Languages and Literature /Contents

Language stocks and families

Asmah Haji Omar

Since the late 18th century, languages have been grouped into stocks and families according to uniquely shared linguistic changes and innovations. Languages from several of these are spoken in Malaysia. The languages with the longest association with the country belong to the Austroasiatic and Austronesian stocks. Other languages—from the Tai-Kadai, Sino-Tibetan, Dravidian, Indo-European, and Afro-Asiatic families—have a relatively more recent association with the country.

  • Information in the full article includes
  • Evolution of modern linguistics
  • Austronesian, Austroasiatic and Tai-Kadai
  • Families from beyond Southeast Asia
Inscription

There is evidence, such as this inscription from the Bujang Valley, that Sanskrit, an Indo-European language, was used in the Malay Peninsula over 1300 years ago.