Tai Loi, also known as Mong Lue, refers to various Palaungic languages spoken mainly in Burma, with a few hundred in Laos and some also in China. Hall (2017) reports that Tai Loi is a cover term meaning 'mountain Tai' in Shan, and refers to various Angkuic, Waic, and Western Palaungic languages rather than a single language or branch. The Shan exonym Tai Loi can refer to:
| Tai Loi | |
|---|---|
| Mong Lue | |
| Native to | Burma, Laos |
Native speakers | (5,000 cited 1995–2008)[1] |
Austroasiatic
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | tlq |
| ELP | Tai Loi |
Additionally, Ethnologue (21st edition),[2] citing Schliesinger (2003), lists Doi as a Tai Loi variety in Ban Muang, Sing District, Luang Namtha Province, Laos as a nearly extinct language variety spoken by an ethnic group comprising 600 people and 80 households as of 2003. Schliesinger (2003) reports that elderly Doi speakers can understand the Samtao language.[3] There is considerable variation among the dialects.[4] The Muak Sa-aak variety of Tai Loi shares 42% lexical similarity with U of China; 40% with Pang Pung Plang; and 25% with standard Wa.[4]
References
edit- ^ Tai Loi at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ "Laos".
- ^ Schliesinger, Joachim. 2003. Ethnic Groups of Laos. Vol. 2: Austro-Asiatic-Speaking Peoples. Bangkok: White Lotus Press.
- ^ a b "Myanmar". Ethnologue: Languages of the World. 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-10-10.
- Hall, Elizabeth. 2017. On the Linguistic Affiliation of 'Tai Loi'. JSEALS vol. 10.2:xix-xxii.