Kra–Dai languages

Kra–Dai is a language family spoken mainly in southern China and mainland Southeast Asia. Its branches include Tai, Kam–Sui, Kra, Hlai, and Be.

Tai languages: A major Kra–Dai branch that includes Thai, Lao, and Zhuang. This branch contains the family’s best-known languages and has the widest geographic reach.
Tonal language: A language in which pitch differences distinguish words or grammatical forms. Tone is widespread across the family, though its systems differ between branches.
Kra–Dai homeland hypotheses: Competing proposals about the region where the ancestral Kra–Dai language was spoken. Its proposed homeland shapes accounts of how the family reached its present range.
Thai language: The national language of Thailand and a member of the Tai branch of Kra–Dai. Thai is a major national language descended from the family’s Tai branch.
Kra–Dai–Austronesian hypothesis: A hypothesis that Kra–Dai and Austronesian languages share a deeper genealogical relationship. It proposes a connection beyond the family’s well-established internal branches.
Kam–Sui languages: A Kra–Dai branch spoken mainly in Guizhou and neighboring parts of southern China. Its languages preserve a distinct branch of the family in southern China.
Isolating language: A language that tends to use separate words rather than inflectional endings to express grammatical relations. Many Kra–Dai languages rely on word order and particles rather than extensive inflection.
Tai migration: The historical movement of Tai-speaking populations across southern China and mainland Southeast Asia. These movements help explain the wide distribution of the Tai branch.
Lao language: The national language of Laos and a member of the Tai branch of Kra–Dai. Lao shares close historical and structural ties with Thai within the Tai branch.
Tai–Kam–Sui hypothesis: A proposal that Tai and Kam–Sui form a closer subgroup within Kra–Dai. This subgrouping competes with classifications that treat the major branches as more evenly divided.

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Tai peoplesNarrower topic: Tai languages belong to this broader family, which includes communities with distinct histories.