Monic_languages

Monic languages

Monic languages

Branch of Austroasiatic languages in Southeast Asia


The Monic /ˈmnɪk/ languages are a branch of the Austroasiatic language family descended from the Old Monic language of the kingdom of Dvaravati in what is now central Thailand. The Nyahkur people continue directly from that kingdom, whereas the Mon are descendants of those who migrated to Pegu after the 11th century Khmer conquest of Dvaravati.

Quick Facts Geographic distribution, Linguistic classification ...

Classification

Paul Sidwell (2009:114) proposes the following tree ("stammbaum") for Monic, synthesizing past classifications from Theraphan L-Thongkum (1984) and Gérard Diffloth (1984).

  • Old Mon / Proto-Monic
    • Nyah Kur
      • North
      • Central
      • South
    • Middle Mon
      • Literary Mon
      • Mon Ro: Northernmost dialect, spoken in the Pegu-Paung-Zin Kyaik area
        • West Mon Ro variety: Spoken from north of Martaban to Thaton
        • East Mon Ro variety: Spoken in a small area on the south bank of the Gyaing River
      • Mon Rao: Spoken around Mawlamyine, extending several hundred kilometers south to Tavoy
        • North Mon Rao
        • Kamarwet area Mon
        • South Mon Rao
        • Ye Mon Rao: This is the southernmost Mon variety.
      • Thai Mon (mix of Mon Ro and Mon Rao)

Proto-language

Quick Facts Proto-Monic, Reconstruction of ...

Selected animal and plant names in Proto-Monic, Proto-Nyah Kur, and Proto-Mon (Diffloth 1984):[1]

Mammals

More information species, Proto-Monic ...

Birds

More information species, Proto-Monic ...

Other animals

More information species, Proto-Monic ...

Plants

More information species, Proto-Monic ...

Lexical innovations

Selected Monic lexical innovations:[2]

More information Gloss, Proto-Austroasiatic ...

See also


Footnotes

  1. Diffloth, Gérard. 1984. The Dvaravati Old Mon languages and Nyah Kur. Monic Language Studies. Chulalongkorn University Printing House, Bangkok.
  2. Sidwell, Paul (2021). "Classification of MSEA Austroasiatic languages". The Languages and Linguistics of Mainland Southeast Asia. De Gruyter. pp. 179–206. doi:10.1515/9783110558142-011.

References

Further reading

  • Monic language studies. (1984). Bangkok, Thailand: Chulalongkorn University Print. House.
  • Diffloth, Gérard. 1984 The Dvaravati Old Mon languages and Nyah Kur. Monic Language Studies. Chulalongkorn University Printing House, Bangkok.
  • Eppele, John William, Carey Statezni, and Nathan Statezni. 2008. Monic bibliography. Chiang Mai: Payap University.
  • Eppele, John William, Carey Statezni, and Nathan Statezni. 2008. Monic bibliography with selected annotations. Chiang Mai: Payap University.
  • Ferlus, Michel. 1983. Essai de phonétique historique de môn. Mon-Khmer Studies 12: 1–90.
  • Huffman, Franklin E. 1990. Burmese Mon, Thai Mon, and Nyah Kur: a synchronic comparison. Mon-Khmer Studies 16–17: 31–84.

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