----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, August 02, 2000 4:07
PM
Subject: Re: [phoNet] Re: assam
pronunciation
Oops, sorry -- I wrote that hastily and am now
guilty of a blunder. Tai used to be classified as a subfamily of Sino-Tibetan,
but the similarities between Tai and Chinese and Tibeto-Burman are now thought
to be the result of convergence and borrowing. Tai-Kadai is now regarded as a
separate family, included by some in the controversial "Austric" phylum
alongside the Austronesian, Hmong-Mien, and Austro-Asiatic (= Mon-Khmer and
Munda) families. The Munda languages are spoken in central and NE India
including parts of Assam.
Sorry for the misinformation. Let's blame it on
the immense linguistic complexity of SE Asia ;)
Piotr
I wrote:
Tai is a branch of Tibeto-Burman, which in turn is regarded as a
subfamily of Sino-Tibetan.