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Vietic

Eurasian Language Families

The Vietic languages are a branch of the Austroasiatic language family, spoken by the Vietic peoples of Laos and Vietnam. The group's main divisions are Viet-Muong, which includes Vietnamese and Muong, along with the Cuoi, Thavung and Chut languages, and Vietnamese is by far its most widely spoken member. Vietic populations are concentrated around the Nakai-Nam Theun Conservation Area in Laos and in north-central Vietnam, including communities identified as Muong, Nha Lang and Nguon peoples. The linguist La Vaughn Hayes proposed the name Vietic to distinguish this broader grouping from the narrower Viet-Muong subgroup, and many Vietic languages retain tonal or phonational systems intermediate between Viet-Muong and the Austroasiatic branches that saw less influence from Chinese or Tai.

Facts
Partially Attested
Speaker Count
86,130,000 2
This figure counts only Vietnamese, the dominant member of the branch; a combined total across the whole Vietic branch, including Muong, Cuoi, Thavung and the Chut languages, is not established in the sources reviewed.
Region
Mainland Southeast Asia: Laos and Vietnam 1
Proto-Language Status
A proto-language, Proto-Vietic, has been reconstructed for the branch; estimates for its time depth range from about 2,000 to 2,500 years ago (Chamberlain 1998) to around 3,000 years (Alves 2020) or 3,500 years (Peiros 2004). 1
Connections

In Family

Source Wikipedia: Vietic Languages
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Includes

Also in Divinity Atlas: included in this subject.

Found In

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Sources
1. Wikipedia: Vietic Languages
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Lead section, first sentence
    The Vietic languages are a branch of the Austroasiatic language family, spoken by the Vietic peoples in Laos and Vietnam.
  • Origins section
    The time depth of the Vietic branch dates back at least 2,500 years to 2,000 years (Chamberlain 1998); 3,500 years (Peiros 2004); or around 3,000 years (Alves 2020).
  • In Family: Austroasiatic, Lead section, first sentence (branch-of-family clause)
    The Vietic languages are a branch of the Austroasiatic language family, spoken by the Vietic peoples in Laos and Vietnam.
View the Source
2. Wikipedia: Vietnamese Language
Wikimedia FoundationWikipedia Vietnamese language article, lead section
Quote, Wikipedia Vietnamese language article, lead section
Vietnamese is spoken natively by around 86 million people, and as a second language by 11 million people, several times as many as the rest of the Austroasiatic family combined.
View the Source
Wikidata: Vietic
Wikidata Q2355546, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
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