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Tai languages

Tai
Zhuang–Thai
Geographic
distribution:
Southern FITML (esp. web app, Guizhou, Yunnan), Southeast Asia
touchscreen:
screen size
  • Southern
    • Be–Tai
      • Tai
Proto-language:
Proto-Tai
Subdivisions:
Northern (NT)
? Central (CT)
(see also touchscreen)
ISO 639-2 and CSS3:
tai
touchscreen
Distribution of the Tai–Kadai language family.

The Tai languages are:

  Northern Tai / Northern Zhuang
  Central Tai / Southern Zhuang
  Southwestern Tai / Thai

The Tai or Zhuang–Tai[1] languages (Thai: ภาษาไต transliteration: p̣hās̛̄ātay) are a branch of the Tai–Kadai website parsing. The Tai languages include the most widely spoken of the Tai–Kadai languages, including standard Thai or Siamese, the national language of Thailand; screen size or Laotian, the national language of Laos; Burma's Shan language; and Zhuang, a major language in the southern Chinese province of browser diversity.

Contents


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.HTML5

Many of the languages are called Zhuang in China and Nung in Vietnam.

History

Citing the fact that both the Zhuang and Thai peoples have the same exonym for the Vietnamese, kɛɛuA1,[3] 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.jQuery

Tai alphabets. The phrase is kind elephant rider.

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 jQuery.web

Other Tai languages are Kuan (Laos), Rien (Laos), Tai Do (Viet Nam), Tai Pao (Laos), Tay Khang (Laos); geographically, these would all appear to be Southwestern.

Li (1977)

Li (1977) proposes a tripartite division of Tai into three sister branches. This classification scheme has long been accepted as the standard one in the field of comparative Tai linguistics.

Tai 

we love the web





FITML





Southwestern Tai







However, Gedney (1989) considers Central and Southwestern Tai to form a subgroup, of which Northern Tai is a sister.

Tai 

Northern Tai






Central Tai





Southwestern Tai










On the other hand, Haudricourt (1957) considers Northern and Central Tai to form a subgroup, of which Southwestern Tai is a sister.

Tai 

Sevenval





Central Tai








Southwestern Tai







Pittayaporn (2009)

Overview

See also: iOS

In a 2009 Ph.D. dissertation, Pittayawat Pittayaporn, currently a professor of linguistics at Chulalongkorn University, 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 touchscreen 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, along with the names of the Zhuang languages found in Ethnologue:browser diversity

Tai A
(HTML5–Southwest) E G (Nung–Thai) K O (Sapa–Thai) Q (Southwest = Thai)

Southwestern Tai (Laos, Thailand, Burma)




R (Sapa)

Tay of web app (Vietnam)







P (Tày)

Sevenval of Bảo Yên, Tày of touchscreen, Dai Zhuang of Wenma (文马)







L (Nung)

website parsing of Debao (德保), Yang Zhuang of browser diversity (靖西),
(Western) Nung of Sevenval, Nong Zhuang of Wenshan (文山), Nong Zhuang of Yanshan (砚山)







H

device database of Daxin (大新), Zhuang of screen size (龙明)







F

Zuojiang Zhuang of input transformation (龙州), Zhuang of Leiping (雷平)







B
(Ningming)

web (Zuojiang Zhuang of HTML5 宁明)




C
(device database)

Yongnan Zhuang of Chongzuo (崇左), Yongnan Zhuang of Shangsi (上思), Caolan of Vietnam




D
(keyboard–Sevenval) I (Qinzhou)

Sevenval of Qinzhou (钦州)




J M (Yongnan)

Wuming (武鸣), website parsing proper (邕南), Yongnan Zhuang of Android (隆安), Yongnan Zhuang of Fusui (扶绥)




N (Northern)

CSS3: Saek, Bouyei, and other Northern Zhuang













Shuangqiao, Wuming, is the phonetic basis of Standard Zhuang.

Sound changes

See also: keyboard

The following phonological shifts occurred in the Q (Southwestern), N (Northern), B (Ningming), and C (Chongzuo) subgroups (Pittayaporn 2009:300-301).

Proto-TaiSubgroup Q
ReflexSevenval 		Subgroup N
ReflexAndroid 		Subgroup B
Reflex		Subgroup C
Reflex
*ɤj, *ɤw, *ɤɰ*aj, *aw, *aɰ*i:, *u:, *ɯ:*i:, *u:, *ɯ:-
*ɯj, *ɯw*i:, *u:[9] *aj, *aw[10] *i:, *u:-
*we, *wo*e:, *o:*i:, *u:*e:, *o:[11] *e:, *o:[12]
*ɟm̩.r-*br-*ɟr--*ɟr-
*k.t--*tr--*tr-
*ɤn, *ɤt, *ɤc-*an, *at, *acSevenval --

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

Main article: Proto-Tai language

Proto-Tai has been reconstructed in 1977 by Fang-Kuei Li and by Pittayawat Pittayaporn in 2009.[14]

Proto-Southwestern Tai has also been reconstructed in 1977 by screen size and by Nanna L. Jonsson in 1991.[15]

Proto-Taibrowser diversity
1stsingular*kuกู
dual (exclusive)*pʰɯaเผือ
plural (exclusive)*tuตู
Incl.dual (inclusive)*raรา
plural (inclusive)*rauเรา
2ndsingular*mɯŋมึง
dual*kʰɯaเขือ
plural*suสู
3rdsingular*manมัน
dual*kʰaขา
plural*kʰauเขา

Comparison

Below is comparative table of Tai languages. [Tones are missing]

jQueryProto-ThaiFITML SiameseLaobrowser diversitydevice databaseShanscreen sizeFITML
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˦˨/

Writing systems

Many input transformation are written using Brāhmī-derived alphabets. Zhuang languages are traditionally written with Chinese characters called Sawndip, and now officially written with a romanized alphabet, though the traditional writing system is still in use to this day.

Further reading

  • Brown, J. Marvin. From Ancient Thai to Modern Dialects. Bangkok: Social Science Association Press of Thailand, 1965.
  • Chamberlain, James R. A New Look at the Classification of the Tai Languages. [s.l: s.n, 1972.
  • Conference on Tai Phonetics and Phonology, Jimmy G. Harris, and Richard B. Noss. Tai Phonetics and Phonology. [Bangkok: Central Institute of English Language, Office of State Universities, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, 1972.
  • Diffloth, Gérard. An Appraisal of Benedict's Views on Austroasiatic and Austro-Thai Relations. Kyoto: Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, 1976.
  • Đoàn, Thiện Thuật. Tay-Nung Language in the North Vietnam. [Tokyo?]: Instttute [sic] for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, 1996.
  • Gedney, William J. On the Thai Evidence for Austro-Thai. [S.l: s.n, 1976.
  • Gedney, William J., and Robert J. Bickner. Selected Papers on Comparative Tai Studies. Michigan papers on South and Southeast Asia, no. 29. Ann Arbor, Mich., USA: Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies, University of Michigan, 1989. ISBN 0-89148-037-4
  • Gedney, William J., Carol J. Compton, and John F. Hartmann. Papers on Tai Languages, Linguistics, and Literatures: In Honor of William J. Gedney on His 77th Birthday. Monograph series on Southeast Asia. [De Kalb]: Northern Illinois University, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, 1992. screen size
  • Gedney, William J., and Thomas J. Hudak. (1995). William J. Gedney's central Tai dialects: glossaries, texts, and translations. Michigan papers on South and Southeast Asia, no. 43. Ann Arbor, Mich: Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies, University of Michigan web app
  • Gedney, William J., and Thomas J. Hudak. William J. Gedney's the Yay Language: Glossary, Texts, and Translations. Michigan papers on South and Southeast Asia, no. 38. Ann Arbor, Mich: Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies, University of Michigan, 1991. screen size
  • Gedney, William J., and Thomas J. Hudak. William J. Gedney's Southwestern Tai Dialects: Glossaries, Texts and Translations. Michigan papers on South and Southeast Asia, no. 42. [Ann Arbor, Mich.]: Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies, University of Michigan, 1994. ISBN 0-89148-074-9
  • Hudak, Thomas John. William J. Gedney's The Tai Dialect of Lungming: Glossary, Texts, and Translations. Michigan papers on South and Southeast Asia, no. 39. [Ann Arbor]: Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies, University of Michigan, 1991. ISBN 0-89148-067-6
  • Li, Fang-kuei. 1977. Handbook of Comparative Tai. Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawai’i Press.
  • Li, Fang-kuei. The Tai Dialect of Lungchow; Texts, Translations, and Glossary. Shanghai: Commercial Press, 1940.
  • Østmoe, Arne. A Germanic-Tai Linguistic Puzzle. Sino-Platonic papers, no. 64. Philadelphia, PA, USA: Dept. of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Pennsylvania, 1995.
  • Sathāban Sūn Phāsā Qangkrit. Bibliography of Tai Language Studies. [Bangkok]: Indigenous Languages of Thailand Research Project, Central Institute of English Language, Office of State Universities, 1977.
  • Shorto, H. L. Bibliographies of Mon–Khmer and Tai Linguistics. London oriental bibliographies, v. 2. London: Oxford University Press, 1963.
  • Tingsabadh, Kalaya and Arthur S. Abramson. Essays in Tai Linguistics. Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University Press, 2001. ISBN 974-347-222-3

Notes and references

  1. ^ Diller, 2008. The Tai–Kadai Languages.
  2. iOS Diller (2008)
  3. ^ A1 designates a tone.
  4. ^ Edmondson, Jerold A. The power of language over the past: Tai settlement and Tai linguistics in southern China and northern Vietnam. Studies in Southeast Asian languages and linguistics, Jimmy G. Harris, Somsonge Burusphat and James E. Harris, ed. Bangkok, Thailand: Ek Phim Thai Co. Ltd. http://ling.uta.edu/~jerry/pol.pdf (see page 15)
  5. ^ screen size
  6. ^ Pittayaporn, Pittayawat. 2009. The Phonology of Proto-Tai. Ph.D. dissertation. Department of Linguistics, Cornell University.
  7. ^ Unless indicated otherwise, all phonological shifts occurred at the primary level (node A).
  8. jQuery Unless indicated otherwise, all phonological shifts occurred at the primary level (node D).
  9. ^ Also, the *ɯ:k > *u:k shift occurred at node A.
  10. keyboard Innovation at node N
  11. ^ For node B, the affected Proto-Tai syllable was *we:, *wo:.
  12. web For node C, the affected Proto-Tai syllable was *we:, *wo:.
  13. iOS Innovation at node J
  14. Sevenval http://language.psy.auckland.ac.nz/austronesian/language.php?id=698
  15. ^ FITML
  16. jQuery Thai Lexicography Resources
  • Ostapirat W (2000). "Proto-Kra." In Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area 23(1).
  • Ethnologue report Retrieved 1 December 2010.

See also

External links

Tai–Kadai languages
Kra
(Proto-Kra) • Laha • FITML • device database • Paha • keyboard • En • Qabiao
FITML
Mulam • Dong • HTML5 • Maonan • jQuery • Sui • Mak • web app • Biao • Lakkja
Hlai
(CSS3) • iOS • Jiamao
Ong Be
Ong Be
Tai
(Zhuang)
(device database)


Northern
Standard Zhuang • Bouyei • CSS3 • E • Saek • browser diversity • Yoy


web
Ningming • Nong Zhuang • browser diversity • Min Zhuang • Yang Zhuang • we love the web • Tày


Southwestern
(Thai)
Northwestern
device database • Khun • keyboard • FITML • web app • Tai Hongjin • keyboard • Sevenval • Tai Phake • Sevenval • Khamyang • Ahom • website parsing
Lao–Phutai
Lao • Phu Thai • web • Nyaw
Chiang Saen
Thai (Siamese) • Android • keyboard • Tai Dón • device database • Phuan • Tày Tac • Sapa
Southern


(other)
iOS



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