AI Article Synopsis
- Tai-Kadai (TK) is a major language family primarily found in Thailand and Laos, originating from southern China.
- A study added 560 mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genomes, revealing extensive genetic diversity and highlighting the movement of TK languages and people across Mainland Southeast Asia.
- The findings suggest that while the spread of TK languages fits a demic diffusion model, there’s also evidence of genetic links between TK speakers and native Austroasiatic groups, indicating complex interactions among different cultural and linguistic communities.
Article Abstract
Tai-Kadai (TK) is one of the major language families in Mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA), with a concentration in the area of Thailand and Laos. Our previous study of 1234 mtDNA genome sequences supported a demic diffusion scenario in the spread of TK languages from southern China to Laos as well as northern and northeastern Thailand. Here we add an additional 560 mtDNA genomes from 22 groups, with a focus on the TK-speaking central Thai people and the Sino-Tibetan speaking Karen. We find extensive diversity, including 62 haplogroups not reported previously from this region. Demic diffusion is still a preferable scenario for central Thais, emphasizing the expansion of TK people through MSEA, although there is also some support for gene flow between central Thai and native Austroasiatic speaking Mon and Khmer. We also tested competing models concerning the genetic relationships of groups from the major MSEA languages, and found support for an ancestral relationship of TK and Austronesian-speaking groups.
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Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5974021 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41431-018-0113-7 | DOI Listing |
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