The Northern Tai languages are an established branch of the

Tai languages The Tai, Zhuang–Tai, or Daic languages (Ahom language, Ahom: 𑜁𑜪𑜨 𑜄𑜩 or 𑜁𑜨𑜉𑜫 𑜄𑜩 ; ; or , ; , ) are a branch of the Kra–Dai languages, Kra–Dai language family. The Tai languages include the most widely spo ...

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

. They include the northern Zhuang languages and Bouyei of China, Tai Mène of Laos and Yoy of Thailand.

Languages

Ethnologue

Ethnologue ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' 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 comprehensive catalogue of languages. It w ...

'' 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 * Eastern Hongshuihe Zhuang * Guibei Zhuang * Yei Zhuang * Lianshan Zhuang * Liujiang Zhuang * Liuqian Zhuang * Yongbei Zhuang * Youjiang Zhuang (See varieties of Zhuang.) Yoy is elsewhere classified as Southwestern Tai, and E, which is a

mixed language A mixed language, also referred to as a hybrid language or fusion language, is a type of contact language that arises among a bilingual group combining aspects of two or more languages but not clearly deriving primarily from any single language. ...

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 ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_map = Guizhou in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_alt = Map showing the location of Guizhou Province , map_caption = Map s ...

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 of Zhuang, the Wuming dialect, from the Northern Tai Yongbei Zhuang 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 is the easternmost prefecture-level division of the province. It borders Baise, Guangxi, to the east, Vie ...

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

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

Guangxi Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam (Hà Giang Province, Hà Giang, Cao Bằn ...

'') ** Lingyun 凌乐/凌云县 = Guibian Zhuang ** Pingguo 平果县 = Yongbei Zhuang ** Tiandong 田东县 = Youjiang Zhuang ** Tianlin 田林县 = Guibian Zhuang *(''

Nanning Nanning; is the capital of the Guangxi, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in South China, southern China. It is known as the "Green City (绿城) " because of its abundance of lush subtropical foliage. Located in the South of Guangxi, Nanning ...

Prefecture,

'') ** Hengxian 横县 = Yongbei Zhuang ** Shanglin 上林县 = Hongshuihe Zhuang **Yongbei 邕北 = Yongbei Zhuang *('' Guigang Prefecture,

'') ** Guigang 贵港 City = Hongshuihe Zhuang ? ** Dulan 独兰 Village, Pingnan 平南县 * Laibin 来宾 Prefecture,

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

'') ** Hechi City 河池 = Guibei Zhuang ** Huanjiang 环江 = Guibei Zhuang ** Nandan 南丹县 = Guibei Zhuang ** Yishan 宜州 = Liujiang Zhuang *('' Liuzhou Prefecture,

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

Guilin Guilin (Standard Zhuang: ''Gveilinz''), postal map romanization, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as Kweilin, is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of China's Guangxi, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is situated on the we ...

桂林,

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

Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...

* Lianshan 连山县, Qingyuan 清远,

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

= 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