Sino-Tibetan, also cited as Trans-Himalayan in a few sources, is a family of more than 400 languages, second only to Indo-European in number of native speakers. Around 1.4 billion people speak a Sino-Tibetan language. The vast majority of these are the 1.3 billion native speakers of Sinitic languages. Other Sino-Tibetan languages with large numbers of speakers include Burmese and the Tibetic languages. The four UN member states China, Singapore, Myanmar, and Bhutan have a Sino-Tibetan language as their main native language. Other languages of the family are spoken in the Himalayas, the Southeast Asian Massif, and the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. Most of these have small speech communities in remote mountain areas, and as such are poorly documented.
Meitei, also known as Manipuri, is a Tibeto-Burman language of northeast India. It is the official language and the lingua franca of Manipur and an additional official language in four districts of Assam. It is one of the constitutionally scheduled official languages of the Indian Republic. Meitei is the most widely-spoken Tibeto-Burman language of India and third most widely spoken language of northeast India after Assamese and Bengali. There are 1.76 million Meitei native speakers in India according to the 2011 census. Most of these, or 1.52 million, are found in the state of Manipur, where they represent majority of its population. There are smaller communities in neighbouring Indian states, such as Assam (168,000), Tripura (24,000), Nagaland (9,500), and elsewhere in the country (37,500). The language is also spoken by smaller groups in neighbouring Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Anāl, also known as Namfau after the two principal villages it is spoken in, is a Northern Kukish language, part of the Sino-Tibetan language family, spoken by the Anal people in India and a dwindling number in Burma. It had 13,900 speakers in India according to the 2001 census, and 50 in Burma in 2010. The speakers of this language use Meitei language as their second language (L2) according to the Ethnologue.
The Kuki-Chin–Naga languages are a geographic clustering of languages of the Sino-Tibetan family in James Matisoff's classification used by Ethnologue, which groups it under the non-monophyletic "Tibeto-Burman". Their genealogical relationship both to each other and to the rest of Sino-Tibetan is unresolved, but Matisoff lumps them together as a convenience pending further research.
Thadou, Kuki, or Thado Chin is a Sino-Tibetan language of the Northern Kuki-Chin sub-branch. It is spoken by the Thadou people in Northeast India. The speakers of this language use Meitei language as their second language (L2) according to the Ethnologue.
Singpho is a dialect of the Jingpho language spoken by the Singpho people of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, India. It is spoken by at least 3,000 people. "Singpho" is the local pronunciation of "Jingpho," and the dialect shares 50% lexical similarity with Jingpho.
The Sal languages, also known as the Brahmaputran languages, are a branch of Tibeto-Burman languages spoken in northeast India, as well as parts of Bangladesh, Myanmar (Burma), and China.
The Kuki-Chin 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, Nagaland, Tripura and Bangladesh and the Chin of Chin State, Myanmar.
The Nung or Nungish languages are a poorly described family of uncertain affiliation within the Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in Yunnan, China and Burma. They include:
The Tibeto-Burman languages are the non-Sinitic members of the Sino-Tibetan language family, over 400 of which are spoken throughout the Southeast Asian Massif ("Zomia") as well as parts of East Asia and South Asia. Around 60 million people speak Tibeto-Burman languages. The name derives from the most widely spoken of these languages, Burmese and the Tibetic languages, which also have extensive literary traditions, dating from the 12th and 7th centuries respectively. Most of the other languages are spoken by much smaller communities, and many of them have not been described in detail.
Gangte is a Sino-Tibetan language of Kuki-Chin linguistic sub branch of Northeastern India. Its speakers primarily live in Manipur and the adjacent areas of Meghalaya and Assam. The language appears to be homogeneous with no known dialectal variation and exhibits at least partial mutual intelligibility with the other Chin-Kuki-Mizo dialects of the area including Thadou, Hmar, Vaiphei, Simte, Kom and Paite languages. The speakers of this language use Meitei language as their second language (L2) according to the Ethnologue.
Lamkang is the Kuki-Chin of the Lamkang people of Manipur, India, with one village in Burma. It is very similar to Anal language, and has been influenced by Manipuri as the people have been acculturated.
Aimol, also known as Aimual, is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Aimol people of Manipur, India. It is considered endangered and has less than 9,000 speakers worldwide as per 2011 census. The speakers of this language use Meitei language as their second language (L2) according to the Ethnologue.
Chothe is a Sino-Tibetan language of Kuki-Chin subgroup of northeastern India. It may be intelligible with Aimol. The speakers of this language use Meitei language as their second language (L2) according to the Ethnologue.
Monsang is an unclassified Sino-Tibetan language spoken in the Northeast of India. Scott DeLancey, et al. (2015) classifies Monsang as a "Northwest Naga" language. The speakers of this language use Meitei language as their second language (L2) according to the Ethnologue.
Tarao, Taraotrong or Tarau is an unclassified Tibeto-Burman language of India. It is marginally (70%) intelligible with Chothe. The speakers of this language use Meitei language as their second language (L2) according to the Ethnologue.
Mruic or Mru–Hkongso is a small group of Sino-Tibetan languages consisting of two languages, Mru and Anu-Hkongso. Their relationship within Sino-Tibetan is unclear.
Central Tibeto-Burman or Central Trans-Himalayan is a proposed branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family proposed by Scott DeLancey (2015) on the basis of shared morphological evidence.
The Northwestern Kuki-Chin languages, originally called Old Kuki languages, is a branch of Kuki-Chin languages.
The Moyon people, also known as Bujuur people or the Moyon Naga, are a Tibeto-Burmese ethnic group predominantly resides in the Northeast Indian state of Manipur and, some in Sagaing Region in Myanmar. Moyons share similar ancestry with Monsang Nagas, Moyon origins can be traced back to ancient times of Moirang Kingdom, as they were contemporary, the Moyon King "Kuurkam" also known as "Shamshangba Ningthou" by meities is well recorded in Meitei Chronicles. Kungjuur is an important Historical place for the Moyons. They are listed as a Scheduled Tribe (STs) by India. They use Meitei language as their second language (L2) according to the Ethnologue.
