munda-mon-khmer
Proper noun A major language family of southern and southeastern Asia. It is a primary branch of the larger Austroasiatic language family, encompassing two main groups: the Munda languages (primarily spoken in central and eastern India) and the Mon-Khmer languages (spoken across a wider area including Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, and parts of India and Bangladesh).
The term is used in linguistic classification to group related languages. It functions as a singular proper noun when referring to the language family as a whole. * Comparative linguistics shows that Vietnamese and Khmer belong to the Munda-Mon-Khmer family. * The Munda-Mon-Khmer hypothesis links languages from eastern India to mainland Southeast Asia.
In academic linguistics, the term is often part of the discussion on the internal structure and genetic relationships within the Austroasiatic phylum. It may be used in contrast with other proposed subgroupings.
- Austroasiatic (Proper noun): The larger language phylum that includes the Munda-Mon-Khmer family, as well as other groups like Nicobarese in some classifications.
- Mon-Khmer (Proper noun): The larger subgroup within Munda-Mon-Khmer, including languages such as Khmer (Cambodian), Vietnamese, Mon, and many minority languages.
- Munda (Proper noun): The subgroup within Munda-Mon-Khmer spoken in central and eastern India, including languages like Santali and Mundari.
- Austroasiatic languages (This is a broader, more commonly used contemporary synonym, as "Munda-Mon-Khmer" is often considered co-extensive with the Austroasiatic family, excluding Nicobarese in some older classifications).
This term has a single, specific meaning as a linguistic classification. It does not have general or idiomatic meanings outside of technical linguistic discourse.
- a family of languages spoken in southern and southeastern Asia