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 Burmese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia * Burmese people * Burmese language * Burmese alphabet * Burmese cuisine * Burmese culture Animals * Burmese cat * Burmese chicken * Burmese (hor ...

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 innovation In linguistics, the comparative method is a technique for studying the development of languages by performing a feature-by-feature comparison of two or more languages with common descent from a shared ancestor and then extrapolating backwards ...

s in phonology or morphology to show that they comprise a

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

of the

phylogenetic tree A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological spec ...

History

The origin and spread of the Sino-Tibetan language family

During the 18th century, several scholars noticed parallels between Tibetan and Burmese, both languages with extensive literary traditions. In the following century, Brian Houghton Hodgson collected a wealth of data on the non-literary languages of the Himalayas and northeast India, noting that many of these were related to Tibetan and Burmese. Others identified related languages in the highlands of Southeast Asia and south-west China. The name "Tibeto-Burman" was first applied to this group in 1856 by James Logan, who added

Karen Karen may refer to: * Karen (name), a given name and surname * Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding woman displaying certain behaviors People * Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand ** Karen languages or Karenic l ...

in 1858. Charles Forbes viewed the family as uniting the Gangetic and Lohitic branches of Max Müller's

Turanian {{Short description, List of groups of people Turanian is a term that has been used in reference to diverse groups of people. It has had currency in Turanism, Pan-Turkism, and historic Turkish nationalism. Many of the uses of the word are obsolete. ...

, a huge family consisting of all the Eurasian languages except the Semitic, "Aryan" ( Indo-European) and Chinese languages. The third volume of the '' Linguistic Survey of India'' was devoted to the Tibeto-Burman languages of British India. Julius Klaproth had noted in 1823 that Burmese, Tibetan and Chinese all shared common basic vocabulary, but that

Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...

Mon Mon, MON or Mon. may refer to: Places * Mon State, a subdivision of Myanmar * Mon, India, a town in Nagaland * Mon district, Nagaland * Mon, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India * Mon, Switzerland, a village in the Canton of Grisons * An ...

and Vietnamese were quite different. Several authors, including Ernst Kuhn in 1883 and August Conrady in 1896, described an "Indo-Chinese" family consisting of two branches, Tibeto-Burman and Chinese-Siamese. The Tai languages were included on the basis of vocabulary and typological features shared with Chinese. Jean Przyluski introduced the term ''sino-tibétain'' (Sino-Tibetan) as the title of his chapter on the group in

Antoine Meillet Paul Jules Antoine Meillet (; 11 November 1866 Moulins, France – 21 September 1936 Châteaumeillant, France) was one of the most important French linguists of the early 20th century. He began his studies at the Sorbonne University, where he was ...

and Marcel Cohen's ''Les Langues du Monde'' in 1924. The Tai languages have not been included in most Western accounts of Sino-Tibetan since the Second World War, though many Chinese linguists still include them. The link between Tibeto-Burman and Chinese is now accepted by most linguists, with a few exceptions such as Roy Andrew Miller and Christopher Beckwith. More recent controversy has centred on the proposed primary branching of Sino-Tibetan into Chinese and Tibeto-Burman subgroups. In spite of the popularity of this classification, first proposed by Kuhn and Conrady, and also promoted by Paul Benedict (1972) and later James Matisoff, Tibeto-Burman has not been demonstrated to be a valid family in its own right.

Overview

Most of the Tibeto-Burman languages are spoken in remote mountain areas, which has hampered their study. Many lack a written standard. It is generally easier to identify a language as Tibeto-Burman than to determine its precise relationship with other languages of the group. The subgroupings that have been established with certainty number several dozens, ranging from well-studied groups of dozens of languages with millions of speakers to several

isolate Isolate may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Isolate'' (film), a 2013 Australian film * ''Isolate'' (Circus Maximus album), 2007 * ''Isolate'' (Gary Numan album), 1992 Language * Isolating language, with near-unity morpheme/word ...

s, some only newly discovered but in danger of extinction. These subgroups are here surveyed on a geographical basis.

Southeast Asia and southwest China

The southernmost group is the Karen languages, spoken by three million people on both sides of the Burma–Thailand border. They differ from all other Tibeto-Burman languages (except Bai) in having a subject–verb–object word order, attributed to contact with Tai–Kadai and Austroasiatic languages. The most widely spoken Tibeto-Burman language is

, the national language of Myanmar, with over 32 million speakers and a literary tradition dating from the early 12th century. It is one of the Lolo-Burmese languages, an intensively studied and well-defined group comprising approximately 100 languages spoken in Myanmar and the highlands of Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Southwest China. Major languages include the Loloish languages, with two million speakers in western Sichuan and northern Yunnan, the Akha language and Hani languages, with two million speakers in southern Yunnan, eastern Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam, and Lisu and Lahu in Yunnan, northern Myanmar and northern Thailand. All languages of the Loloish subgroup show significant Austroasiatic influence. The

Pai-lang Bailang or Pai-lang () is the earliest recorded Tibeto-Burman language, known from three short songs, totalling 44 four-syllable lines, recorded in a commentary on the ''Book of the Later Han''. The language is clearly either Lolo–Burmese or cl ...

songs, transcribed in Chinese characters in the 1st century, appear to record words from a Lolo-Burmese language, but arranged in Chinese order. Ethnolinguistic map of China 1983

The Tibeto-Burman languages of south-west China have been heavily influenced by Chinese over a long period, leaving their affiliations difficult to determine. The grouping of the Bai language, with one million speakers in Yunnan, is particularly controversial, with some workers suggesting that it is a sister language to Chinese. The

Naxi language Naxi (Naqxi ), also known as ''Nakhi, Nasi, Lomi, Moso, Mo-su'', is a Sino-Tibetan language or group of languages spoken by some 310,000 people, most of whom live in or around Lijiang City Yulong Naxi Autonomous County of the province of Yunnan, ...

of northern Yunnan is usually included in Lolo-Burmese, though other scholars prefer to leave it unclassified. The hills of northwestern Sichuan are home to the small

Qiangic Qiangic (''Ch'iang, Kyang, Tsiang'', Chinese: 羌語支, "''Qiang'' language group"; formerly known as Dzorgaic) is a group of related languages within the Sino-Tibetan language family. They are spoken mainly in Southwest China, including Sichuan ...

and Rgyalrongic groups of languages, which preserve many archaic features. The most easterly Tibeto-Burman language is

Tujia Tujia may refer to: *the Tujia people *the Tujia language The Tujia language (Northern Tujia: Bifzivsar, ; Southern Tujia: Mongrzzirhof, ; ) is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken natively by the Tujia people in Hunan Province, China. It is unclassif ...

, spoken in the Wuling Mountains on the borders of Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou and Chongqing. Two historical languages are believed to be Tibeto-Burman, but their precise affiliation is uncertain. The Pyu language of central Myanmar in the first centuries is known from inscriptions using a variant of the

Gupta script The Gupta script (sometimes referred to as Gupta Brahmi script or Late Brahmi script)Sharma, Ram. '' 'Brahmi Script' ''. Delhi: BR Publishing Corp, 2002 was used for writing Sanskrit and is associated with the Gupta Empire of the Indian subcon ...

. The Tangut language of the 12th century Western Xia of northern China is preserved in numerous texts written in the Chinese-inspired Tangut script.

Tibet and South Asia

Over eight million people in the Tibetan Plateau and neighbouring areas in

Baltistan Baltistan ( ur, ; bft, སྦལ་ཏི་སྟཱན, script=Tibt), also known as Baltiyul or Little Tibet ( bft, སྦལ་ཏི་ཡུལ་།, script=Tibt), is a mountainous region in the Pakistani-administered territory of Gilg ...

, Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan speak one of several related Tibetic languages. There is an extensive literature in Classical Tibetan dating from the 8th century. The Tibetic languages are usually grouped with the smaller East Bodish languages of Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh as the

Bodish Bodish, named for the Tibetan ethnonym ''Bod'', is a proposed grouping consisting of the Tibetic languages and associated Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in Tibet, North India, Nepal, Bhutan, and North Pakistan. It has not been demonstrated that ...

group. Many diverse Tibeto-Burman languages are spoken on the southern slopes of the Himalayas. Sizable groups that have been identified are the West Himalayish languages of Himachal Pradesh and western Nepal, the Tamangic languages of western Nepal, including Tamang with one million speakers, and the Kiranti languages of eastern Nepal. The remaining groups are small, with several isolates. The

Newar language Newar (), or Newari and known officially in Nepal as Nepal Bhasa, is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Newar people, the indigenous inhabitants of Nepal Mandala, which consists of the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding regions in Nepal. ...

(Nepal Bhasa) of central Nepal has a million speakers and literature dating from the 12th century, and nearly a million people speak Magaric languages, but the rest have small speech communities. Other isolates and small groups in Nepal are

Dura Dura may also refer to: Đura such as, for example, Đura Bajalović Geography * Dura language, a critically endangered language of Nepal * Dura, Africa, an ancient city and former bishopric, now a Catholic titular see * Dura-Europos, an ancient c ...

, Raji–Raute, Chepangic and Dhimalish. Lepcha is spoken in an area from eastern Nepal to western Bhutan. Most of the languages of Bhutan are Bodish, but it also has three small isolates, 'Ole ("Black Mountain Monpa"), Lhokpu and Gongduk and a larger community of speakers of Tshangla. The Tani languages include most of the Tibeto-Burman languages of Arunachal Pradesh and adjacent areas of Tibet. The remaining languages of Arunachal Pradesh are much more diverse, belonging to the small Siangic, Kho-Bwa (or Kamengic), Hruso, Miju and Digaro languages (or Mishmic) groups. These groups have relatively little Tibeto-Burman vocabulary, and Bench and Post dispute their inclusion in Sino-Tibetan. The greatest variety of languages and subgroups is found in the highlands stretching from northern Myanmar to northeast India. Northern Myanmar is home to the small

Nungish The Nung or Nungish languages are a poorly described family of uncertain affiliation within the Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in Yunnan, China and Burma. They include: * Derung (Trung, Dulong, Drung, Tvrung) * Rawang (Răwang, Rvwang) * Nung (An ...

group, as well as the Jingpho–Luish languages, including Jingpho with nearly a million speakers. The Brahmaputran or Sal languages include at least the Boro–Garo and

Konyak languages The Konyak languages, or alternatively the Konyakian or Northern Naga languages, is a branch of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken by various Naga peoples in southeastern Arunachal Pradesh and northeastern Nagaland states of northeastern India. They a ...

, spoken in an area stretching from northern Myanmar through the Indian states of Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Tripura, and are often considered to include the Jingpho–Luish group. The border highlands of Nagaland, Manipur and western Myanmar are home to the small Ao, Angami–Pochuri,

Tangkhulic The Tangkhulic and Tangkhul languages are a group of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken mostly in northeastern Manipur, India. Conventionally classified as "Naga," they are not clearly related to other Naga languages, and (with Maringic) are conservat ...

, and Zeme groups of languages, as well as the Karbi language. Meithei, the main language of Manipur with 1.4 million speakers, is sometimes linked with the 50 or so

Kuki-Chin languages The Kuki-Chin languages (also called Kuki-Chin-Mizo, Kukish or South-Central Tibeto-Burman languages) are a branch of 50 or so Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in northeastern India, western Myanmar and southeastern Bangladesh. Most speakers of the ...

are spoken in Mizoram and the Chin State of Myanmar. The

Mru language Mru, also known as Mrung (Murung), is a Sino-Tibetan language of Bangladesh and Myanmar. It is spoken by a community of Mrus (Mros) inhabiting the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh with a population of 22,000 according to the 1991 census, ...

is spoken by a small group in the Chittagong Hill Tracts between Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Classification

There have been two milestones in the classification of Sino-Tibetan and Tibeto-Burman languages, and , which were actually produced in the 1930s and 1940s respectively.

Shafer (1955)

Shafer's tentative classification took an agnostic position and did not recognize Tibeto-Burman, but placed Chinese (Sinitic) on the same level as the other branches of a Sino-Tibetan family. He retained Tai–Kadai (Daic) within the family, allegedly at the insistence of colleagues, despite his personal belief that they were not related. ; Sino-Tibetan : I. '' Sinitic'' : II. ?? '' Daic'' : III. ''Bodic'' ::a. Bodish ( Gurung, Tshangla, Gyarong,

Tibetic The Tibetic languages form a well-defined group of languages descended from Old Tibetan (7th to 9th centuries).Tournadre, Nicolas. 2014. "The Tibetic languages and their classification." In ''Trans-Himalayan linguistics, historical and descriptiv ...

) ::b.

West Himalayish The West Himalayish languages, also known as Almora and Kanauric, are a family of Sino-Tibetan languages centered in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and across the border into Nepal. LaPolla (2003) proposes that the West Himalayish languages may b ...

(incl. Thangmi, Baram, Raji–Raute) ::c. West Central Himalayish ( Magar, Chepang,

Hayu The Hayus ( ne, हायु) are a member of the Kirat tribe speaking their own language, Wayu or Hayu. Little is known about them. They are Animist by religion. According to the 2001 Nepal census, there are 1821 Hayu in the country, of whi ...

isplaced ::d. East Himalayish ::e. Newarish ::f. Digarish ::g. Midźuish ::h. Hruish ::i. Dhimalish ::j. Miśingish ::k. Dzorgaish : IV. ''Burmic'' ::a. Burmish ::b. Mruish ::c.

::d. Katśinish ( Jingpho) ::e. Tśairelish ::f. Luish ::g. Taman ::h.

Kukish The Kuki-Chin languages (also called Kuki-Chin-Mizo, Kukish or South-Central Tibeto-Burman languages) are a branch of 50 or so Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in northeastern India, western Myanmar and southeastern Bangladesh. Most speakers of the ...

: V. ''Baric'' ::a.

Barish Barish ( ar, باريش ) is a local authority in Southern Lebanon, located in Tyre District, Governorate of South Lebanon. Name E. H. Palmer wrote in 1881 that the name Barish meant "abounding in herbage". Anis Freiha said that the origin of ...

::b. Nagish : VI. '' Karenic''

Benedict (1972)

A very influential, although also tentative, classification is that of , which was actually written around 1941. Like Shafer's work, this drew on the data assembled by the Sino-Tibetan Philology Project, which was directed by Shafer and Benedict in turn. Benedict envisaged Chinese as the first family to branch off, followed by Karen. :Sino-Tibetan :# Chinese :# Tibeto-Karen :#* Karen :#* Tibeto-Burman The Tibeto-Burman family is then divided into seven primary branches: I. '' Tibetan–Kanauri'' (a.k.a. Bodish–Himalayish) : A. Bodish ::(

, Gyarung,

Takpa The Takpa is a linguistic northern sub-group of the Monpa people, while the southern sub-group is identified as the Tshangla. Monpas of the Takpa group are found in Tawang and Dirang of Arunachal Pradesh, Cuona of Tibet as well as Trashigang in Bhu ...

, Tsangla, Murmi & Gurung) : B. Himalayish :: i. "major"

Himalayish 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 ...

:: ii. "minor"

:::(Rangkas, Darmiya, Chaudangsi, Byangsi) ::(perhaps also Dzorgai, Lepcha, Magari) II. '' Bahing–Vayu'' : A. Bahing ( Sunuwar, Khaling) : B. Khambu ( Sampang, Rungchenbung, Yakha, and

Limbu Limbu may refer to: * Limbu people, an indigenous tribe living in Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan ** Rambahadur Limbu (born 1939), Nepalese Gurkha recipient of the Victoria Cross * Limbu language * Limbu script ** Limbu (Unicode block) Limbu is a Unicod ...

) : C. Vayu– Chepang :(perhaps also

Newar Newar (; new, नेवार, endonym: Newa; new, नेवा, Pracalit script:) or Nepami, are the historical inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley and its surrounding areas in Nepal and the creators of its historic heritage and civilisatio ...

) III. '' Abor–Miri–Dafla'' :(perhaps also

Aka Aka, AKA or a.k.a. may refer to: * "Also known as", used to introduce an alternative name Languages * Aka language (Sudan) * Aka language, in the Central African Republic * Hruso language, in India, also referred to as Aka * a prefix in the n ...

, Digaro, Miju, and Dhimal) IV. '' Kachin'' :(perhaps including Luish) V. '' Burmese–Lolo'' : A. Burmese–Maru : B. Southern Lolo : C. Northern Lolo : D. Kanburi Lawa : E.

Moso Moso or MoSo can refer to: * MoSo, a music and technology festival in Saskatoon, Canada * Moso (island), an island in Vanuatu * Missouri Southern State University, sometimes nicknamed "MoSo" * ''Phyllostachys edulis'', a species of bamboo also ca ...

: F. Hsi-fan (

and Jiarongic languages apart from Qiang and Gyarung themselves) : G. Tangut :(perhaps also Nung) VI. '' Boro-Garo'' : A. Boro : B. Garo ( A·chik) : C. Tripuri (Kokborok) : D. Dimasa : E. Mech : F. Rava (

Koch Koch may refer to: People * Koch (surname), people with this surname * Koch dynasty, a dynasty in Assam and Bengal, north east India * Koch family * Koch people (or Koche), an ethnic group originally from the ancient Koch kingdom in north east ...

) : G. Tiwa (Lalung) : H. Sutiya : I. Saraniya : J. Sonowal :(Perhaps also " Naked Naga" a.k.a. Konyak) VII. '' Kuki–Naga'' (a.k.a. Kukish) :(perhaps also

Karbi Karbi may refer to: Places * Karbi, Armenia * Karbi Anglong Plateau, an extension of the Indian Plate in Assam, India * Karbi Anglong district, a district of Assam, north-eastern India Other uses * Karbi people, an ethnic group of North-east ...

, Meithei, Mru)

Matisoff (1978)

James Matisoff proposes a modification of Benedict that demoted Karen but kept the divergent position of Sinitic. Of the 7 branches within Tibeto-Burman, 2 branches (Baic and Karenic) have SVO-order languages, whereas all the other 5 branches have SOV-order languages. :Sino-Tibetan :# Chinese :# Tibeto-Burman Tibeto-Burman is then divided into several branches, some of them geographic conveniences rather than linguistic proposals: *Kamarupan (geographic) ** Kuki-Chin–Naga (geographic) ** Abor–Miri–Dafla ** Boro–Garo *

(geographic) ** Mahakiranti (includes

, Magar,

Kiranti The Kirati people, also spelled as Kirant or Kiranti, are a Sino-Tibetan ethnic group. They are peoples of the Himalayas, mostly the Eastern Himalaya extending eastward from Nepal to North East India (predominantly in the Indian state of Sikkim ...

) **

Tibeto-Kanauri The Tibeto-Kanauri languages, also called Bodic, Bodish–Himalayish, and Western Tibeto-Burman, are a proposed intermediate level of classification of the Sino-Tibetan languages, centered on the Tibetic languages and the Kinnauri dialect cluste ...

(includes Lepcha) *

*Jingpho–Nungish–Luish ** Jingpho **

** Luish *

Lolo–Burmese The Lolo-Burmese languages (also Burmic languages) of Burma and Southern China form a coherent branch of the Sino-Tibetan family. Names Until ca. 1950, the endonym ''Lolo'' was written with derogatory characters in Chinese, and for this reas ...

– Naxi * Karenic * Baic *

(unclassified) Matisoff makes no claim that the families in the Kamarupan or Himalayish branches have a special relationship to one another other than a geographic one. They are intended rather as categories of convenience pending more detailed comparative work. Matisoff also notes that Jingpho–Nungish–Luish is central to the family in that it contains features of many of the other branches, and is also located around the center of the Tibeto-Burman-speaking area.

Bradley (2002)

Since Benedict (1972), many languages previously inadequately documented have received more attention with the publication of new grammars, dictionaries, and wordlists. This new research has greatly benefited comparative work, and Bradley (2002) incorporates much of the newer data. I. Western (=

Bodic The Tibeto-Kanauri languages, also called Bodic, Bodish–Himalayish, and Western Tibeto-Burman, are a proposed intermediate level of classification of the Sino-Tibetan languages, centered on the Tibetic languages and the Kinnauri dialect cluste ...

) : A. Tibetan–Kanauri :: i.

:: ii. Gurung :: iii. East Bodic (incl. Tsangla) :: iv. Kanauri : B. Himalayan :: i. Eastern (

) :: ii. Western (

, Chepang, Magar, Thangmi, Baram) II. ''

Sal Sal, SAL, or S.A.L. may refer to: Personal name * Sal (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname Places * Sal, Cape Verde, an island and municipality * Sal, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province * Ca ...

'' : A. Baric ( Boro–Garo– Northern Naga) : B.

Jinghpaw The Jingpo people ( my, ဂျိန်းဖော) are an ethnic group who are the largest subset of the Kachin peoples, which largely inhabit the Kachin Hills in northern Myanmar's Kachin State and neighbouring Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonom ...

: C. Luish (incl.

Pyu Pyu, also spelled Phyu or Phyuu, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. is a town in Taungoo District, Bago Region in Myanmar. It is the administrative seat of Phyu Township Pyu Township is a township in Taungoo District in the ...

) : D.

Kuki-Chin The Kuki-Chin languages (also called Kuki-Chin-Mizo, Kukish or South-Central Tibeto-Burman languages) are a branch of 50 or so Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in northeastern India, western Myanmar and southeastern Bangladesh. Most speakers of the ...

(incl. Meithei and

) III. ''Central'' (perhaps a residual group, not actually related to each other. Lepcha may also fit here.) : A. Adi–Galo–Mishing–Nishi : B. Mishmi ( Digarish and

Keman (Japanese phoneticization from the Sanskrit ''kusumamālā'' "Garland of Flowers"), is a Buddhist ritual decoration, placed hanging on the beam of the inner sanctuary before the enshrined Buddha, in the main hall of the temple. (revised editio ...

) : C. Rawang IV. ''North-Eastern'' : A.

: B. Naxi– Bai : C.

: D. Tangut V. ''South-Eastern'' : A. Burmese–Lolo (incl. Mru) : B.

van Driem

George van Driem rejects the primary split of Sinitic, making Tibeto-Burman synonymous with Sino-Tibetan.

Matisoff (2015)

The internal structure of Tibeto-Burman is tentatively classified as follows by Matisoff (2015: xxxii, 1123–1127) in the final release of the '' Sino-Tibetan Etymological Dictionary and Thesaurus'' (STEDT).Matisoff, James A. 2015
''The Sino-Tibetan Etymological Dictionary and Thesaurus''
Berkeley: University of California.
PDF
Bruhn, Daniel; Lowe, John; Mortensen, David; Yu, Dominic (2015). ''Sino-Tibetan Etymological Dictionary and Thesaurus Database Software''. Software, UC Berkeley Dash. *Northeast Indian areal group **"North Assam" *** Tani *** Deng **

**"

Naga Naga or NAGA may refer to: Mythology * Nāga, a serpentine deity or race in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions * Naga Kingdom, in the epic ''Mahabharata'' * Phaya Naga, mythical creatures believed to live in the Laotian stretch of the Mekong Riv ...

" areal group ***Central Naga ( Ao group) *** Angami–Pochuri group *** Zeme group ***

** Meithei **Mikir /

** Mru **

*** Boro–Garo ***Northern Naga / Konyakian *** Jingpho–Asakian *Himalayish **

*** Western Himalayish ***

*** Lepcha *** Tamangish *** Dhimal **

Kham Kham (; ) is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being Amdo in the northeast, and Ü-Tsang in central Tibet. The original residents of Kham are called Khampas (), and were governed locally by chieftains and monasteries. Kham ...

- Magar- Chepang *Tangut-Qiang ** Tangut **

** rGyalrongic * Nungic *

*Lolo-Burmese–Naxi **

Lolo-Burmese The Lolo-Burmese languages (also Burmic languages) of Burma and Southern China form a coherent branch of the Sino-Tibetan family. Names Until ca. 1950, the endonym ''Lolo'' was written with derogatory characters in Chinese, and for this reas ...

** Naxi * Karenic * Bai

Other languages

The classification of

is difficult due to extensive borrowing. Other unclassified Tibeto-Burman languages include Basum and the recently described Lamo language. New Tibeto-Burman languages continue to be recognized, some not closely related to other languages. Recently recognized distinct languages include Koki Naga. Randy LaPolla (2003) proposed a Rung branch of Tibeto-Burman, based on morphological evidence, but this is not widely accepted.

Scott DeLancey Scott DeLancey (born 1949) is an American linguist from the University of Oregon. His work focuses on typology and historical linguistics of Tibeto-Burman languages as well as Indigenous languages of the Americas, North American indigenous languag ...

(2015)DeLancey, Scott. 2015. "Morphological Evidence for a Central Branch of Trans-Himalayan (Sino-Tibetan)." ''Cahiers de linguistique - Asie oriental'' 44(2):122-149. December 2015. proposed a Central branch of Tibeto-Burman based on morphological evidence. Roger Blench and Mark Post (2011) list a number of divergent languages of Arunachal Pradesh, in northeastern India, that might have non-Tibeto-Burman substrates, or could even be non-Tibeto-Burman

language isolate Language isolates are languages that cannot be classified into larger language families. Korean and Basque are two of the most common examples. Other language isolates include Ainu in Asia, Sandawe in Africa, and Haida in North America. The num ...

s: * Kamengic **

Bugun The Buguns (formerly Khowa) are one of the earliest recognized schedule tribe of India, majority of them, inhabiting the Singchung Sub-Division of West Kameng District of Arunachal Pradesh. Their total population is approximately 3000. The notab ...

(Khowa) ** Mey (Sherdukpen) of Shergaon ** Mey (Sherdukpen) of Rupa ** Sartang ** Chug and

Lish Lish ( fa, ليش, also Romanized as Līsh) is a village in Tutaki Rural District, in the Central District of Siahkal County, Gilan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a cou ...

* orthernMishmi (Digarish) ** Idu (Luoba) ** Taraon (Digaru) * Siangic **

Koro Koro may refer to: Geography *Koro Island, a Fijian island *Koro Sea, in the Pacific Ocean *Koro, Ivory Coast *Koro, Mali *Koro, Wisconsin, United States, an unincorporated community Languages *Koro language (India), an endangered language spoken ...

** Milang * Puroik (Sulung) - East Kameng District * Hruso (Aka) - Thrizino Circle, West Kameng District * Miji (Sajolang, Dimai, Dhimmai) * Miju Blench and Post believe the remaining languages with these substratal characteristics are more clearly Sino-Tibetan: *East Bodish **

Meyor The Zekhring are from the Anjaw District (formerly part of Lohit district) of Arunachal Pradesh. They live in the hilly terrain and banks of the Lohit River in the Walong and Kibithoo area. As of 2002, their tribal population stood at 300, and th ...

(Zakhring) ** Monpa of Tawang - Tawang District ** Monpa of Kalaktang (Tshangla) ** Monpa of Zemithang **Monpa of Mago-Thingbu *Tani:

Nah Nah or NAH may refer to: Places * Naha Airport (Indonesia) (IATA airport code: NAH), Tahuna, Sangir Islands, North Sulawesi, Indonesia * Nehbandan or Nah, a city in South Khorasan Province, Iran Other uses * NaH, the chemical formula of sodium h ...

Notes

References

Notes Bibliography * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * **

External links

Sino-Tibetan Etymological Dictionary and Thesaurus (STEDT)

''Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area''
(journal)
Himalayan languages site
(by George van Driem)
Sino-Tibetan Branches Project (STBP)

Tibeto-Burman bibliography website
{{Authority control Languages of Tibet