Falam language

Last updated
Falam
Lai
Lai ṭong
Native toBurma, India
RegionWest Burma, North East India
EthnicityChin
Native speakers
(107,000 cited 1983–2001) [1]
Dialects
  • Zanniat
  • Laizo
  • Zahau
  • Tlaisun
  • Khualsim
  • Lente
  • Tapong
  • Sim
  • Torr
  • Chorei
  • Ngawn
Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3 Variously:
cfm   Falam Chin
cbl   Bualkhaw Chin
cnw   Ngawn Chin
Glottolog fala1243
ELP Falam Chin
  Chorei [2]

Falam Chin (also known as Lai) is a Kuki-Chin language in Falam Township, Chin State, Myanmar, and also in Mizoram, India.[ not verified in body ]

Contents

Falam Chin is closely related to most Central Chin languages, especially Hakha Chin. [3] The Falam people are primarily Christian and have translated the Bible into Falam Chin.

Dialects

Ethnologue lists the following dialects of Falam:

Falam takes its name from a village, founded by the Tlaisun (in English, 'Tashon') tribe, and Tashon was the original language spoken in Falam. Falam grew in population from the surrounding tribes from Sunthla (also 'Sunkhla'), Sim and Zahau (also 'Zahao') that created a new language based on these three tribes, very different from the Tlaisun language. This language was later popularly known as Laizo. Laizo was recorded as the first language used in the official radio broadcasting dialect of Chin in Myanmar (Burma). In order to be inclusive in Laizo, the name was later changed to Falam, although its official name is still Laizo.[ citation needed ]

Rupini and Koloi are also quite different. [1] The Chorei and Zanniat dialects (collectively known as Baro Halam) may be considered separate languages. [4] Tapong has lower intelligibility with other Falam Chin dialects, having 75% lexical similarity with Zanniat. [4] Dialects once misleadingly called Southern Luhupa are actually Northern Kuki-Chin, and evidently Falam. [5]

Ethnologue reported the following speaker populations of Falam dialects in 1983: 9,000 Taisun, 16,000 Zanniat, 7,000 Khualsim, 4,000 Lente, 14,400 Zahau, 18,600 Laizo.[ citation needed ]

Phonology

The Falam language has five spoken vowels, but in writing, six are used. Of the five spoken, three of them, /u/, /a/, and /ɔ/ are spoke from the back of the mouth, /i/ is spoken from the top of the mouth, and /e/ is spoken from the middle. /ɔ/ can be pronounced as aw or o. [6]

Writing system

Falam Chin is written using the Latin script, with the exception of the letters Q, Y, J and X. The consonants (t with dot), ng (Guttural sound), and aw vowel (IPA [ɔː] or [ɑː]) are frequently used in both Chin literature and speaking.

This is a sample of written Falam Chin:

Related Research Articles

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Zo is a Northern Kuki-Chin-Mizo language originating in western Burma and spoken also in Mizoram in northeastern India.

Thadou or Thado Chin is a Sino-Tibetan language of the Northern Kuki-Chin-Mizo sub-branch. It is spoken by the Boipu/Boinu/Boipi or boi(servant) people collectively in Northeast India And bordering Myanmar(Myanmar Origin). The speakers of this language use Burmeese language as their second language (L2) according to the Ethnologue.

The Lai people mainly inhabit the southern parts of Chin Hills in Myanmar's Chin State, in the townships of Falam, Thantlang and Hakha. They are also found in the Lawngtlai district of Mizoram, India, where they have been granted the Lai Autonomous District Council. Outside this area they are scattered in Mizoram and in Manipur. Their languages "Laizo Lai" and "Hakha Lai" are classified as Central Kuki-Chin languages.

The Kuki-Chin languages are a branch of 50 or so Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in northeastern India, western Myanmar and southeastern Bangladesh. Speakers of these languages are Mizo in Mizoram, Kuki people or southern Naga people in Nagaland, and Chin people in Myanmar.

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The Zo people is a term to denote all the speakers of the Kuki-Chin languages who inhabit areas of India, Myanmar and the Chittagong hill tracts of Bangladesh. The Mizo, Chin, and Kuki-Zomi people are the main ethnic groups.

Mro-Khimi is a Kuki-Chin language of Burma spoken by the Mro-Khimi people. The Mro-Khimi varieties share 91% to 98% lexical similarity. Mro-Khimi is 86%–90% lexically similar with the Likhy variety of Eastern Khumi, 81%–85% with Lemi variety of Eastern Khumi, and 77%–81% with Kaladan Khumi.

Khumi, or Khumi Chin, is a Kuki-Chin-Mizo language of Burma, with some speakers across the border in Bangladesh. Khumi shares 75%–87% lexical similarity with Eastern Khumi, and 78-81% similarity with Mro-Khimi.

Karenni or Red Karen, known in Burmese as Kayah, is a Karen dialect continuum spoken by over half a million Kayah people in Burma.

Senthang is a Kuki-Chin-Mizo language of Burma. The Senthang dialects share 79% to 95% lexical similarity.

Kʼchò, or Mün, is a Kuki-Chin language of Myanmar. After a survey conducted in 2005 in Southern Chin State, Mang estimated the K’chò Region to be Mindat Township //, Kanpetlet Township // and one village in Matupi // or //.

Daai, which borders the Mün and Ütbü language groups, is a Kuki-Chin of Myanmar. It is spoken in 142 villages in Kanpetlet, Matupi, Mindat, and Paletwa townships in Chin State, Burma (Ethnologue).

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Ngawn or Ngawn Chin is a language spoken in Falam District, Chin State, and Kale District, Sagaing Region, Burma. There are 27 Ngawn villages in Falam township, Chin State.

Pangkhua (Pangkhu), or Paang, is a Kuki-Chin language primarily spoken in Bangladesh. Most speakers of Pangkhu are bilingual in Bengali, and most education in Pangkhu is conducted in that language.

Lutuv, widely known as Lautu Chin, is a Kuki-Chin language spoken in 16 villages in Matupi townships, Thantlang townships and Hakha townships, Chin State, Myanmar. The Lautu Chin dialects share 90%–97% lexical similarity. Lautu Chin has 87%–94% lexical similarity with Mara Chin, 82%–85% with Zophe Chin, 80%–86% with Senthang Chin.

Songlai is a Kuki-Chin language of Burma. It is 90% lexically similar to Laitu Chin, but not mutually intelligible. Dialects are Doitu, Hettui, Mang Um (Song), and Lai.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lairawn Baptist Association</span>

Lairawn Baptist Association(LBA) is a Baptist Christian denomination throughout Kalay Valley, Sagaing Division, Myanmar. The LBA mainly serves the Chin people who speak Falam dialect. It is one of the twenty eight associations of Chin Baptist Convention which is under the umbrella of Myanmar Baptist Convention (MBC). As of 2015, the association has 78 pastors and 21305 members. The association is divided into 12 areas and each area has their own by-law and constitution, but they work together with each other in unity in the context of LBA, encouraging and resourcing each other.

The Zanniat tribe are people of western Myanmar (Burma) who are a sub-group of the Chin peoples. The Zanniat tribe has fifty-seven sub-groupings and clans. The group's existence was recorded in Burma's 1931 census after being absent in the Chin Hills gazette of 1896. In 1943, the Zanniat tribal groups of eastern Falam Township were recorded by Henry Stevenson. The Zanniat may also be known by similar sounding names such as Zahnyiet, Zanniet, Zanngiat and Zannaing.

References

  1. 1 2 Falam Chin at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Bualkhaw Chin at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Ngawn Chin at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Endangered Languages Project data for Chorei.
  3. King, Deborah (2010). VOICE AND VALENCE-ALTERING OPERATIONS IN FALAM CHIN: A ROLE AND REFERENCE GRAMMAR APPROACH. Arlington, Texas: The University of Texas at Arlington.
  4. 1 2 "Myanmar". Ethnologue: Languages of the World. 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-10-10.
  5. Linguasphere code 73-DDD-bp
  6. Chin Writers' Handbook. Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA: Bibles International. 2011.

Further reading