Tibeto-Burman languages

Tibeto-Burman
Tibeto-Burman
Geographic; distribution	Southeast Asia, East Asia, South Asia
Linguistic classification	Sino-Tibetan Tibeto-Burman;
Proto-language	Proto-Tibeto-Burman
Subdivisions	Gongduk, Lhokpu, 'Ole, Lepcha, Tani; Western: Bodish, Tshangla, Tamangic, West Himalayish, Greater Magaric, Newaric, Kiranti; Central: Sal, Pyu, Kuki-Chin–Naga (Ao, Angami–Pochuri, Meitei, Tangkhulic, Zeme, Kuki-Chin-Mizo, Karbi), Mruic, Miju; Eastern: Burmo-Qiangic, Karenic, Nungish, Tujia; Others: Digaro, Hrusish, Kho-Bwa, Puroik, Siangic, Miju;
ISO 639-5	tbq
Glottolog	None

The Tibeto-Burman languages are the non-Sinitic members of the Sino-Tibetan language family, over 400 of which are spoken throughout the Southeast Asian Massif ("Zomia") as well as parts of East Asia and South Asia. Around 60 million people speak Tibeto-Burman languages. The name derives from the most widely spoken of these languages, Burmese and the Tibetic languages, which also have extensive literary traditions, dating from the 12th and 7th centuries respectively. Most of the other languages are spoken by much smaller communities, and many of them have not been described in detail.

Though the division of Sino-Tibetan into Sinitic and Tibeto-Burman branches (e.g. Benedict, Matisoff) is widely used, some historical linguists criticize this classification, as the non-Sinitic Sino-Tibetan languages lack any shared innovations in phonology or morphology to show that they comprise a clade of the phylogenetic tree.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.