Shan language
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Shan | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spoken in: | Myanmar | |
| Region: | Asia | |
| Total speakers: | 3.3 million | |
| Ranking: | 126 | |
| Language family: | Tai-Kadai Tai Northwestern Tai Shan | |
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1: | none | |
| ISO 639-2: | ? | |
| ISO/FDIS 639-3: | ? | |
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. See IPA chart for English for an English-based pronunciation key. | ||
The Shan language is related to the Thai language and is commonly called Tai Shan. It is spoken in Northeast Myanmar and in pockets in Thailand. It has five tones and is a part of the Tai-Kadai language family, which span from Northern Myanmar on the west through Southern China on the north, and Laos on the east.
Studies of the Shan people are complicated by the civil war within Myanmar and anti-immigration laws in Thailand. The number of Shan speakers is not known, in part because the Shan population is unknown. Estimates range from 4 million to 30 million, though it is likely that the true number of Shan is somewhere around 6 million, with about half speaking the Shan language; 3.3 million is the number generally estimated. Many Shan speak local dialects as well as the language of their trading partners. Few people can read or write in Shan script.br:Chaneg
