Proto-Tai language
| Proto-Tai | |
|---|---|
| Reconstruction of | Tai languages |
Reconstructed ancestor | |
Proto-Tai is the reconstructed proto-language (common ancestor) of all the Tai languages, including modern Lao, Shan, Tai Lü, Tai Dam, Ahom, Northern Thai, Standard Thai, Bouyei, and Zhuang. The Proto-Tai language is not directly attested by any surviving texts, but has been reconstructed using the comparative method.
It was reconstructed in 1977 by Li Fang-Kuei and by Pittayawat Pittayaporn in 2009.