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Kadai
Tai-Kadai, Daic, Kradai
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| Geographic distribution: |
Southern China, Southeast Asia, Hainan | ||
| Genetic classification: |
One of the world's primary language families, with proposed affinities to Austronesian and Sino-Tibetan | ||
| Subdivisions: | |||
| ISO 639-2 and 639-5: | tai | ||
 Distribution of the Kradai language family.
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The Kadai languages, also known as Tai-Kadai, Daic, and Kradai, or Kra-Dai,[1] are a language family of highly tonal languages found in southern China and Southeast Asia. The diversity of the Kadai languages in southeastern China, especially on Hainan, suggests that this is close to their homeland. The Tai branch moved south into Southeast Asia only in historic times, founding the nations that later became Thailand and Laos in what had been Austroasiatic territory.
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The Kadai languages were formerly considered to be part of the Sino-Tibetan family, but outside of China they are now classified as an independent family. They contain large numbers of words that are similar in Sino-Tibetan languages. However, these are seldom found in all branches of the family, and do not include basic vocabulary, indicating that they are old loan words (Ostapirat 2005).
Several Western scholars have presented suggestive evidence that Kadai is related to or a branch of the Austronesian language family. There are a number of possible cognates in the core vocabulary. Among proponents, there is yet no agreement as to whether they are a sister group to Austronesian in a family called Austro-Tai, a backmigration from Taiwan to the mainland, or a later migration from the Philippines to Hainan during the Austronesian expansion.
In China, they are called Zhuang-Dong languages and are generally considered to be related to Sino-Tibetan languages along with the Miao-Yao languages. It is still a matter of discussion among Chinese scholars whether Kra languages such as Gelao, Qabiao, and Lachi can be included in Zhuang-Dong, since they lack the Sino-Tibetan similarities that are used to include other Zhuang-Dong languages in Sino-Tibetan.
Kadai consists of five well established branches, Hlai, Kra, Kam-Sui, Tai, and the Ong Be (Bê) language:
Based on the large number of vocabulary they share, the Kam-Sui, Be, and Tai branches are often classified together. (See Kam-Tai.) However, this is negative evidence, possibly due to lexical replacement in the other branches, and morphological similarities suggest instead that Kra and Kam-Sui be grouped together as Northern Kadai on the one hand, and Hlai with Tai as Southern Kadai on the other (Ostapirat 2006).
| Kadai |
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The position of Ong Be in this proposal is undetermined.
The study of over 100 East Asian populations including 30 Kadai-speaking peoples had reached the following conclusions. First, the Kadai-speaking populations show a great deal of genetic similarity although admixture with local populations did occur after its expansion.
Secondly, a significant proportion of southern Chinese populations carry a signature of Kadai-speaking populations.
Thirdly, Taiwanese Aborigines are more similar to Kadai-speaking populations than they are to the other Austronesian populations, that is, the Malayo-Polynesians.
Fourthly, the clustering of subfamilies of Kadai-speaking populations correlates well with that based on their genetic similarity indicating limited gene flow between them after their separation.
Kadai-speaking populations originated in the southern part of East Asia and then migrated northwards and eastwards with Kam-Sui probably being the oldest.
| Kradai Daic, Tai-Kadai
| |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution: | Southern China, Southeast Asia, Hainan |
| Genetic classification: | One of the world's primary language families, with proposed affinities to Austronesian and Sino-Tibetan |
| Subdivisions: | |
| ISO 639-2 and 639-5: | tai |
The Kradai or Kra-Dai languages, also known as Daic, Kadai,[1] or Tai-Kadai, are a language family of highly tonal languages found in southern China and Southeast Asia. The diversity of the Kradai languages in southeastern China, especially on Hainan, suggests that this is close to their homeland. The Tai branch moved south into Southeast Asia only in historic times, founding the nations that later became Thailand and Laos in what had been Austroasiatic territory.
Contents |
The Kradai languages were formerly considered to be part of the Sino-Tibetan family, but outside of China they are now classified as an independent family. They contain large numbers of cognates with Sino-Tibetan languages. However, these are seldom found in all branches of the family, and do not include basic vocabulary, indicating that they are old loan words (Ostapirat 2005).
In China, they are called Zhuang-Dong languages and are generally considered Sino-Tibetan along with the Miao-Yao languages. It is still a matter of discussion among Chinese scholars whether Kra languages such as Gelao, Qabiao, and Lachi can be included in Zhuang-Dong, since they lack the Sino-Tibetan cognates that are used to include other Zhuang-Dong languages in Sino-Tibetan.
Several Western scholars believe that Kradai is related to or a branch of the Austronesian language family, in a family called Austro-Tai. There is a substantial but limited number of cognates in the core vocabulary. There is yet no agreement as to whether they are mainland Austronesian languages which remained on the mainland, a backmigration from Taiwan to the mainland, or a later migration from the Philippines to Hainan during the Austronesian expansion.
Kradai consists of five well established branches, Hlai, Kra, Kam-Sui, Tai, and the Ong Be (Bê) language:
Based on the large number of vocabulary they share, the Kam-Sui, Be, and Tai branches are often classified together. (See Kam-Tai.) However, this is negative evidence, possibly due to lexical replacement in the other branches, and morphological similarities suggest instead that Kra and Kam-Sui be grouped together as Northern Kradai on the one hand, and Hlai with Tai as Southern Kradai on the other (Ostapirat 2006).
| Kradai |
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The position of Ong Be in this proposal is undetermined.
The study of over 100 East Asian populations including 30 Kradai-speaking peoples had reached the following conclusions. First, the Kradai-speaking populations show a great deal of genetic similarity although admixture with local populations did occur after its expansion.
Secondly, a significant proportion of southern Chinese populations carry a signature of Kradai-speaking populations.
Thirdly, Taiwanese aborigines are more similar to Kradai-speaking populations than they are to the other Austronesian populations, that is, the Malayo-Polynesians.
Fourthly, the clustering of subfamilies of Kradai-speaking populations correlates well with that based on their genetic similarity indicating limited gene flow between them after their separation.
Kradai-speaking populations originated in the southern part of East Asia and then migrated northwards and eastwards with Kam-Sui probably being the oldest.
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