Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents Summary for Volumes 1, 2 and 3
- Contents
- Volume 1 Maps
- Volume 2 Maps
- Volume 3 Maps
- About the Contributors
- Volume 1
- Volume 2
- V. East Asia
- 2.1 East Asia: DNA
- 2.2 Early Palaeolithic of Central and Northern Asia
- 2.3 The Upper Palaeolithic of Northeast Asia
- 2.4 Early Sedentism in East Asia: From Late Palaeolithic to Early Agricultural Societies in Insular East Asia
- 2.5 The Neolithic of Northern and Central China
- 2.6 The Neolithic of Southern China
- 2.7 Early Complex Societies in Northern China
- 2.8 Early Complex Societies in Southern China
- 2.9 China from Zhou to Tang
- 2.10 Complex Society in Korea and Japan
- 2.11 The Later Prehistory of the Russian Far East
- 2.12 East Asia: Languages
- VI. The Americas
- Volume 3
- Index
- References
2.12 - East Asia: Languages
from V. - East Asia
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 August 2014
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents Summary for Volumes 1, 2 and 3
- Contents
- Volume 1 Maps
- Volume 2 Maps
- Volume 3 Maps
- About the Contributors
- Volume 1
- Volume 2
- V. East Asia
- 2.1 East Asia: DNA
- 2.2 Early Palaeolithic of Central and Northern Asia
- 2.3 The Upper Palaeolithic of Northeast Asia
- 2.4 Early Sedentism in East Asia: From Late Palaeolithic to Early Agricultural Societies in Insular East Asia
- 2.5 The Neolithic of Northern and Central China
- 2.6 The Neolithic of Southern China
- 2.7 Early Complex Societies in Northern China
- 2.8 Early Complex Societies in Southern China
- 2.9 China from Zhou to Tang
- 2.10 Complex Society in Korea and Japan
- 2.11 The Later Prehistory of the Russian Far East
- 2.12 East Asia: Languages
- VI. The Americas
- Volume 3
- Index
- References
Summary
This chapter presents one fairly orthodox view of the language families of East Asia. In language structure and convergence, the linguistic panorama of East Asia resolves not into three major zones, but just a two-way contrast. The Sinitic of the "Middle Country" aligns closely with the south; while northern Asia's languages stand apart to form a quite different language area. Viewed from the perspective of Mainland Southeast Asia, the key question for prehistory is which of the various language lineages found across that region today might be indigenous to it, and which intrusive from outside, particularly the north. As reference points to help place each family in its past contexts, the chapter identifies which among them were most closely associated with some of the main (pre)historical cultures of the region. It also explores how the families fit together into an overall linguistic panorama, providing further, collective pointers to their prehistory.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge World Prehistory , pp. 870 - 896Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2014
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