History of linguistic science of the Austroasiatic group of languages with special reference to the Mon-Khmer and Northern Munda languages of India: Retrospect and prospect

Abstract

The scientific enquiries of the Austroasiatic languages date to the first half of the 19th Century and gained momentum in the first half of the 20th Century. The study delineates the history of the development of Austroasiatic linguistic genealogy and the establishment of the Stammbaum. The scientific studies of sub-groups (spoken in India) like—Mon-Khmer (Khasi and Nicobarese) and Northern Munda (Ho, Korku, Mundari, and Santali) are considered integral to the present work as these are major language groups of the Austroasiatic family. The inter-ethnic connection and the genetic relationship of this Austroasiatic group living in India with those in mainland Southeast Asia have been established with scientific enquiries into these languages. This has not only revealed information regarding the chronological development of the scientific studies of the languages at different levels of linguistic analysis but also focuses on the change of dimensions of the enquiries across time and space. The language structure, being the remnants of the discourse of the past forms, the comparative linguistic enquiries of the less explored Austroasiatic languages have the potential to engage us to establish the cognate relationship on a stronger footing. This has been considered a prerequisite to language planning, feeding the Government's ‘Act East Policy’. Revisiting the ethnolinguistic connections with the speech communities of Southeast Asia can help in nation-building vision by reinforcing the age-old genetic connection by means of international co-operation and co-ordination in the fields of language, culture, and economy.