Languages of the World L-1 Main languages of SEA

THAI
Thai, spoken in Thailand, is an undeniably unique language. Like most languages in
Non-Fiction Southeast Asia, Thai has its origin and development within the confines of Thailand;
however, approximately half of words in the Thai language are borrowed from
Languages of South East Asian Countries other languages.
Many places and their languages adopt new words as a result of cultural
encroachment, be that due to a pervasive international influence, cross-border
interaction, or for many other reasons. This is no less true of Thailand.
Although it was never a colony of Western powers, the Thai language has adopted
many words from several European languages, including Spanish, German, etc.
However, it is especially from older languages such as Puli and Sanskrit that the Thai
language received its deepest influences.
INDONESIAN
This unique aspect of some languages in
Southeast Asia is also apparent in the
Southeast Asia amasses a vast geographical area. It is a part of the Asian Indonesian language. Different grammar
continent that boasts of a rich history, made up of distinct cultures, climates, particles are used when speaking
cuisines, and systems of belief. This area’s linguistic diversity is no less Indonesian in a formal situation versus
impressive. speaking it in an informal situation.
Southeast Asia incorporates many countries
Also, the particularities of particle usage are often regional, cannot be referenced in
from Myanmar to Timor-Leste. Being so
dictionaries, and can greatly modify or change the meaning of a sentence. Some
diverse in so many respects, but especially
people say that Indonesian is actually one of the easiest Southeast Asian languages
with regard to its languages, one cannot
to learn, and this is both true and untrue.
point to a “monolithic” Southeast Asia, as
some might believe exist. BAHASA MELAYU
On the contrary, languages in Southeast Asia Bahasa Melayu is spoken in Malaysia,
are a good source of study for the diversity Singapore, parts of Brunei and Myanmar.
of the region, revealing the historical influences and the localization of said Like Indonesian, Malay is an Austronesian
influences that make this region particularly interesting. language. But although the two languages
are greatly similar, there are significant
The main languages in Southeast Asia are Lao, Thai, Burmese, Khmer,
differences in vocabulary and
Vietnamese, Tagalog, Malay, Indonesian and also a peppering of Chinese
pronunciation. Malay has been greatly
dialects. Every one of these languages derives from distinct sources and possess
expanded through the presence in it of
unique cultural characteristics.
Arabic, Sanskrit, Portuguese, Dutch and Chinese influence.
VIETNAMESE The languages of Southeast Asia consist of tongues belonging to more than one
language family. Dominant families in the region include the Tai-Kadai (to which
Beyond grammatical structures, and the Thai language belongs), Austronesian (such as Bahasa Malaysia and Indonesia
morphology based on historical as well as most Philippine languages), and Austro-Asiatic (e.g. Khmer and
developments, intonation and tone Vietnamese). With that said, cross-linguistic comparisons between these language
also distinguish several Southeast families show a rather low affinity. In addition, the region is to some extent
Asian languages from other influenced by other language families due to cultural pressures, immigration, and
languages. For example, the national historical colonization as well.
language of Vietnam, Vietnamese,
Below is an incomplete list of the various languages used in Southeast Asia.
possesses six different tones that,
Among these, the official languages are in bold:
depending on how they are used,
can greatly change the meaning of a
• Brunei: Malay, indigenous Austronesian languages
sentence. For example, the word “bo”, depending on the inflection used, can
have several diverse meanings, ranging from “walk” to “butter.” Some of these • Cambodia: Khmer, Vietnamese, Chamic languages
tones include the dot tone, high and flat tone, up tone, low tone, question tone, • Christmas Island: Malay
and squiggle tone. All of these tones vary greatly in the pitch of the voice and • Cocos (Keeling) Islands: Cocos Malay
create different meanings based on the inflection. • East Timor: Tetun, Mambae, Makasae, Tukudede, Bunak, Galoli, Kemak,
Fataluku, Baikeno, other Austronesian and Papuan languages
Also, did you know that written Vietnamese is partly made up of Latin characters?
• Indonesia: Indonesian, Acehnese, Batak, Sundanese, Javanese, Sasak,
These Latin characters are equipped with modifications, with a purpose to
Tetum, "Dayak" languages, Minahasa, Toraja, Buginese, Halmahera,
highlight the tones that are so important to the language. Modifications have
Ambonese, Ceramese, and many Papuan languages
been made to these Latin characters to include accent mark, and subsequently to
• Laos: Lao, Hmong, Miao, Mien, Dao, Shan, and other Tibeto-Burman
represent the varying inflections.
derived languages
KHMER • Malaysia: Malay, various indigenous languages (of the Orang Asli and
indigenous peoples of Sabah and Sarawak)
Khmer is spoken in Cambodia. • Myanmar: Burmese, Shan dialects, Karen dialects, Rakhine, Kachin, Chin,
As with Thai, the Khmer Mon, hilltribe languages
language sees a lot of Sanskrit • Philippines: Filipino, English, Tagalog, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray-Waray,
and Pali influences mainly Ilokano, Kapampangan, Pangasinan, Bicolano, Maranao, Maguindanao,
through the spread of Buddhism
Tausug, Kinaray-a, Chavacano (Spanish-based creole), other Philippine
to Southeast Asia. Despite a lot languages and dialects.
of seeming similarities to Thai,
• Singapore: Malay, English, Standard Chinese, Tamil, various Chinese
Lao and Vietnamese though,
languages
Khmer is different in that it is
• Thailand: Thai, Isan, Shan, Lue, Phutai, Khmer, Mon, Mein, Hmong, Karen,
not a tonal language. Many inscriptions in Khmer found on monuments are dated
Malay
back to a time as early as the 7th century. This attests to the fact that despite its
notorious difficulty, Khmer as a language saw widespread use and has been • Vietnam: Vietnamese, Tay, Muong, Khmer, Nung, Hmong, Tai Dam, Malay,
incredibly resilient in surviving through a pretty long history. French creole