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The 'Mon-Khmer' languages are the autochthonous language family of Southeast Asia. Together with the Munda languages of India, 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.''

Contents

Mon-Khmer languages

Eastern

Northern

Southern

Unclassified

References

Further reading

External links

Mon-Khmer languages

This classification is based on Diffloth's widely cited 1974 ''Encyclopedia Britannica'' article.

Eastern

★ Bahnaric in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos

★ Katuic in central Laos

★ Khmer (or Cambodian) in Cambodia, southern Vietnam, and northeastern Thailand (15 to 22 million)

★ Pearic in southern Cambodia, though some linguists [1] have questioned the inclusion of Pearic so close to Khmer.

★ Vietic in Vietnam (66 to 73 million speakers)

Northern

★ Khasi in Meghalaya, India.

★ Khmuic in northern Laos

★ Mang in Vietnam and China

★ Pacoh in central highlands of Vietnam

★ Palaungic in the upper Salween, Sino-Burmese border, northern Thailand

★ Palyu in China

★ T'in in Nan Province, Northern Thailand[2]
::''Mang, Palyu, Pacoh, Kuy (Kuay) and T'in languages were not known when the original classification was made.''

Southern

★ Aslian in peninsular Malaysia, split into three groups, Jahaic, and Semelaic.

★ Monic in the lower Salween, Burma (1 million).

★ Nicobarese on the Nicobar Islands.

Unclassified

★ Bugan in China

★ Buxinhua in China

★ Kemiehua in China

★ Kuanhua in China
::''These languages were not known when the original classification was made''

References

Shorto, Harry L. edited by Sidwell, Paul, Cooper, Doug and Bauer, Christian (2006). ''A Mon-Khmer comparative dictionary''. Canberra: Australian National University. Pacific Linguistics. ISBN 0-85883-570-3

Further reading

★ Alves, M. J. (2006). ''A grammar of Pacoh: a Mon-Khmer language of the central highlands of Vietnam''. Pacific linguistics, 580. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, the Australian National University. ISBN 0858835681

★ Adams, K. L. (1989). ''Systems of numeral classification in the Mon-Khmer, Nicobarese and Asian 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)

External links

★ Mon-Khmer languages at SEAlang

★ Mon-Khmer.com: Lectures by Paul Sidwell