The Karen languages are spoken by relatively primitive tribes in Lower Burma, the Shan States and northern and western regions of Thailand. The literary languages, recorded by European missionaries in Burmese script, are Pwo (Pgho), spoken primarily in coastal districts, and Sgaw, spoken throughout the Irrawaddy delta area. The remaining Karen languages, spoken in the Karenni Subdivision and other mountainous inland areas, are sometimes grouped together under the general term ‘Bwe’, but several distinct dialectal groups are included. Taungthu, the most highly individualized of all Karen languages, stands by itself. The best available classification of the remaining languages, none of which has been fully recorded, is that given by Taylor, who recognizes five groups: Mopwa (or Mogpha); Karenbyu (White Karen), Bwe (or Bghai), and Brek; Karenni (Red Karen); Padaung, Yinbaw, and Gheko; Zayein.

Our analysis of Karen must be based in large part on the data from Pwo and Sgaw, the only two languages which have been fully recorded. The sources on these literary languages, however, are far from satisfactory as linguistic tools, especially on the phonetic side, where the recording has been done in modified Burmese script rather than a phonetic alphabet. The non-literary languages have been too scantily recorded to be of much value, although Taylor has given us a phonetic record of most of them.