Burmish

Burmish, also known as Burmanic, is a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family, traditionally placed within the Tibeto-Burman sub-branch. It comprises Burmese, the official language of Myanmar, and a number of related languages spoken by minority communities in Myanmar and neighboring regions. The most widely spoken member is Burmese, which serves as a lingua franca in much of the country, while other Burmish languages vary in mutual intelligibility and are often endangered or poorly documented.

Geographically, Burmish languages are centered in Myanmar, with outliers in adjacent parts of India, Bangladesh, and China’s Yunnan region. The languages reflect long-standing contact with Mon, Pali, and other linguistic groups in the region.

Linguistically, Burmish languages are typically analytic and tonal, with subject–verb–object word order in Burmese. They share grammatical features and core vocabulary with related Tibeto-Burman languages. The writing system most closely associated with Burmish is Burmese script, an abugida derived from the Mon script via Brahmi, used for Burmese and several minority languages; local variants or adaptations are used for other Burmish languages.

Most Burmish languages are minority languages with varying levels of vitality; Burmese is vigorous and official, but many other Burmish languages face pressures from language shift. Researchers study Burmish for insights into Tibeto-Burman history, language contact, and typology.