Austroasiatic languages

Austroasiatic
Austro-Asiatic
Geographic distribution	Southeast, South and East Asia
Linguistic classification	One of the world's primary language families
Proto-language	Proto-Austroasiatic
Subdivisions	Munda Khasi-Palaungic Khmuic Mang Pakanic Vietic Katuic Bahnaric Khmer Pearic Monic Aslian Nicobarese
Language codes
ISO 639-5	aav
Glottolog	aust1305  (Austroasiatic)
Austroasiatic languages   Munda   Khasic   Palaungic   Khmuic   Vietic   Katuic   Bahnaric   Khmer   Monic   Aslian   Pearic   Pakanic   Nicobarese

The Austroasiatic languages^{[note 1]} (/ˌɒstroʊ.eɪʒiˈætɪk, ˌɔː-/ OSS-troh-ay-zhee-AT-ik, AWSS-) are a large language family spoken throughout Mainland Southeast Asia, South Asia and East Asia. These languages are natively spoken by the majority of the population in Vietnam and Cambodia, and by minority populations scattered throughout parts of Thailand, Laos, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Nepal, and southern China. Approximately 117 million people speak an Austroasiatic language, of which more than two-thirds are Vietnamese speakers.^[1] Of the Austroasiatic languages, only Vietnamese, Khmer, and Mon have lengthy, established presences in the historical record. Only two are presently considered to be the national languages of sovereign states: Vietnamese in Vietnam, and Khmer in Cambodia. The Mon language is a recognized indigenous language in Myanmar and Thailand, while the Wa language is a "recognized national language" in the de facto autonomous Wa State within Myanmar. Santali is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India. The remainder of the family's languages are spoken by minority groups and have no official status.

Ethnologue identifies 168 Austroasiatic languages. These form thirteen established families (plus perhaps Shompen, which is poorly attested, as a fourteenth), which have traditionally been grouped into two, as Mon–Khmer,^[2] and Munda. However, one recent classification posits three groups (Munda, Mon-Khmer, and Khasi–Khmuic),^[3] while another has abandoned Mon–Khmer as a taxon altogether, making it synonymous with the larger family.^[4]

Austroasiatic languages appear to be the extant autochthonous languages in mainland Southeast Asia, with the neighboring Kra–Dai, Hmong-Mien, Austronesian, and Sino-Tibetan languages having arrived via later migrations.^[5]

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