Langenesis

Sino-Tibetan family

Wu Chinese

c. 1000 CE – today Living

Wu Chinese (c. 1000 CE – today) is a living Sino-Tibetan language. It has 1 descendant languages and stages on the map. Lineage: Proto-Sino-Tibetan → Proto-Sinitic → Old Chinese → Middle Chinese → Wu Chinese.

See Wu Chinese on the interactive map
Speakers
82M (82,000,000)
ISO 639-3
wuu
Glottocode
wuch1236

Sinitic group of the lower Yangtze (Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai), notable for retaining voiced initials. Second-largest Sinitic group after Mandarin by some counts.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Sino-Tibetanc. 4,000 BCE – 2,500 BCE
  2. Proto-Siniticc. 1,500 BCE – 1,250 BCE
  3. Old Chinese1,250 BCE – 25 CE
  4. Middle Chinese25 CE – 1000 CE
  5. Wu Chinesec. 1000 CE – today

Descendants 1

Sister languages 6

Also descended from Middle Chinese.

Sources