The Tai languages, also known as Zhuang-Tai and Daic languages, are a branch of the Kra-Dai language family. They include the most widely spoken of the Tai-Kadai languages: Standard Thai, the national language of Thailand; Lao, the national language of Laos; Myanmar's Shan language; and Zhuang, a major language of southwestern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region spoken by the Zhuang people, the largest minority ethnic group in China with a population of 15.55 million, living mainly in Guangxi and scattered across Yunnan, Guangdong, Guizhou and Hunan provinces.
Facts
RegionMainland Southeast Asia, where Standard Thai and Lao are the national languages of Thailand and Laos, extending into Myanmar and into southern China, including Guangxi, Yunnan, Guangdong, Guizhou and Hunan. 1 Proto-Language StatusProto-Tai has been reconstructed independently by Li Fang-Kuei in 1977 and by Pittayawat Pittayaporn in 2009. Proto-Southwestern Tai has also been reconstructed, by Li Fang-Kuei in 1977 and by Nanna L. Jonsson in 1991. 1 Sources
1. Wikipedia: Tai Languages
Wikimedia Foundationlead paragraph, second sentence
Standard Thai, or Siamese, the national language of Thailand; Lao or Laotian, the national language of Laos
Reconstruction section
Proto-Tai has been reconstructed in 1977 by Li Fang-Kuei and by Pittayawat Pittayaporn in 2009. Proto-Southwestern Tai has also been reconstructed in 1977 by Li Fang-Kuei and by Nanna L. Jonsson in 1991.
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