| Bit–Khang | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution | Laos,Vietnam,China |
| Linguistic classification | Austroasiatic
|
| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | khao1243 |
TheBit–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 byPaul Sidwell (2014).[1]
At first, Bit–Khang languages were usually classified asKhmuic, 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 ofPalaungic, since they displaylexical 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 withWaic,Lametic, andAngkuic, but was later heavilyrelexified byKhmuic as Bit-Khang speakers migrated eastward into Khmuic territory.