File:Monic_language.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Also known as Mon language, Peguan language
Austroasiatic language spoken by the Mon in Myanmar and Thailand
Mon is a language spoken by the Mon people who live in Myanmar and Thailand. It matters because it represents an important part of the cultural and linguistic heritage of Southeast Asia.
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Wikidata facts
- Image
- Mon Thai alphabet.jpg
Show 6 more facts
- number of speakers, writers, or signers
- 850000
- native label
- ဘာသာမန်
- Wikimedia language code
- mnw
- Commons category
- Mon language
- P10369
- Eric Kierans
Sources (7)
via Wikidata · CC0
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Article
The Mon language, formerly known as Peguan and Talaing, is an Austroasiatic language spoken by the Mon people. Mon, like the related Khmer language, but unlike most languages in mainland Southeast Asia, is not tonal. The Mon language is a recognised indigenous language in Myanmar as well as an indigenous language of Thailand.
Mon was classified as a "vulnerable" language in UNESCO's 2010 Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger. The Mon language has faced assimilative pressures in both Myanmar and Thailand, where many individuals of Mon descent are now monolingual in Burmese or Thai respectively. In 2007, Mon speakers were estimated to number between 1,800,000 and 2 million. In Myanmar, the majority of Mon speakers live in Southern Myanmar, especially Mon State, followed by Tanintharyi Region and Kayin State.