The Northern Tai languages are an established branch of the

Tai languages The Tai or Zhuang–Tai languages ( th, ภาษาไท or , transliteration: or ) are a branch of the Kra–Dai language family. The Tai languages include the most widely spoken of the Tai–Kadai languages, including Standard Thai or S ...

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

. They include the northern

Zhuang languages The Zhuang languages (; autonym: , pre-1982: , Sawndip: 話僮, from ''vah'', 'language' and ''Cuengh'', 'Zhuang'; ) are any of more than a dozen Tai languages spoken by the Zhuang people of Southern China in the province of Guangxi and adj ...

and Bouyei of China, Tai Mène of Laos and Yoy of Thailand.

Languages

Ethnologue

Ethnologue ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' (stylized as ''Ethnoloɠue'') is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world. It is the world's most comprehensi ...

'' distinguishes the following languages: * Saek (Laos and northeast Thailand; listed outside Tai proper in the ''Ethnologue'' classification, though said to be similar to Tai Maen, which is listed as Northern Tai) * Tai Maen (Laos) * Yoy (Thailand) * Bouyei (Buyi) (China) (including the language of the Giáy people of Vietnam) *

Central Hongshuihe Zhuang The Zhuang languages (; autonym: , pre-1982: , Sawndip: 話僮, from ''vah'', 'language' and ''Cuengh'', 'Zhuang'; ) are any of more than a dozen Tai languages spoken by the Zhuang people of Southern China in the province of Guangxi and adjac ...

Eastern Hongshuihe Zhuang Eastern Hongshuihe Zhuang is a Northern Tai languages, Northern Tai language spoken in Guangxi, China, south of the Qian River and the eastern stretch of the Hongshui River. References

Tai languages {{tk-lang-stub ...

* Guibei Zhuang * Yei Zhuang *

Lianshan Zhuang The Zhuang languages (; autonym: , pre-1982: , Sawndip: 話僮, from ''vah'', 'language' and ''Cuengh'', 'Zhuang'; ) are any of more than a dozen Tai languages spoken by the Zhuang people of Southern China in the province of Guangxi and adja ...

* Liujiang Zhuang * Liuqian Zhuang *

Yongbei Zhuang Yongbei Zhuang is a Zhuang variety including the dialects of Yongning North, Binyang, Hengxian, and Pingguo dialects. 'Yongbei' 邕北 is Chinese and here means North of the Yongjiang river; in other contexts it can stand for the north of Yongnin ...

Youjiang Zhuang Youjiang Zhuang, named after the Youjiang River in Guangxi, China, is a Northern Tai or Zhuang Language spoken in Tiandong County, Tianyang District, and parts of the Youjiang District in Baise, Guangxi. History and classification Native ...

(See varieties of Zhuang.) Yoy is elsewhere classified as Southwestern Tai, and E, which is a

mixed language A mixed language is a language that arises among a bilingual group combining aspects of two or more languages but not clearly deriving primarily from any single language. It differs from a creole or pidgin language in that, whereas creoles/pidgin ...

Northern Tai-Chinese language. Longsang Zhuang, a recently described Northern Tai language, is spoken Longsang Township, Debao County, Guangxi, China. Hezhang Buyi is a moribund Northern Tai language of northwestern

Guizhou Guizhou (; Postal romanization, formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in the Southwest China, southwest region of the China, People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the pr ...

that is notable for having a Kra substratum.

Pittayaporn (2009)

Pittayaporn (2009:300) distinguishes a similar group of Zhuang varieties as group "N", defined by the phonological shifts *ɯj, *ɯw → *aj, *aw. He moves the

prestige dialect Prestige refers to a good reputation or high esteem; in earlier usage, ''prestige'' meant "showiness". (19th c.) Prestige may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Films * ''Prestige'' (film), a 1932 American film directed by Tay Garnet ...

of Zhuang, the Wuming dialect, from the Northern Tai

to Yongnan Zhuang – purportedly Central Tai – as it lacks these shifts. The various languages and localities Pittayaporn includes in group N, along with their ''Ethnologue'' equivalents, are: * Saek * Bouyei 布依 (including the language of the Giáy people of Vietnam) *Yei Zhuang 剥隘 *(''

Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture is an autonomous prefecture in southeastern Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China and the easternmost prefecture-level division of the province. It borders Baise, Guangxi to the east, Vietna ...

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...

'') **

Guangnan Guangnan County (; Zhuang: ) is located in Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan province, China. The seat of Guangnan, known today as Liancheng (), was the heart of the Gouding Kingdom () that lasted approximately 400 years, fr ...

Sha 广南沙族 = Guibian Zhuang (north Guangnan; south Guangnan is Nong Zhuang) ** Qiubei 丘北县 = Qiubei Zhuang *('' Baise,

Guangxi Guangxi (; ; alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam ...

'') ** Lingyun 凌乐/凌云县 = Guibian Zhuang ** Pingguo 平果县 = Yongbei Zhuang **

Tiandong Tiandong County(, za, Denzdungh Yen) is a county of Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Baise. Demographics Tiandong's population was 411,500(2010). 85.22% of the people belong to the Zhuang ethnic grou ...

田东县 = Youjiang Zhuang ** Tianlin 田林县 = Guibian Zhuang *(''

Nanning Nanning (; ; za, Namzningz) is the capital and largest city by population of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Southern China. It is known as the "Green City" because of its abundance of lush subtropical foliage. Located in the South o ...

Prefecture,

'') **

Hengxian Hengzhou (), formerly, Heng County or Hengxian (; Standard Zhuang: ) is a county-level city of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Nanning, the capital of Guangxi, with a permane ...

横县 = Yongbei Zhuang ** Shanglin 上林县 = Hongshuihe Zhuang **Yongbei 邕北 = Yongbei Zhuang *(''

Guigang Guigang (; Zhuang: ''Gveigangj'') is a prefecture-level city in eastern Guangxi in the People's Republic of China. Prior to 1988, it was known as Gui County or Guixian (). Geography and climate Guigang is located in eastern Guangxi. It is loc ...

Prefecture,

'') **

贵港 City = Hongshuihe Zhuang ? ** Dulan 独兰 Village, Pingnan 平南县 *

Laibin Laibin (, Zhuang: Laizbinh) is a prefecture-level city in the central part of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. History Laibin is an ancient town with more than 2000 years of history. The area was settled in prehistoric times, more t ...

来宾 Prefecture,

= Hongshuihe Zhuang (south Laibin), Liujiang Zhuang (north Laibin) *(''

Hechi Hechi () is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China, bordering Guizhou to the north. In June 2002 it gained city status. Geography and climate Hechi is located in northwestern ...

Prefecture,

'') **

City 河池 = Guibei Zhuang ** Huanjiang 环江 = Guibei Zhuang ** Nandan 南丹县 = Guibei Zhuang ** Yishan 宜州 = Liujiang Zhuang *(''

Liuzhou Liuzhou (; , IPA Pronunciation:) is a prefecture-level city in north-central Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. The prefecture's population was 3,758,700 in 2010, including 1,436,599 in the built-up area made of 4 urban ...

Prefecture,

'') ** Liujiang 柳江县 = Liujiang Zhuang ** Rong'an 融安县 = Guibei Zhuang * Longsheng 龙胜县,

Guilin Guilin (Standard Zhuang: ''Gveilinz''; alternatively romanized as Kweilin) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is situated on the west bank of the Li River and borders Hunan to the nort ...

桂林,

= Guibei Zhuang * Dong'an 东安县, Yongzhou 永州,

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangx ...

* Lianshan 连山县,

Qingyuan Qingyuan, formerly romanized as Tsingyun, is a prefecture-level city in northern Guangdong province, China, on the banks of the Bei or North River. During the 2020 census, its total population was 3,969,473, out of whom 1,738,424 lived in the ...

清远,

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...

= Lianshan Zhuang

Vocabulary

Some examples of lexical and phonological differences between Northern Tai and Central-Southwestern Tai:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tai Languages Languages of Southeast Asia Tai languages