Tai languages
| Tai | |
|---|---|
| Zhuang–Thai | |
| Geographic distribution: |
Southern China (esp. Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan and Guangdong), Southeast Asia |
| Linguistic classification: |
Tai–Kadai
|
| Proto-language: | Proto-Tai |
| Subdivisions: |
|
| ISO 639-2 / 5: | |
| Glottolog: | daic1237 |
Distribution of the Tai–Kadai language family.
The Tai languages are:
Northern Tai / Northern Zhuang
Central Tai / Southern Zhuang
Southwestern Tai / Thai
|
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The Tai languages are:
The Tai or Zhuang–Tai languages (Thai: ภาษาไท or ภาษาไต, transliteration: p̣hās̛̄āthay or p̣hās̛̄ātay) are a branch of the Tai–Kadai language family. The Tai languages include the most widely spoken of the Tai–Kadai languages, including standard Thai or Siamese, the national language of Thailand; Lao or Laotian, the national language of Laos; Myanmar's Shan language; and Zhuang, a major language in the southern Chinese province of Guangxi.
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. In his book The Tai-Kadai Languages Anthony Diller claims that Lao scholars he has met are not pleased with Lao being regarded as a Tai language. For some, Thai should instead be considered a member of the Lao language family. One or more Ancient Chinese characters for ‘Lao’ may be cited in support of this alternative appellation. Some scholars including Benedict (1975), have used Thai to refer to a wider (Tai) grouping and one sees designations like proto-Thai and Austro-Thai in earlier works. In the institutional context in Thailand, and occasionally elsewhere, sometimes Tai (and its corresponding Thai-script spelling, without a final -y symbol) is used to indicate varieties in the language family not spoken in Thailand or spoken there only as the result of recent immigration. In this usage Thai would not then be considered a Tai language. On the other hand, Gedney, Li and others have preferred to call the standard language of Thailand Siamese rather than Thai, perhaps to reduce potential Thai/Tai confusion, especially among English speakers not comfortable with making a non-English initial unaspirated voiceless initial sound for Tai, which in any event might sound artificial or arcane to outsiders.
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