Table of Contents
Is Vietnamese Sino-Tibetan?
Sino-Tibetan languages were known for a long time by the name of Indochinese, which is now restricted to the languages of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. They were also called Tibeto-Chinese until the now universally accepted designation Sino-Tibetan was adopted.
Is Burmese a Sino-Tibetan language?
The Sino-Tibetan language family includes early literary languages, such as Chinese, Tibetan, and Burmese, and is represented by more than 400 modern languages spoken in China, India, Burma, and Nepal. It is one of the most diverse language families in the world, spoken by 1.4 billion speakers.
How old is Sino-Tibetan language family?
Phylogenetic analysis of the Sino-Tibetan language family, which includes Chinese, Tibetan, and Burmese, suggests that it originated about 7,200 years ago in North China and was linked to the Neolithic cultures of the late Cishan and early Yangshao.
Who are the ancestors of the Vietnamese?
The forerunners of the ethnic Vietnamese were Proto-Vietic people who descended from Proto-Austroasiatic people who may have originated from somewhere in Southern China, Yunnan, the Lingnan, or the Yangtze River, together with the Monic, who settled further to the west and the Khmeric migrated further south.
Are Cantonese related to Vietnamese?
Vietnamese only shares about half or less of its vocabulary with Sinitic languages, while Cantonese and Mandarin are almost the same as far as terms being cognate. There are exceptions, but it’s like comparing Spanish to Italian; most of the words are going to match up quite well.
How many languages are in the Sino-Tibetan language family?
The Sino-Tibetan language family is one of the largest in the world. It is second only to the Indo-European language family in terms of number of speakers. The family consists of 403 highly differentiated languages with a vast geographical spread, great linguistic complexity, and a long historical record.
What language family does Vietnamese belong to?
Linguistic classification. Vietnamese was identified more than 150 years ago as part of the Mon–Khmer branch of the Austroasiatic language family (a family that also includes Khmer, spoken in Cambodia, as well as various tribal and regional languages, such as the Munda and Khasi languages spoken in eastern India, and others in southern China).
Are Kra–Dai and Hmong–Mien languages part of Sino-Tibetan?
While Chinese linguists generally include Kra–Dai and Hmong–Mien languages within Sino-Tibetan, most other linguists have excluded them since the 1940s. Several links to other language families have been proposed, but none has broad acceptance.
How many languages are in the Sino-Sino family?
The family consists of 403 highly differentiated languages with a vast geographical spread, great linguistic complexity, and a long historical record. As the name itself implies, this family consists of two main branches: The Sino – part of the name refers to the various Chinese (Sinitic) languages sometimes referred to as dialects.