The Geography of South Eurasian languages

Guillaume JACQUESUniversité Paris V - CRLAO

The six major language families of South Eurasia

The six major language families of South Eurasia

Sino-Tibetan / Tibeto-Burman

Austronesian

Miao-Yao (Hmong-Mien)

Kra-dai (Tai-kadai)

Austroasiatic

Dravidian

Language Isolates

Language Isolates

Burushaski

Language Isolates

Burushaski

Kusunda

Language Isolates

Burushaski

Kusunda

Nahali

Sino-Tibetan

Sino-Tibetan / Indochinese

Chinese Tibeto-BurmanThai Miao-Yao

Tibetan Lolo-Burmese Qiangic

Sino-Tibetan / Indochinese

Chinese

Tibetan Lolo-Burmese Qiangic

Tibeto-Burman

Sino-Tibetan (Tibeto-Burman)

Chinese Tibetan Lolo-Burmese

Qiangic Other primary branches

Tibeto-Burman (Klaproth 1823)

Nearly 30 primary branches

The Primary Branches of Sino-Tibetan

1100 CETibetan

Burmese

Tangut

Chinese

Sino-Tibetan Urheimat (1)

Sino-Tibetan Urheimat (2)

Sino-Tibetan Urheimat (3)

Sino-Tibetan Urheimat (3)

Sino-Tibetan Urheimat (3)

Sino-Tibetan Urheimat (3)

Austronesian

Subgrouping

PAN

Paiwan Northern RukaiEast Coast Linkage

Amis

Bunun

Kavaln

PMP

Urheimat in Taiwan circa 3500 BCE

Miao-Yao (Hmong-Mien)

Miao-Yao (Hmong-Mien)

• Split 500 BCE

• Most of the reconstructible vocabulary of Chinese origin.

Kra-dai (Tai-kadai)

Kra-dai (Ostapirat 2005)

Kra-dai

Kra Hlai Kam-dai

Kam-sui Dai-Be

Be

Tai

Southwestern

Central

Northern

Kam

Then

Mak

Sui

Split 2000 BCE

Urheimat of Kra-dai in Guangxi

Austroasiatic

Austroasiatic

Mon

Khmer

Austroasiatic (Diffloth 2005)

AA

Munda Khasi-Khmuic Mon-Khmer

South

North

Khasi

Palaung-Khmu

Khmer-Viet

Nicobar-Mon

Split 5000 BCE

Dravidian

Brahui

Macrophyla

• Sino-Austronesian (Sagart)– ST, Austronesian

• Kra-Dai as a Subgroup of AN within East Coastal Linkage (Sagart)

Macrophyla

• Indochinese (Leyden 1806)– ST, (MT), KD, (Austroasiatic)

• Turanian (Müller)– ST, KD, AA, AN, Dravidian

• Austric (Schmidt 1906)– Austroasiatic, Austronesian

• Austro-Thai (Schlegel 1901, Wulff 1942, Benedict)– Kra-Dai, Austronesian

• Miao-Yao / Austroasiatic (Davies 1909)

Macrophyla

• Sino-Caucasian (Starostin)– ST, Ienissean, West Caucasian

• Austric (Pejros)– Kra-Dai, Austronesian, Austroasiatic, MY

Macrophyla

• East-Asian (Zhengzhang, Starosta)– ST, MY, Austronesian, KD, Austroasiatic

Macrophyla

• Elamo-dravidian (McAlpin) : Dravidian Indus Civilisation.