Monic languages

Monic
Geographic distribution:	Indochina
Linguistic classification:	Austro-Asiatic Nuclear Mon–Khmer Nico-Monic Asli-Monic Monic
Subdivisions:	Mon Nyah Kur

The Monic languages are a branch of the Austro-Asiatic 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
    • Mon Rao
    • Thai Mon (mix of Mon Ro and Mon Rao)

See also

Mon–Khmer languages

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. http://web.archive.org/web/20070915133208/http://www.anu.edu.au/~u9907217/languages/Monic.html. Retrieved 2007-09-21.