Name That Language!

[Richard W]

Is its native writing system an abugida?

The honest answer is 'yes', but some might contend that the true answer is 'no'.

[Rounin Ryuuji]

Taking a guess — would it happen to be Khmer?

[bradrn]

Munda?

[Richard W]

Taking a guess — would it happen to be Khmer?

No, Khmer is in no sense extinct.

[Rounin Ryuuji]

Oops, I missed that detail.

[Richard W]

Munda?

No, the Munda(ri) language is in no way extinct and this mystery language is not a Munda language.

[Karch]

Is it an Austroasiatic language?

[Richard W]

Is it an Austroasiatic language?

No.

[bradrn]

OK, so what do we know about this mystery language?

• It’s not Austronesian or Tai-Kadai.
• It’s not Austroasiatic.
• It’s not Tibeto-Burman, and it doesn’t look at all Sinitic, so it’s not Sino-Tibetan either.
• It can’t be Hmong-Mien, since none of those languages are extinct.
• Its speakers have a Tai L1, so it’s spoken in SE Asia.

So, it’s in SE Asia, but not in any of the major families of the area… is it some sort of isolate then?

[Travis B.]

OK, so what do we know about this mystery language?

• It’s not Austronesian or Tai-Kadai.
• It’s not Austroasiatic.
• It’s not Tibeto-Burman, and it doesn’t look at all Sinitic, so it’s not Sino-Tibetan either.
• It can’t be Hmong-Mien, since none of those languages are extinct.
• Its speakers have a Tai L1, so it’s spoken in SE Asia.

So, it’s in SE Asia, but not in any of the major families of the area… is it some sort of isolate then?

The main extinct isolate I know of in the region is Tambora... but it lacks anything-speakers, much the less Tai L1-speakers, since it was spoken far from any Tai language and its speakers got blown up by a volcano a couple hundred years or so ago.

[Richard W]

OK, so what do we know about this mystery language?

• It’s not Austronesian or Tai-Kadai.
• It’s not Austroasiatic.
• It’s not Tibeto-Burman, and it doesn’t look at all Sinitic, so it’s not Sino-Tibetan either.
• It can’t be Hmong-Mien, since none of those languages are extinct.
• Its speakers have a Tai L1, so it’s spoken in SE Asia.

So, it’s in SE Asia, but not in any of the major families of the area… is it some sort of isolate then?

No, it's not an isolate. Incidentally, I took Tibeto-Burman to include Sinitic.

[Travis B.]

Did this language belong to one of the various small families/language isolates spoken in Arunachal Pradesh?

[Richard W]

Did this language belong to one of the various small families/language isolates spoken in Arunachal Pradesh?

No.

[bradrn]

OK, so what do we know about this mystery language?

• It’s not Austronesian or Tai-Kadai.
• It’s not Austroasiatic.
• It’s not Tibeto-Burman, and it doesn’t look at all Sinitic, so it’s not Sino-Tibetan either.
• It can’t be Hmong-Mien, since none of those languages are extinct.
• Its speakers have a Tai L1, so it’s spoken in SE Asia.

So, it’s in SE Asia, but not in any of the major families of the area… is it some sort of isolate then?

No, it's not an isolate. Incidentally, I took Tibeto-Burman to include Sinitic.

OK… so, for you, which Sino-Tibetan groups are outside Tibeto-Burman? And is this language one of those?

[Travis B.]

OK, so what do we know about this mystery language?

• It’s not Austronesian or Tai-Kadai.
• It’s not Austroasiatic.
• It’s not Tibeto-Burman, and it doesn’t look at all Sinitic, so it’s not Sino-Tibetan either.
• It can’t be Hmong-Mien, since none of those languages are extinct.
• Its speakers have a Tai L1, so it’s spoken in SE Asia.

So, it’s in SE Asia, but not in any of the major families of the area… is it some sort of isolate then?

No, it's not an isolate. Incidentally, I took Tibeto-Burman to include Sinitic.

OK… so, for you, which Sino-Tibetan groups are outside Tibeto-Burman? And is this language one of those?

Richard was saying that it's not Sino-Tibetan either, since it's not Tibeto-Burman, and he views Sinitic as a subgroup thereof.

[Richard W]

OK, so what do we know about this mystery language?

• It’s not Austronesian or Tai-Kadai.
• It’s not Austroasiatic.
• It’s not Tibeto-Burman, and it doesn’t look at all Sinitic, so it’s not Sino-Tibetan either.
• It can’t be Hmong-Mien, since none of those languages are extinct.
• Its speakers have a Tai L1, so it’s spoken in SE Asia.

So, it’s in SE Asia, but not in any of the major families of the area… is it some sort of isolate then?

No, it's not an isolate. Incidentally, I took Tibeto-Burman to include Sinitic.

OK… so, for you, which Sino-Tibetan groups are outside Tibeto-Burman? And is this language one of those?

To me, Sino-Tibetan and Tibeto-Burman are synonymous.

It's the speakers of this dialect that mostly have a Tai L1. (I expect some have an Austroasiatic L1, and I would not be surprised to find some with a Sino-Tibetan L1).

[Travis B.]

So to get this straight, these languages are not in any of:

A) Austroasiatic
B) Tibeto-Burman/Sino-Tibetan
C) Austronesian/Tai-Kadai
D) Hmong-Mien
E) The little families in Arunachal Pradesh

Is this right?

[Richard W]

So to get this straight, these languages are not in any of:

A) Austroasiatic
B) Tibeto-Burman/Sino-Tibetan
C) Austronesian/Tai-Kadai
D) Hmong-Mien
E) The little families in Arunachal Pradesh

Is this right?

Correct. This language is not Hmong-Mien.

[bradrn]

OK, let me take a wild guess… is it North Dravidian?

[Richard W]

OK, let me take a wild guess… is it North Dravidian?

No, but the resemblance is not entirely coincidental.