Palaungic languages

The Palaungic or Palaung–Wa languages are a group of nearly 30 Austroasiatic languages, with scholars disagreeing on exactly which languages to include in the classification. They are spoken in scattered pockets across an inland region of Southeast Asia, centered on the borders between Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and China.

Phonological developments

Most of the Palaungic languages lost the contrastive voicing of the ancestral Austroasiatic consonants, with the distinction often shifting to the following vowel. In the Wa branch, this is generally realized as breathy voice vowel phonation; in Palaung–Riang, as a two-way register tone system. The Angkuic languages have contour tone — the U language, for example, has four tones, high, low, rising, falling, — but these developed from vowel length and the nature of final consonants, not from the voicing of initial consonants.

Homeland

Paul Sidwell (2015) suggests that the Palaungic Urheimat (homeland) was in what is now the border region of Laos and Sipsongpanna in Yunnan, China. The Khmuic homeland was adjacent to the Palaungic homeland, resulting in many lexical borrowings among the two branches due to intense contact. Sidwell (2014) suggests that the word for 'water' (Proto-Palaungic *ʔoːm), which Gérard Diffloth had used as one of the defining lexical innovations for his Northern Mon-Khmer branch, was likely borrowed from Palaungic into Khmuic.

Classification

Diffloth & Zide (1992)

The Palaungic family includes at least three branches, with the position of some languages as yet unclear. Lamet, for example, is sometimes classified as a separate branch. The following classification follows that of Diffloth & Zide (1992), as quoted in Sidwell (2009:131).

• Western Palaungic (Palaung–Riang) Palaung Shwe (Gold Palaung, De'ang) De'ang Pale (Silver Palaung, Ruching) Rumai Riang Riang proper, Yinchia ? Danau (perhaps in Palaung–Riang)
• Eastern Palaungic Angkuic Angku Hu Kiorr Kon Keu Man Met Mok Samtao (Samtau) Tai Loi U (Pouma) Lametic Lamet (Xmet) Con Waic Blang Lawa La Lawa Wa Paraok (Standard Wa) Khalo Awa

Some researchers include the Mangic languages as well, instead of grouping them with the Pakanic languages.

Sidwell (2010)

The following classification follows the branching given by Sidwell (2010, ms).

• Danau (Khano)
• Palaungic proper Western (Riang–Palaung) Palaung (De'ang: Shwe / Gold Palaung, Pale / Ruching / Silver Palaung, Rumai) Riang (Riang, Yinchia) Angkuic Hu U (P'uman) Kiorr (Kha Kior, Con) Kon Keu (Angku) Mok (Man Met) Mong Lue (Tai Loi) Muak Sa-aak Lamet (Xmet) Waic Blang (Samtao) Lawa Umpai Lawa Bo Luang Lawa Wa Paraok (Standard Wa) Khalo Awa Meung Yum Savaiq

Sidwell (2014) proposes an additional branch, consisting of:

• Bit–Khang Bit Kháng Bumang Quang Lam

Sidwell (2015)

Sidwell (2015:12) provides a revised classification of Palaungic. Bit–Khang is clearly Palaungic, but contains many Khmuic loanwords. Sidwell (2015:12) believes it likely groups within East Palaungic. On the other hand, Sidwell (2015) considers Danaw to be the most divergent Palaungic language.

• Danaw
• West Palaungic Palaung (Dara’ang, Da’ang, Palay, etc.) Rumai Riang (Riang-Lang, Riang-Sak, etc.)
• East Palaungic Waic Wa (Praok, Awa, Vo, etc.) Lawa (Lawa Bo Luang, Lavua/Luwa, etc.) Bulang (Bulang, Plang/Samtao, Kawa, Kontoi, etc.) Angkuic: U, Hu, Man Met/Kemie, Muak/Mok, Tai Loi, etc. Lameet: Lameet, Con, Lua/Khamet ? Bit–Khang: (Kha)bit, Buxing, Quang Lam, Khang/Khao, Bumang

Lexical innovations

Diagnostic Palaungic lexical innovations as identified by Paul Sidwell (2021) are:

Reconstruction

• Sidwell, Paul (2010). (PDF). SEALS 20 (Abstract).

Further reading

• Gordon, Darren C. (2013). (PDF). Mon-Khmer Studies. 42: xiv–xxxiii. Archived from (PDF) on 2015-02-09.
• Cheeseman, Nathaniel; Hall, Elizabeth; Gordon, Darren (2015). . Mon-Khmer Studies. 44: i–liv.
• Sidwell, Paul (2015). The Palaungic Languages: Classification, Reconstruction and Comparative Lexicon. München: Lincom Europa.

External links