Myanmar Languages: Difference between revisions

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Latest revision as of 20:34, 11 August 2025

Myanmar Wiki Topics

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Record Types

Myanmar Background

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Cultural Groups

Local Research Resources

In other languages: မြန်မာစာ | English

Myanmar

Languages

Description

Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (also called Burma) is a country in Southeast Asia.
Burmese, the mother tongue of the Bamar and official language of Myanmar, is related to Tibetan and Chinese.
Myanmar is home to four major language families:
- Sino-Tibetan: These languages are most widely spoken.
  - Burmese
  - Karen
  - Kachin
  - Chin
  - Chinese (mainly Hokkien)
- Tai–Kadai
  - Shan
- Austro-Asiatic
  - Mon
  - Palaung: The Palaung people are divided into Palé, Rumai, and Shwe, and each of whom have their own language. ^[1]
  - Wa
- Indo-European
  - Pali: Today Pali is studied mainly to gain access to Buddhist scriptures, and is frequently chanted in a ritual context. ^[2]
  - English
More than a hundred languages are spoken in total. ^[3]

Word List(s)

Burmese

Useful phrases in Burmese (Omniglot)

Karen

Learn To Speak Karen (DrumPublication)

Kachin or Jingpho

The Sound of the Jingpho / Kachin language (YouTube)

Chin or Zo (Zou)

Learning Zomi language 41- phrases (YouTube)

Chinese or Hokkien

Shan

Cushing, Josiah Nelson. Handbook of the Shan language. Rangoon: American Baptist Mission Press, 1888. Available at: WorldCat.

Mon

Useful phrases in Mon (Omniglot)

Palaung

The Sound of the Palaung / De'ang language (YouTube)

Wa

Wa Numbers (Omniglot)

Pali

A Glossary of Pali & Buddhist terms (nku.edu)

Alphabet and Pronunciation

Burmese

Karen

Karen Alphabet and Pronunciation (Omniglot)

Kachin or Jingpho

Jingpho Alphabet and Pronunciation (Omniglot)

Chin or Zo (Zou)

Zou Alphabet and Pronunciation (Omniglot)

Chinese or Hokkien

Hokkien phonology (Wikipedia)

Shan

Shan Alphabet and Pronunciation (Omniglot)

Mon

Mon Alphabet and Pronunciation (Omniglot)

Palaung

Palaung Alphabet and Pronunciation (Omniglot)

Wa

Wa Alphabet and Pronunciation (Omniglot)

Pali

Pali Alphabet and Pronunciation (Omniglot)

Language Aids and Dictionaries

Burmese

Karen

English to Karen Dictionary (Glosbe)

Kachin or Jingpho

Chin or Zo (Zou)

English to Zou Dictionary (Glosbe)

Chinese or Hokkien

English to Chinese Dictionary (Glosbe)

Shan

English to Shan Dictionary (Glosbe)

Mon

English to Mon Dictionary (Glosbe)

Palaung

Wa

English to Wa Dictionary (Glosbe)

Pali

English to Pali Dictionary (Glosbe)

Additional Resources

References

↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Palaung language," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palaung_language, accessed 11 April 2022.
↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Pali Today," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pali#Pali_today, accessed 11 April 2022.
↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Myanmar," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myanmar, accessed 9 April 2022.

[1] Wikipedia contributors, "Palaung language," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palaung_language, accessed 11 April 2022.

[2] Wikipedia contributors, "Pali Today," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pali#Pali_today, accessed 11 April 2022.

[3] Wikipedia contributors, "Myanmar," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myanmar, accessed 9 April 2022.

[1]

[2]

[3]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Myanmar-sidebar}}{{breadcrumb
+{{CountrySidebar
+|Country=Myanmar
+|Name=Myanmar
+|Type=Topic
+|Topic Type=Background
+|Background=Languages
+|Content=Standardized
+}}{{breadcrumb
 | link1=[[Myanmar Genealogy|Myanmar]]
 | link2=
@@ Line 8: / Line 15: @@
 ==Description==
 *Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (also called Burma) is a country in Southeast Asia.
-*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burmese_language '''Burmese'''], the mother tongue of the Bamar and '''official language of Myanmar''', is related to Tibetan and Chinese
+*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burmese_language '''Burmese'''], the mother tongue of the Bamar and '''official language of Myanmar''', is related to Tibetan and Chinese.
 *Myanmar is home to four major language families:
 **[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Tibetan_languages '''Sino-Tibetan''']: These languages are most widely spoken.
@@ Line 20: / Line 27: @@
 **[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austroasiatic_languages '''Austro-Asiatic''']
 ***[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mon_language '''Mon''']
-***[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palaung_language '''Palaung''']
+***[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palaung_language '''Palaung''']: The Palaung people are divided into Palé, Rumai, and Shwe, and each of whom have their own language. <ref>Wikipedia contributors, "Palaung language," in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palaung_language, accessed 11 April 2022.</ref>
 ***[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wa_people '''Wa''']
 **[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_languages '''Indo-European''']
-***[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pali '''Pali''']
+***[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pali '''Pali''']: Today Pali is studied mainly to gain access to Buddhist scriptures, and is frequently chanted in a ritual context. <ref>Wikipedia contributors, "Pali Today," in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pali#Pali_today, accessed 11 April 2022.</ref>
 ***English
 *More than a hundred languages are spoken in total. <ref>Wikipedia contributors, "Myanmar," in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myanmar, accessed 9 April 2022.</ref>
@@ Line 32: / Line 39: @@
 '''Karen'''
+*[http://www.drumpublications.org/speak/speakkaren1.php Learn To Speak Karen (DrumPublication)]
 '''Kachin''' or '''Jingpho'''
+*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDu76b8hM2E The Sound of the Jingpho / Kachin language (YouTube)]
 '''Chin''' or '''Zo (Zou)'''
+*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=audepoz8Dzo Learning Zomi language 41- phrases (YouTube)]
 '''Chinese''' or '''Hokkien'''
 *[[Chinese Genealogical Word List]]
+*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hokkien#Vocabulary Hokkien Vocabulary (Wikipedia)]
 '''Shan'''
+* Cushing, Josiah Nelson. ''Handbook of the Shan language.'' Rangoon: American Baptist Mission Press, 1888. '''''Available at:''''' [https://www.worldcat.org/title/13989559 WorldCat].
 '''Mon'''
+*[https://omniglot.com/language/phrases/mon.htm Useful phrases in Mon (Omniglot)]
 '''Palaung'''
+*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYRuZkvH_yI The Sound of the Palaung / De'ang language (YouTube)]
 '''Wa'''
+*[https://www.omniglot.com/language/numbers/wa.htm Wa Numbers (Omniglot)]
 '''Pali'''
+*[https://www.nku.edu/~kenneyr/Buddhism/glossary.html A Glossary of Pali & Buddhist terms (nku.edu)]
 ==Alphabet and Pronunciation==
@@ Line 65: / Line 80: @@
 *[https://www.omniglot.com/writing/zou.htm Zou Alphabet and Pronunciation (Omniglot)]
-'''Hokkien'''
+'''Chinese''' or '''Hokkien'''
 *[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hokkien#Phonology Hokkien phonology (Wikipedia)]
@@ Line 85: / Line 100: @@
 ==Language Aids and Dictionaries==
 '''Burmese'''
+*[https://glosbe.com/en/my English to Burmese Dictionary (Glosbe)]
+*[https://www.lexilogos.com/english/burmese_dictionary.htm Burmese Dictionary (Lexilogos)]
+*[https://www.evaneos.com/burma/holidays/survival-vocabulary/ The most important vocabulary to know during your trip in Burma (Evaneos)]
+'''Karen'''
+*[https://glosbe.com/en/bwe English to Karen Dictionary (Glosbe)]
+'''Kachin''' or '''Jingpho'''
+*[https://glosbe.com/en/kac English to Kachin Dictionary (Glosbe)]
+*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ILwpVm9tV0 Kachin - Jinghpaw language & English language (YouTube)]
+'''Chin''' or '''Zo (Zou)'''
+*[https://glosbe.com/en/zom English to Zou Dictionary (Glosbe)]
-'''Karen'''
+'''Chinese''' or '''Hokkien'''
+*[https://glosbe.com/en/zh English to Chinese Dictionary (Glosbe)]
+'''Shan'''
+*[https://glosbe.com/en/shn English to Shan Dictionary (Glosbe)]
+'''Mon'''
+*[https://glosbe.com/en/mnw English to Mon Dictionary (Glosbe)]
+'''Palaung'''
+*[https://glosbe.com/en/pce English to Ruching Palaung Dictionary (Glosbe)]
+*[https://glosbe.com/en/rbb English to Rumai Palaung Dictionary (Glosbe)]
+*[https://glosbe.com/en/pll English to Shwe Palaung Dictionary (Glosbe)]
+'''Wa'''
+*[https://glosbe.com/en/wbm English to Wa Dictionary (Glosbe)]
 '''Pali'''
+*[https://glosbe.com/en/pi English to Pali Dictionary (Glosbe)]
 ==Additional Resources==
+*[https://www.worldnomads.com/explore/southeast-asia/myanmar/useful-burmese-phrases-for-travelers-to-myanmar Useful Burmese Phrases for Travelers to Myanmar (WorldNomads)]
+*[https://www.britannica.com/place/Myanmar Myanmar (Britannica)]
+*[https://wikitravel.org/en/Myanmar Myanmar (Wikitravel)]
 == References ==