Kuki-Chin languages

Kuki-Chin
Kuki-Chin
Kuki-Chin-Mizo, Kukish
Geographic; distribution	India, Myanmar, Bangladesh
Ethnicity	Zo Kuki ; Chin ; Mizo ; Zomi ;
Linguistic classification	Sino-Tibetan Tibeto-Burman Central Tibeto-Burman Kuki-Chin–Naga Kuki-Chin; ; ; ;
Early form	Proto-Kuki-Chin
Subdivisions	Northwestern ; Northeastern ; Central ; Maraic ; Southern ; Khomic ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–
Glottolog	kuki1246 (Kuki-Chin)

Last updated February 27, 2025

The Kuki-Chin languages (also called Kukish^[2] or South-Central Tibeto-Burman languages) are a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family spoken in northeastern India, western Myanmar and southeastern Bangladesh. Most notable Kuki-Chin-speaking ethnic groups are referred to collectively as the Zo people which includes: the Mizo of Mizoram, the Kuki of Manipur, Assam, Tripura and Bangladesh and the Chin of Chin State, Myanmar.

Geographical distribution

Northwestern ("Old Kuki"): Chandel district of Manipur, India; Tamu Township of Sagaing Region, Myanmar.
Northeastern ("Kuki-Zo"): Chandel district, Churachandpur district, Kangpokpi district, Noney district, Tamenglong district, and Tengnoupal districts of Manipur, India; Tedim Township of Chin State, Myanmar; Tamu Township of Sagaing Region, Myanmar.
Central: whole state of Mizoram, India; Pherzawl district of Manipur, India; parts of Cachar district and parts of Karbi Anglong district of Assam, India; parts of East Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya, India; Falam Township, Hakha Township, and Thantlang Townships of Chin State, Myanmar; Kalay Township and Khampat area of Sagaing Region, Myanmar, parts of Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh.
Maraic: majority of Siaha district of Mizoram, India; parts of Matupi Township of Chin State, Myanmar.
Southern: Kanpetlet Township, Matupi Township, Mindat Township, Paletwa Townships of Chin State, Myanmar; parts of the Arakan Range of Rakhine State, Myanmar; parts of Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh.
Khomic: Paletwa Township of Chin State, Myanmar; parts of Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh.

Internal classification

The Karbi languages may be closely related to Kuki-Chin, but Thurgood (2003) and van Driem (2011) leave Karbi unclassified within Sino-Tibetan.^[4]^[5]

The Kuki-Chin branches listed below are from VanBik (2009), with the Northwestern branch added from Scott DeLancey, et al. (2015),^[6] and the Khomic branch (which has been split off from the Southern branch) from Peterson (2017).^[7]

Kuki-Chin
- Central : Mizo (Duhlian), Bawm (Sunthla and Panghawi), Falam (Hallam, Ranglong, Darlong, Hauhulh, Simpi, Hualngo, Chorei), Thor (Tawr), Hmar, Hrangkhol, Biate (Biete), Hakha (Lai/Pawi, Mi-E, Zokhua), Pangkhua, Saihriem, Laizo/Tlaisun, Khualsim, Zanniat, Zahau, Sim
- Maraic : Mara (Tlosai {Siaha and Saikao}, Hawthai {Lyvaw, Sizo, and Lochei}, Hlaipao {Zyhno, Heima, and Lialai}), Zophei, Senthang, Zotung (Lungngo, Calthawn, Innmai), Lautu
- Northeastern (Northern): Suantak-Vaiphei, Zo (Zou), Paite, Tedim, Thado (Kuki), Gangte, Simte, Vaiphei, Sizang, Ralte, Ngawn
- Southern : Shö (Asho/Khyang, Chinbon), Thaiphum, Daai (Nitu), Mün, Yindu, Matu, Welaung (Rawngtu), Kaang, Laitu, Rungtu, Songlai, Sumtu
- Khomic : Khumi (Khumi proper and Khumi Awa), Mro, Rengmitca, etc.
- Northwestern ("Old Kuki"): Monsang, Moyon, Lamkang, Aimol, Anal, Tarao, Koireng (Kolhreng), Chiru, Kom, Chothe, Purum,^[7] Kharam,^[7]

Darlong and Ranglong are unclassified Kuki-Chin language.

The recently discovered Sorbung language may be mixed language that could classify as either a Kuki-Chin or Tangkhul language (Mortenson & Keogh 2011).^[8]

Anu-Hkongso speakers self-identify as ethnic Chin people, although their language is closely related to Mru rather than to Kuki-Chin languages. The Mruic languages constitute a separate Tibeto-Burman branch, and are not part of Kuki-Chin.^[7]

VanBik (2009)

Kenneth VanBik's (2009:23) classified the Kuki-Chin languages based on shared sound changes (phonological innovations) from Proto-Kuki-Chin as follows.

Kuki-Chin
- Central: *k(ʰ)r-, *p(ʰ)r- > *t(ʰ)r-; *k(ʰ)l-, *p(ʰ)l- > *t(ʰ)l-; *y- > *z-
  - Pangkhua?
  - Lamtuk Thet: Lamtuk, Ruavan
  - Lai
    - Hakha: Hakha, Thantlang, Zokhua
    - Falam: Bawm, Bualkhaw, Laizo, Lente, Khualsim, Khuangli, Sim, Tlaisun, Zanniat
  - Mizo
    - Mizo: Fanai, Hualngo, Lushai, Khiangte
    - Hmar: Khosak, Thiek, Lawitlang, Khawbung, Darngawn, Lungtau, Leiri
- Maraic: *kr- > *ts-; *-ʔ, *-r, *-l > -Ø; *-p, *-t, *-k > *-ʔ; *θ- > *s-
  - Mara
    - Tlosai
      - Saikao
      - Siaha
    - Hlaipao
      - Heima
      - Lialai
      - Vahapi/Zyhno
    - HawThai
      - Sizo
        Ngaphepi
        Sabyu
        Chapi
      - Lyvaw
        Lochei
        Tisih
        Phybyu
  - Lautu
    - Hnaro
    - Chawngthia
  - Zophei
    - Vytu
    - Sate/Awsa
  - Senthang
    - Khuapi
    - Surkhua
  - Zotung *h- > *f-; *kr- > *r-; *khl- > *kh-, *l-; *c(^h)- > *t(^h)-/*s-; *y- > *z-/*z(^h)-; *w- > *v-
    - Calthawng
    - Innmai
    - Lungngo/Tinpa
- Peripheral: *r- > *g-
  - Northern: *θ- > *ts-; *kl- > *tl-; *-r > *-k
    - Thado/Kuki, Tedim, Khuangsai, Paite Vuite, Chiru
    - Sizang, Guite, Vaiphei, Ralte,
  - Southern (Southern Plains): *-r > *-y
    - Khumi: Khomi, Wakung
    - Cho-Asho
      - Asho
      - Cho: Matu; Chinpon; Daai, Nghmoye, Ngmuun, Mkaang

Peterson (2017)

David A. Peterson's (2017:206)^[7] internal classification of the Kuki-Chin languages is as follows.

Kuki-Chin
- Northwestern ("Old Kuki"): Purum, Koireng, Monsang , etc.
- Central
  - Core Central
  - Maraic
- Peripheral
  - Northeastern ("Northern")
  - Khomic: Khami/Khumi, Mro-Khimi, Lemi, Rengmitca , etc.
  - Southern
    - Cho
    - Daai
    - Hyow/ Asho

Peterson's Northeastern branch corresponds to VanBik's Northern branch, while Peterson's Northwestern corresponds to the Old Kuki branch of earlier classifications.

References

↑ VanBik, Kenneth (2009). Proto-Kuki-Chin: a reconstructed ancestor of the Kuki-Chin languages (PDF). Sino-Tibetan Etymological Dictionary and Thesaurus Project, Dept. of Linguistics research unit in Univ. of California, Berkeley. ISBN 0-944613-47-0.
↑ Burling, Robbins (2003). "The Tibeto-Burman languages of Northeastern India". In Graham Thurgood; Randy J. LaPolla (eds.). The Sino-Tibetan Languages. pp. 169–191.
↑ Konnerth, Linda. 2018. The historical phonology of Monsang (Northwestern South-Central/"Kuki-Chin"): A case of reduction in phonological complexity. Himalayan Linguistics, Vol. 17(1): 19-49, note [2]: "...many language activists among the speakers of languages of the South-Central branch has made it clear to me that using the "Kuki-Chin" label is very insensitive."
↑ Thurgood, Graham (2003) "A subgrouping of the Sino-Tibetan languages: The interaction between language contact, change, and inheritance." In G. Thurgood and R. LaPolla, eds., The Sino-Tibetan languages, pp. 13–14. London: Routledge, ISBN 978-0-7007-1129-1.
↑ van Driem, George L. (2011a), "Tibeto-Burman subgroups and historical grammar", Himalayan Linguistics Journal, 10 (1): 31–39, archived from the original on 12 January 2012.
↑ DeLancey, Scott; Krishna Boro; Linda Konnerth1; Amos Teo. 2015. Tibeto-Burman Languages of the Indo-Myanmar borderland. 31st South Asian Languages Analysis Roundtable, 14 May 2015.
1 2 3 4 5 Peterson, David. 2017. "On Kuki-Chin subgrouping." In Picus Sizhi Ding and Jamin Pelkey, eds. Sociohistorical linguistics in Southeast Asia: New horizons for Tibeto-Burman studies in honor of David Bradley, 189-209. Leiden: Brill.
↑ David Mortenson and Jennifer Keogh. 2011. "Sorbung, an Undocumented Language of Manipur: its Phonology and Place in Tibeto-Burman", in JEALS 4, vol 1.

Bibliography

George van Driem (2001) Languages of the Himalayas: An Ethnolinguistic Handbook of the Greater Himalayan Region. Brill, ISBN 978-90-04-12062-4.
VanBik, Kenneth. 2009. Proto-Kuki-Chin: A Reconstructed Ancestor of the Kuki-Chin Languages. STEDT Monograph 8. ISBN 0-944613-47-0.

External links

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] VanBik, Kenneth (2009). Proto-Kuki-Chin: a reconstructed ancestor of the Kuki-Chin languages (PDF). Sino-Tibetan Etymological Dictionary and Thesaurus Project, Dept. of Linguistics research unit in Univ. of California, Berkeley. ISBN 0-944613-47-0.

[2] ↑ Burling, Robbins (2003). "The Tibeto-Burman languages of Northeastern India". In Graham Thurgood; Randy J. LaPolla (eds.). The Sino-Tibetan Languages. pp. 169–191.

[3] Konnerth, Linda. 2018. The historical phonology of Monsang (Northwestern South-Central/"Kuki-Chin"): A case of reduction in phonological complexity. Himalayan Linguistics, Vol. 17(1): 19-49, note [2]: "...many language activists among the speakers of languages of the South-Central branch has made it clear to me that using the "Kuki-Chin" label is very insensitive."

[4] Thurgood, Graham (2003) "A subgrouping of the Sino-Tibetan languages: The interaction between language contact, change, and inheritance." In G. Thurgood and R. LaPolla, eds., The Sino-Tibetan languages, pp. 13–14. London: Routledge, ISBN 978-0-7007-1129-1.

[5] ↑ van Driem, George L. (2011a), "Tibeto-Burman subgroups and historical grammar", Himalayan Linguistics Journal, 10 (1): 31–39, archived from the original on 12 January 2012.

[6] ↑ DeLancey, Scott; Krishna Boro; Linda Konnerth1; Amos Teo. 2015. Tibeto-Burman Languages of the Indo-Myanmar borderland. 31st South Asian Languages Analysis Roundtable, 14 May 2015.

[Peterson2017-7] 1 2 3 4 5 Peterson, David. 2017. "On Kuki-Chin subgrouping." In Picus Sizhi Ding and Jamin Pelkey, eds. Sociohistorical linguistics in Southeast Asia: New horizons for Tibeto-Burman studies in honor of David Bradley, 189-209. Leiden: Brill.

[8] ↑ David Mortenson and Jennifer Keogh. 2011. "Sorbung, an Undocumented Language of Manipur: its Phonology and Place in Tibeto-Burman", in JEALS 4, vol 1.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]