not appear to be a valid group.Ethnologue
The list below is organized roughly according to EthnologueEthnologue
Ethnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International , a Christian linguistic service organization, which studies lesser-known languages, to provide the speakers with Bibles in their native language and support their efforts in language development.The Ethnologue...
.
- Northern Tai languagesNorthern Tai languagesThe Northern Tai or Northern Zhuang languages are an established branch of the Tai languages of Southeast Asia. They include the northern Zhuang languages of China, such as Bouyei.-Languages:Ethnologue includes the following languages....
- Central Tai languages
- Southern Zhuang (Nung) (China: Dai Zhuang = Wenma, Minz Zhuang, Nong Zhuang = Yanguang, Yang Zhuang = Dejing, Yongnan Zhuang, Zuojiang Zhuang)
- Cao Lan (Vietnam)
- Tai Nung properNung language (Tai)Nung is a Tai–Kadai language spoken mostly in Cao Bằng, and Lang Son provinces in Vietnam. It is also known as Bu-Nong, Highland Nung, Nong, Tai Nung, Tay, and Tày Nùng...
(Vietnam) - TàyTày languageTày or Tho is the major Tai language of Vietnam, in the northeast near the Chinese border....
(Tho) (Vietnam) - Ts'ün-LaoTs'ün-Lao languageTs'ün-Lao is a Tai language spoken in the Lai Châu Province of northwestern Vietnam.-External links:*...
(Vietnam) - Nhang (Vietnam)
- Southwestern Tai languagesSouthwestern Tai languagesThe Southwestern Tai Thai languages are an established branch of the Tai languages of Southeast Asia. They include Siamese , Lao, and Shan in Burma.-Languages:...
(Thai languages)
Other Tai languages are Kuan (Laos), Rien (Laos), Tai Do (Viet Nam), Tai Pao (Laos), Tay Khang (Laos).
Overview
In a 2009 Ph.D. dissertation, Pittayawat Pittayaporn, currently a professor of linguistics at Chulalongkorn UniversityChulalongkorn University
Chulalongkorn University is the oldest university in Thailand and is the country's highest ranked university. It now has nineteen faculties and institutes. Regarded as the best and most selective university in Thailand, it consistently attracts top students from around the country...
, classifies the Tai languages in a recursive-like fashion based on shared phonological innovations (Pittayaporn 2009:298). In Pittayaporn's classification system, the Zhuang dialects of Chóngzuǒ
Chongzuo
Chongzuo is a prefecture-level city in China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is home to one of China’s largest Zhuang populations.- Geography and climate :...
(崇左) in Guangxi
Guangxi
Guangxi, formerly romanized Kwangsi, is a province of southern China along its border with Vietnam. In 1958, it became the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, a region with special privileges created specifically for the Zhuang people.Guangxi's location, in...
have the most internal diversity. Only the Southwestern Tai branch remains unchanged from Fang-Kuei Li's 1977 classification system, and several of the Southern Zhuang languages of Ethnologue are shown to be paraphyletic. The classification is as follows, with Ethnologue equivalents in brackets:
- Proto-Tai
- A
- F: LongzhouLongzhou CountyLongzhou is a county in the Guangxi province of China, on the border with Vietnam . It is under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city Chongzuo....
龙州 [Zuojiang Zhuang], LeipingDaxin CountyDaxin County is a county of Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of Chongzuo city....
雷平 - E
- H: LongmingJingxi CountyJingxi County is a county of Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of Baise city....
龙明, DaxinDaxin CountyDaxin County is a county of Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of Chongzuo city....
大新 [Zuojiang Zhuang] - G
- L: DebaoDebao CountyDebao County is a county of Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of Baise city.-Economy:Boxite mining is a major industry in Debao County. To facilitate the transportation of the ore, a 72-km single-track electrified railway branch was completed in 2010, connecting Debao with Tiandong on...
德保 [Yang Zhuang], JingxiJingxi CountyJingxi County is a county of Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of Baise city....
靖西 [Yang Zhuang]; NungNung languageNung, or Anung , is a Tibeto-Burman language used by the Nung people. It is very close to the Derung language. Most of the Nung people in China have shifted to Lisu.- Consonant :The Anung have 43 single consonants.- External links :*...
(Western, WenshanWenshan CountyWenshan is a city in the Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan, China. It once was a county , but on 2 December 2010, with the approval of the PRC State Council, it was upgraded to a county-level city.-Economy:...
文山 [Dai Zhuang], Yanshan 砚山 [Nong Zhuang]) - K
- P: Bao Yen, Cao BangCao Bang ProvinceCao Bằng is a province of northeastern Vietnam. The province has borders with Hà Giang, Tuyên Quang, Bắc Kạn, and Lạng Sơn provinces within Vietnam. It also has common international border with Guangxi province of the People's Republic of China...
[Tày or Nung], Wenma 文马 [Dai Zhuang] - O
- R: SapaSa PaSa Pa , or Sapa, is a frontier town and capital of Sa Pa District in the Lao Cai province in northwest Vietnam. It is one of the main market towns in the area, where several ethnic minority groups such as Hmong, Dao , Giay, Pho Lu, and Tay live....
[Tày Sa Pa] (see Tày Sa Pa language) - Q: Southwestern Tai (See)
- R: Sapa
- P: Bao Yen, Cao Bang
- L: Debao
- H: Longming
- F: Longzhou
- D
- I: QinzhouQinzhouQinzhou is a municipal region in Guangxi, People's Republic of China.The municipality lies on the Gulf of Tonkin and has a population of 944, 000.-Administration:The Qinzhou municipal region comprises two districts and two counties....
钦州 [Yongnan Zhuang] - J
- M: WumingWuming CountyWuming County is a county under the administration of Nanning city, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China.The Wuming dialect is the prestige dialect of the Zhuang language....
武鸣 [ex-Yongbei Zhuang], Yongnan 邕南 [Yongnan Zhuang], Long'anLong'an CountyLong'an County is a county of Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of Nanning city....
隆安 [Yongnan Zhuang], FusuiFusui CountyFusui County is a county of Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of Chongzuo City....
扶绥 [Yongnan Zhuang] - N: SaekSaek languageSaek is a Tai language spoken in at least ten villages in Khammouane Province, Laos, and at least four villages in Nakhon Phanom Province in northeastern Thailand, just across the Mekong River...
and other Northern Tai (See)
- M: Wuming
- I: Qinzhou
- B: NingmingNingming CountyNingming County is a county of Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of Chongzuo city....
宁明 [Zuojiang Zhuang] (see Ningming Mingjiang languageNingming Mingjiang languageNingming Mingjiang is a divergent Zhuang language of southern China. According to Pittayaporn , it forms a primary branch of the Tai languages. Ethnologue, however, lumps it under the apparently spurious Zuojiang Zhuang, and it therefore has no ISO code....
) - C: ChongzuoChongzuoChongzuo is a prefecture-level city in China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is home to one of China’s largest Zhuang populations.- Geography and climate :...
崇左 [Yongnan Zhuang], ShangsiShangsi CountyShangsi County is a county of Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of Fangchenggang city....
上思 [Yongnan Zhuang], Caolan [Caolan] (see Caolan languageCaolan languageCaolan, sometimes Man Cao Lan, is a Tai language of northern Vietnam. According to Pittayaporn , it is closest to the Zhuang varieties of Chongzuo 崇左 and Shangsi 上思 across the border in China, both of which are lumped under the apparently spurious Yongnan Zhuang by Ethnologue. Together, Caolan,...
)
- A
Sound changes
The following phonological shifts occurred in the Q (Southwestern), N (roughly Northern), B (NingmingNingming County
Ningming County is a county of Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of Chongzuo city....
), and C (Chongzuo
Chongzuo
Chongzuo is a prefecture-level city in China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is home to one of China’s largest Zhuang populations.- Geography and climate :...
, Shangsi
Shangsi County
Shangsi County is a county of Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of Fangchenggang city....
, Caolan) subgroups (Pittayaporn 2009:300-301).
| Proto-Tai Proto-Tai language Proto-Tai is the reconstructed common ancestor of all the Tai languages, including modern Lao, Shan, Lu, Tai Dam, Northern Thai, Thai, Bouyei, and Zhuang... |
Subgroup Q Reflex |
Subgroup N Reflex |
Subgroup B Reflex |
Subgroup C Reflex |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| *ɤj, *ɤw, *ɤɰ | *aj, *aw, *aɰ | *i:, *u:, *ɯ: | *i:, *u:, *ɯ: | - |
| *ɯj, *ɯw | *i:, *u: | *aj, *aw | *i:, *u: | - |
| *we, *wo | *e:, *o: | *i:, *u: | *e:, *o: | *e:, *o: |
| *ɟm̩.r- | *br- | *ɟr- | - | *ɟr- |
| *k.t- | - | *tr- | - | *tr- |
| *ɤn, *ɤt, *ɤc | - | *an, *at, *ac | - | - |
Furthermore, the following shifts occurred at various nodes leading up to node Q.
- E: *p.t- > *p.r-; *ɯm > *ɤm
- G: *k.r- > *qr-
- K: *e:, *o: > *ɛ:, *ɔ:
- O: *ɤn > *on
- Q: *kr- > *ʰr-
Reconstruction
Proto-TaiProto-Tai language
Proto-Tai is the reconstructed common ancestor of all the Tai languages, including modern Lao, Shan, Lu, Tai Dam, Northern Thai, Thai, Bouyei, and Zhuang...
has been reconstructed in 1977 by Fang-Kuei Li and by Pittayawat Pittayaporn in 2009.
Proto-Southwestern Tai has also been reconstructed in 1977 by Fang-Kuei Li and by Nanna L. Jonsson in 1991.
| Proto-Tai | Thai script | ||
| 1st | singular | *ku | กู |
| dual(inclusive) | *ra | รา | |
| dual(exclusive) | *pʰɯa | เผือ | |
| plural(inclusive) | *rau | เรา | |
| plural(exclusive) | *tu | ตู | |
| 2nd | singular | *mɯŋ | มึง |
| dual | *kʰɯa | เขือ | |
| plural | *su | สู | |
| 3rd | singular | *man | มัน |
| dual | *kʰa | ขา | |
| plural | *khau | เขา |
Comparison
Below is comparative table of Tai languages.| English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... |
Proto-Thai | Siamese | Lao Lao language Lao or Laotian is a tonal language of the Tai–Kadai language family. It is the official language of Laos, and also spoken in the northeast of Thailand, where it is usually referred to as the Isan language. Being the primary language of the Lao people, Lao is also an important second language for... |
Lanna | Isan Isan language Isan language is the collective name for the dialects of the Lao language as they are spoken in Thailand. It is spoken by approximately 20 million people, which is nearly one-third of the entire population of Thailand, predominantly in the Isan region of northeastern Thailand. There are also large... |
Shan Shan language The Shan language is the native language of Shan people and spoken mostly in Shan State, Burma. It is also used in pockets of Kachin State in Burma, in northern Thailand, and in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China. Shan is a member of the Tai–Kadai language family, and... |
Tai Lü Tai Lü language Tai Lü is a language spoken by about 670,000 people in South East Asia. This includes 250,000 people in China, 200,000 in Burma, 134,000 in Thailand, and 5,000 in Vietnam... |
Standard Zhuang Standard Zhuang The standard Zhuang language is the variety of Zhuang spoken in Wuming County in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, where it is an official language.-Classification:... |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| air | *lom | /lōm/ | /lóm/ | /lōm/ | /lom/ | /lóm/ | /lôm/ | /ɣum˧˩/ |
| city | *mɯaŋ | /mɯ̄aŋ/ | /mɯ́aŋ/ | /mɯ̄aŋ/ | /mɯaŋ/ | /mɤ́ŋ/ | /mɤ̂ŋ/ | /mɯŋ˧/ |
| earth | *?din | /dīn/ | /dìn/ | /dīn/ | /din/ | /lǐn/ | /dín/ | /dei˧/ |
| fire | *vai/aɯ | /fāj/ | /fáj/ | /fāj/ | /faj/ | /pʰáj/ or /fáj/ | /fâj/ | /fei˧˩/ |
| heart | *čai/aɯ | /hǔa tɕāi/ | /hǔa tɕài/ | /hǔa tɕǎi/ | /hua tɕai/ | /hǒ tsǎɰ/ | /hó tɕái/ | /sim/ |
| love | *rak | /rák/ | /hāk/ | /hák/ | /hak/ | /hâk/ | /hak/ | /gyai˧˩/ |
| water | *naam | /náːm/ | /nâm/ | /nám/ | /nam/ | /nâm/ | /nà̄m/ | /ɣaem˦˨/ |