A family of roughly 93 million speakers across southern China, Hainan Island, Southeast Asia and northeast India, containing Thai and Lao, the national languages of Thailand and Laos; about 60 percent of Kra-Dai speakers speak Thai. Ethnologue counts 95 languages in the family, 62 of them in the Tai branch. Proto-Kra-Dai has been reconstructed, and the family's relationship to its neighbors is unsettled: Weera Ostapirat treats Kra-Dai and Austronesian as sister families descended from a shared ancestor, while Laurent Sagart argues instead that Kra-Dai is a branch nested within Austronesian, descended from a Formosan ancestral population he labels FATK.
Facts
RegionSouthern China, Hainan Island, mainland Southeast Asia (especially Thailand and Laos) and northeast India. 1 Speaker Count Proto-Language StatusProto-Kra-Dai is reconstructed and the family's internal structure is well established. 1 The unsettled question is external, not internal: how Kra-Dai relates to Austronesian. Kra-Dai
Filter Results1 entry
Connections
Ancestor Of
Kam-Tai is a major branch of the Kra-Dai (Tai-Kadai) family, grouping the Tai languages (Thai, Lao, Zhuang and others) with the Kam-Sui languages.
Held Differently
Austronesian, Language Families Why this is disputed. Weera Ostapirat proposes Kra-Dai and Austronesian as sister families descended from a common ancestor, on the strength of regular sound correspondences.
Source Wikipedia: Kra-Dai Languages
Includes
Source Wikipedia: Thai Language
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Includes
Also in Divinity Atlas: included in this subject.
Source Omniglot: Thai language page
Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Source Wikipedia: Kra-Dai LanguagesLead sentence 1tier 2Quote, Lead sentence 1
The Kra–Dai languages ( KRAH-dy), also known as Tai–Kadai ( TY-kə-dy) and Daic ( DY-ik), are a language family in mainland Southeast Asia, southern China, and northeastern India.
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.
Source Wikipedia: Kra-Dai LanguagesLead sentence 1tier 2Quote, Lead sentence 1
The Kra–Dai languages ( KRAH-dy), also known as Tai–Kadai ( TY-kə-dy) and Daic ( DY-ik), are a language family in mainland Southeast Asia, southern China, and northeastern India.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Kra-Dai Languages
Wikimedia FoundationLead and Classification sections
All languages in the family are tonal, including Thai and Lao, the national languages of Thailand and Laos, respectively. Around 93 million people speak Kra-Dai languages; 60% of those speak Thai. Ethnologue lists 95 languages in the family, with 62 of these being in the Tai branch.
Lead section
The name "Tai-Kadai" was used in older references and continues to be used in Ethnologue and Glottolog, but Ostapirat (2000) and others suggest that it is problematic and confusing, preferring the name "Kra-Dai" instead.
- Associated With: Austronesian
View the Source Wikidata: Kra-Dai
Wikipedia: Thai Language
WikipediaIncludes: Thai, Article textQuote, Includes: Thai, Article text
Standard Thai is classified as one of the Chiang Saen languages, the others being Northern Thai, Southern Thai and numerous smaller languages, which together with the Northwestern Tai and Lao-Phutai languages, form the Southwestern branch of Tai languages.
Dissenting Readings (1 dissenting reading)
Associated With: Austronesian
Sagart argues Kra-Dai descended from a Formosan ancestral branch of Austronesian (FATK, Formosan Ancestor of Tai-Kadai), making Kra-Dai a subgroup nested within Austronesian rather than a sister family descended from an independent common ancestor, contrary to Ostapirat's sister-family account recorded on this edge.
A dissenting reading, from Laurent SagartWikipedia: Kra-Dai Languages, Wikimedia Foundation
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