Monic languages

The Monic 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.

Classification

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

• Old Mon / Proto-Monic
  • Nyah Kur
    • North
    • Central
    • South
  • Middle Mon
    • Literary Mon
    • Mon Ro: Northernmost dialect, spoken in the Pegu-Paung-Zingyaik 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 Moumein, extending several hundred kilometers south to Tavoy
      • North Mon Rao
      • Kamawet area Mon
      • South Mon Rao
      • Ye Mon Rao: This is the southernmost Mon variety.
    • Thai Mon (mix of Mon Ro and Mon Rao)

See also

• Mon–Khmer languages
• Mon language
• Nyah Kur language

References

• Sidwell, Paul (2009). Classifying the Austroasiatic languages: history and state of the art. LINCOM studies in Asian linguistics, 76. Munich: Lincom Europa.

Further reading

• Monic language studies. (1984). Bangkok, Thailand: Chulalongkorn University Print. House.

External links

• SEAlang Project: Mon–Khmer languages: The Monic Branch

"Monic" (lecture). Archived from the original on 2007-09-15. Retrieved 2007-09-21.