Konyak language

Last updated

Konyak
Native to India, Myanmar
Ethnicity Konyak
Native speakers
246,000 (2011) [1]
Sino-Tibetan
Language codes
ISO 639-3 nbe
Glottolog kony1248
ELP Konyak Naga
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

Konyak is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Konyak people in the state of Nagaland, north-eastern India. It is written using the Latin script.

Contents

The language has 244,000 speakers in the state (as of the 2011 census); most of these (237,000) are in Mon district, with smaller populations in the districts of Dimapur (2,900), Kohima (2,000), Mokokchung (1,100), and Longleng (900). [2] There are also an estimated 2,000 speakers in neighbouring Myanmar, specifically in Hkamti District and in Lahe township. [1]

Dialects

Konyak (2021)

A list of Konyak dialects from Hoipo Konyak (2021:5) is given below. [3]

  • Angphang
  • Hopao
  • Changnyu
  • Chen (8 villages in Lahe Township, Myanmar, and 10 villages in Mon District, Nagaland, India [4] )
  • Chingkao
  • Chinglang
  • Choha
  • Gelekidora
  • Jakphang
  • Kon (spoken in Myanmar)
  • Kahyu (spoken in Myanmar)
  • Lhongkhai
  • Longmein
  • Longwa
  • Mon
  • Mulung
  • Nganching
  • Sang
  • Shanlang
  • Shunyuo
  • Shenghah
  • Sima
  • Sowa
  • Shamnyuyanga
  • Tableang
  • Tabu
  • Tamkhungnyuo
  • Tang
  • Tobunyuo
  • Tolamleinyua
  • Totok

Ethnologue

Ethnologue lists the following dialects of Konyak.

  • Angphang
  • Hopao
  • Changnyu
  • Chen
  • Chingkao
  • Chinglang
  • Choha
  • Gelekidoria
  • Jakphang
  • Longching
  • Longkhai
  • Longmein
  • Longwa
  • Mon
  • Mulung
  • Ngangching
  • Sang
  • Shanlang
  • Shunyuo
  • Shengha
  • Sima
  • Sowa
  • Shamnyuyanga
  • Tableng (Angwangku, Kongon, Mohung, Wakching)
  • Tabu
  • Tamkhungnyuo
  • Tang
  • Tobunyuo
  • Tolamleinyua
  • Totok
  • Hongphoi

Tableng is the standard dialect spoken in Wanching and Wakching.

Phonology

There are three lexically contrastive contour tones in Konyak – rising (marked in writing by an acute accent – á), falling (marked by a grave accent – à) and level (unmarked). [5]

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close iɨu
Mid eəo
Open a

The vowels /a/, /o/ and /u/ are lengthened before approximants. /ə/ does not occur finally.

Consonants

Bilabial Dental/
Alveolar
Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive p
ck
ʔ
Nasal mɲŋ
Fricative sh
Lateral l
Approximant wj

The stops /p/ and /k/ contrast with the aspirated /pʰ/ and /kʰ/. /p/ and /c/ become voiced intervocalically across morpheme boundaries. The dental /t/ is realised as an alveolar if preceded by a vowel with a rising tone. The approximants /w/ and /j/ are pronounced laxer and shorter after vowels; /w/ becomes tenser initially before high vowels. If morpheme-initial or intervocalic, /j/ is pronounced with audible friction. [6] /pʰ/, /kʰ/, /c/, /ɲ/, /s/, /h/ and /l/ do not occur morpheme-finally, while /ʔ/ does not appear morpheme-initially. Except for morpheme-initial /kp/ and /kʰl/, consonant clusters occur only medially. [7]

Related Research Articles

Sandhi is any of a wide variety of sound changes that occur at morpheme or word boundaries. Examples include fusion of sounds across word boundaries and the alteration of one sound depending on nearby sounds or the grammatical function of the adjacent words. Sandhi belongs to morphophonology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nagaland</span> State in northeastern India

Nagaland is a landlocked state in the north-eastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south, and the Naga Self-Administered Zone of the Sagaing Region of Myanmar (Burma) to the east. Its capital city is Kohima and its largest city is the twin Chümoukedima–Dimapur. The state has an area of 16,579 square kilometres (6,401 sq mi) with a population of 1,980,602 as per the 2011 Census of India, making it one of the smallest states of India.

Angami is a Naga language spoken in the Naga Hills in the northeastern part of India, in Kohima district, Nagaland. In 2011, there is an estimate of 153,000 first language (L1) Angami speakers. Under the UNESCO's Language Vitality and Endangerment framework, Angami is at the level of "vulnerable", meaning that it is still spoken by most children, but "may be restricted to certain domains".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naga people</span> Ethnic group of South Asia

Nagas are various ethnic groups native to northeastern India and northwestern Myanmar. The groups have similar cultures and traditions, and form the majority of population in the Indian state of Nagaland and Naga Self-Administered Zone of Myanmar (Burma); with significant populations in Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in India; Sagaing Region and Kachin State in Myanmar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mon district</span> District of Nagaland in India

Mon District is a district of Nagaland, a state in India. It is the third-largest district in Nagaland in terms of area. The district has a population of 250,260 people. Mon Town is the headquarters of the district.

The Karkar language, also known as Yuri, is the sole Eastern Pauwasi language of Papua New Guinea. There are about a thousand speakers along the Indonesian border spoken in Green River Rural LLG, Sandaun Province.

The Konyak languages, or alternatively the Konyakian, Northern Naga, or Patkaian languages, is a branch of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken by various Naga peoples in southeastern Arunachal Pradesh and northeastern Nagaland states of northeastern India. They are not particularly closely related to other Naga languages spoken further to the south, but rather to other Sal languages such as Jingpho and the Bodo-Garo languages. There are many dialects, and villages even a few kilometers apart frequently have to rely on a separate common language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nihali language</span> Isolate language spoken in India

Nihali, also known as Nahali or erroneously as Kalto, is an endangered language isolate that is spoken in west-central India, with approximately 2,000 people in 1991 out of an ethnic population of 5,000. The Nihali tribal area is just south of the Tapti River, around the village of Tembi in Burhanpur district of Madhya Pradesh. Speakers of the Nihali language are also present in several villages of the Buldhana district in Maharashtra such as Jamod, Sonbardi, Kuvardev, Chalthana, Ambavara, Wasali, and Cicari. There are dialectal differences between the Kuvardev-Chalthana and the Jamod-Sonbardi varieties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lahe Township</span> Township in Sagaing Region, Burma

Lahe Township is a township located within the Naga Self-Administered Zone of Sagaing Division, Myanmar. The principal town is Lahe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tangsa language</span> Sino-Tibetan language spoken in Burma and India

Tangsa, also known as Tase and Tase Naga, is a Sino-Tibetan language or language cluster spoken by the Tangsa people of Burma and north-eastern India. Some varieties, such as Shangge (Shanke), are likely distinct languages. There are about 60,000 speakers in Burma and 40,000 speakers in India. The dialects of Tangsa have disparate levels of lexical similarity, ranging from 35%–97%.

Khiamniungan is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Khiamniungan people in east-central Noklak District of Nagaland in northeastern India and in northwestern Burma. Most of the Khiamniungans in India are acquainted with Patsho Khiamniungan which is also one of the main languages within their geographical region.

Sümi, also Sema, is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken in Nagaland, India. It is spoken by the Sümi Naga people. It differs from every other Naga languages due to the presence of guttural sounds.

Yimkhiungrü is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken in northeast India by the Yimkhiung Naga people. It is spoken between Namchik and Patkoi in Shamator District, Nagaland, India. Yimkhiungrü language has more than 100,000 speakers and is used in over 100 villages and towns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mao language (Manipur)</span> Sino-Tibetan language spoken in India

Mao, also known as Sopvoma, is a Sino-Tibetan language of the Angami–Pochuri linguistic sub-branch. It is spoken primarily in Senapati district, northwestern Manipur and in Nagaland, India. It is similar to Angami. The speakers of this language use Meitei language as their second language (L2) according to the Ethnologue.

Lyngngam is an Austroasiatic language of Northeast India closely related to Khasi language. Once listed as a dialect of Khasi, Lyngngam has in recent literature been classified as a distinct language. Lyngngam speakers have food and dress similar to the neighboring Garo people.

Makury, or Makury Naga, is a Naga language of India and Myanmar. Shi (2009:3) and Saul (2005:25) suggest that Makury may be an Ao language. The Makury dialects share 93% lexical similarity.

Lampong Sheanghah (LS), a small village with about 120 households located in the Eastern part of Nagaland, India under Mon district. It is located twelve kilometers away from the district headquarter. The name 'Lampong' literally means 'junction' that connects Longwa village, the international border between India and Myanmar in the East, Assam in the West and Mon in the South-East. The distance between the village and the state capital Kohima is 354 km.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Angami</span>

Southern Angami or Japfüphiki is a geo-cultural region located in the southern part of Kohima District in the state of Nagaland in India with a portion of its territory also lying across the inter-state border in the Senapati District of Manipur.

The following is a list of articles relating to the Indian state of Nagaland, sorted in alphabetical order.

Lungwa, also known as Longwa, is a Konyak Naga village located in India and Myanmar (Burma) that straddles both sides in the Mon District of the Indian state of Nagaland and the Naga Self-Administered Zone of the Sagaing Region of Myanmar.

References

  1. 1 2 Naga, Konyak at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed Access logo transparent.svg
  2. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. "C-16: Population by mother tongue, Nagaland – 2011" . Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  3. Konyak, Hoipo. 2021. A preliminary grammar of Chen, a Konyak language of India and Myanmar . M.A. dissertation. Chiang Mai: Payap University.
  4. Statezni, Nathan; Konyak, Hoipo. 2021. Chen villages in Myanmar and India. Unpublished manuscript.
  5. Nagaraja 2010 , p. 8
  6. Nagaraja 2010 , pp. 21–2
  7. Nagaraja 2010 , p. 23

Bibliography

Further reading