PT Journal
AU Peterson, J
TI Introduction – advances in the study of Munda languages
SO Journal of South Asian Languages and Linguistics
PY 2015
VL 2
IS 2
PU Walter de Gruyter GmbH
DI 10.1515/jsall-2015-0008
WP https://macau.uni-kiel.de/receive/macau_mods_00000341
LA en
DE South Asia; linguistics; language; Munda
SN 2196-0771
AB South Asia is home to around 500 languages belonging to at least six different
genetic stocks: Indo-Aryan, a branch of the Indo-European phylum, Dravidian,
Andamanese,
Tibeto-Burman, Tai, and Austro-Asiatic, as well as a number of
language isolates, including Burushaski, Kusunda, and most likely also Nihali,
although there is some debate on the classification of this language.
The Munda languages, which are the main topic of the present issue, make up
the western branch of the Austro-Asiatic phylum and stretch from the central
Indian states of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh in the west through to eastern
Nepal and western Bangladesh in the east, being concentrated primarily in the
states of Jharkhand, Odisha (formerly known as “ Orissa ” ), and neighboring regions
in the states of Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. Figure 1, from
Anderson (2007: 7), presents a general overview of the regions where the various
Munda languages are spoken
PI Berlin
ER