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Article published In:
Ethnolinguistic contact across the Indo-Myanmar-Southwestern China mountains
Edited by Alexander R. Coupe, Randy J. LaPolla and Hideo Sawada
[Asian Languages and Linguistics 4:2] 2023
► pp. 194–223

Homeland of Karenic languages

From the perspective of plant names

| Keio University
Comparisons of plant names in Karenic languages reveal that names that can be traced back to Proto-Karen belong to plants that grow in temperate zones, such as bamboo, banyan, and mango. The names for coconut and palmyra palm, which are typical tropical plants, cannot be traced back to Proto-Karen and are borrowings. This suggests that Proto-Karen was spoken in a temperate zone. Meanwhile, the highest diversity of Karenic languages is observed in the area from southern Shan State to Kayah State and northern Karen State in Myanmar. Thus, as per linguistic migration theory, this area may have been the homeland of Karenic languages. Furthermore, the area largely has temperate zones. Hence, we can assume that the homeland of Karenic languages was in this area.
Keywords: Karenic languages, Tibeto-Burman languages, homeland, plant names, linguistic migration theory
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Karenic languages dealt with in this study
  • 3.Comparison of plant names
    • 3.1Bamboo
    • 3.2Banana
    • 3.3Banyan
    • 3.4Betel palm
    • 3.5Coconut
    • 3.6Jackfruit
    • 3.7Mango
    • 3.8Palmyra palm
    • 3.9Pine
    • 3.10Rattan
    • 3.11Sugarcane
    • 3.12Tamarind
    • 3.13Teak
    • 3.14Discussion on Karenic plant names
  • 4.Homeland of Karenic languages as per the linguistic migration theory
  • 5.Homeland of Karenic languages and its climate
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Note
  • References
Published online: 25 April 2024
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/alal.00012.kat
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