Bit–Khang | |
---|---|
Geographic distribution | Laos, Vietnam, China |
Linguistic classification |
Austroasiatic
|
Glottolog | khao1243 |
The Bit–Khang languages consist of: [1]
The Bit–Khang languages are spoken in southern China, northern Laos, and northwestern Vietnam. The Bit-Khang branch was first proposed by Paul Sidwell (2014). [1]
At first, Bit–Khang languages were usually classified as Khmuic, but Sidwell (2014) [1] has since demonstrated the Palaungic affiliation of Bit-Khang, as well as its unity. Paul Sidwell (2014) [1] proposes that these languages constitute a subgroup of Palaungic, since they display lexical innovations characteristic of the Palaungic branch such as 'eye', 'fire', 'blood', and 'laugh'.
Gloss | Proto-Palaungic lexical innovation [2] |
---|---|
eye | *ˀŋaːj |
blood | *snaːm |
fire | *ŋal |
laugh | *kəɲaːs |
Sidwell (2014) suggests that Bit–Khang may have originally been Eastern Palaungic, due to various isoglosses shared with Waic, Lametic, and Angkuic, but was later heavily relexified by Khmuic as Bit-Khang speakers migrated eastward into Khmuic territory.