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Language Family

Khmuic

Eurasian Language Families

The Khmuic languages are a branch of the Austroasiatic language family spoken mostly in northern Laos, with communities extending into neighboring northern Vietnam and southern Yunnan, China. Khmu is the only widely spoken member of the group, which also includes Mlabri, Kniang, Ksingmul, Khuen, O'du, Prai, Mal and Theen, with Khang and Phuoc sometimes classified here too, though scholars disagree on the exact internal grouping. The linguist Paul Sidwell's 2015 analysis places the family's ancestral homeland in what is now Oudomxay Province in northern Laos.

Facts
Region
Indochina: mostly northern Laos, with communities in northern Vietnam and southern Yunnan, China 1
Proto-Language Status
A proto-language, Proto-Khmuic, has been reconstructed for the branch, though the internal interrelationships of its member languages remain uncertain, with competing classifications proposed by Ethnologue, SEALang, Diffloth and Proschan (1989), Peiros (2004) and Sidwell (2014). 1
Partially Attested
Speaker Count
798,400 2
This figure counts only Khmu, the only widely spoken member of the branch per a 1990 to 2015 census cited by Ethnologue; the several smaller languages of the branch are not separately totaled in the sources reviewed.
Connections

In Family

Austroasiatic, Language Families
Source Wikipedia: Khmuic Languages
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Khmuic Languages
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Lead section, first sentence
    The Khmuic languages are a branch of the Austroasiatic languages spoken mostly in northern Laos, as well as in neighboring northern Vietnam and southern Yunnan, China.
  • Classification section, introductory sentence
    The interrelationships of these languages are uncertain.
  • In Family: Austroasiatic, Lead section, first sentence (branch-of-family clause)
    The Khmuic languages are a branch of the Austroasiatic languages spoken mostly in northern Laos, as well as in neighboring northern Vietnam and southern Yunnan, China.
View the Source
2. Wikipedia: Khmu Language
Wikimedia FoundationWikipedia Khmu language article, infobox speakers fieldView the Source
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