Branch of Austroasiatic languages in Southeast Asia
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
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
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
Proto-Monic Reconstruction of Monic languages Reconstructed ancestor
Lower-order reconstructions
Selected animal and plant names in Proto-Monic, Proto-Nyah Kur , and Proto-Mon (Diffloth 1984):[1]
Mammals
Birds
Other animals
Plants
Lexical innovations
Selected Monic lexical innovations :[2]
Gloss
Proto-Austroasiatic
Proto-Monic
Old Mon
Nyah Kur
‘knee’
*psaɲ
*ɟroːm
–
chròːm
‘money’
*swaːʔ
*knuːj
knuj
khǝnúːj
‘chicken’
*ʔiər
*tjaːŋ
tyaiŋ
cháːŋ
‘dog’
*cɔːʔ
*clur
kløw
chúr
See also
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.
External links
West Katuic Ta'oihic Pacoh Katu
Viet-Muong Cuoi Chứt Kri Phong–Liha
Pear Western Pearic (Chong)
Central Western Northern Southern
North
South
Kharia Juang Sora-Gorum Gutob-Remo Gta’