Northern Kuki-Chin languages

Last updated
Northern Kuki-Chin
Northeastern Kuki-Chin
Northern Chin
Zo
Ethnicity Zomi and Chin
Geographic
distribution
Myanmar and Northeast India
Linguistic classification Sino-Tibetan
Glottolog nort3179  (Northeastern Kuki-Chin)

Northern Kuki-Chin (or Northeastern Kuki-Chin [1] ) is a branch of Kuki-Chin languages. It is called Northeastern Kuki-Chin by Peterson (2017) to distinguish it from the Northwestern Kuki-Chin languages. VanBik (2009:31) also calls the branch Northern Chin or Zo.

Contents

Except for Thado speakers, most Northern Kuki-Chin speakers self-identify as part of a wider Zomi ethnic group.

Lingua francas

Tedim is the local lingua franca of northern Chin State, Myanmar, while Thado (also known as Kuki) is the local lingua franca of much of southern Manipur State, India.

Languages

VanBik (2009) includes the following languages as Northern Kuki-Chin languages. The positions of Ngawn and Ralte are not addressed by VanBik (2009), but they are classified as Northern Kuki-Chin in Glottolog.

Zomi languages

The Zomi languages refer to most of the Northern Kuki-Chin languages, excluding Thado (Kuki) and a few other peripheral languages. Zomi is a cultural cover term that refers to speakers of languages such as Tedim, Paite, Simte, Zou, Vaiphei, and Ralte. Organizations such as the Zomi Language & Literature Society (ZOLLS) in Churachandpur, Manipur, India are currently working on developing a unified standard "Zomi" language. [2]

Classification

VanBik (2009:31) divides the Northern Kuki-Chin branch into two major language clusters, namely the Thado cluster and Sizang cluster.

Sound changes

VanBik (2009) lists the following sound changes from Proto-Kuki-Chin to Proto-Northern Chin.

Further reading

Related Research Articles

Gangte is an ethnic group mainly living in the Indian state of Manipur. They belong to the Zo people and are parts of the Kuki or under Mizo tribe and are recognised a tribe of Manipur, India. They are also indigenous inhabitants of Mizoram, Assam and Myanmar, and a recognised tribe under the Indian Constitution. With a population of approximately 40,000 worldwide, they primarily live in Manipur's southern Churachandpur district and neighbouring states of Meghalaya, Mizoram and Assam. (L2) according to the Ethnologue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sizang people</span>

The Sizang, Siyin or Taute people are primarily the descendants of Pu Thuantak, also known as Suantak in the Tedim language and by related clans, and their adopted sons and daughters. The Siyin Valley is in present-day Chin State, Myanmar, and was settled by descendants of the Pu Thuantak who moved from their original home of Ciimnuai with other Zo (Chin) people such as the Sukte, Thado, Zou, and other related tribes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tedim</span> District in Chin State, Myanmar

Tedim (Burmese: တီးတိန်မြို့; MLCTS: ti: tin mrui., pronounced [títeɪ̀ɰ̃ mjo̰], (Zo: Tedim Khawpi, pronounced ; is a town in and the administrative seat of Tedim Township, Chin State, in the north-western part of Burma. It is the second largest town in Chin State. The town's four major boroughs are: Sakollam, Myoma, Lawibual and Leilum. The population is primarily Zomi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zou people</span> Ethnic group living in Myanmar and Northeast India

The Zou people are an indigenous community living along the frontier of India and Burma, they are a sub-group of the Kuki people. In India, they live with and are similar in language and habits to the Thadou people and Paite and the Simte peoples. In Burma, the Zou are counted among the Chin people.They are a hill people, "Zou" may plainly means "Hills" denoting the Zous are "people of the hills" or "of the hills", and "Zou" has also a different meaning in Zou language that is "complete" or another word for it is "finish". But, the Zou people believed that they incepted the name 'Zou' from their forefather 'Zou' or 'Zo', believed to be the progenitor of the broad Chin-Kuki-Mizo people.

The Vaiphei people are a Zomi ethnic group who live in the North-East Indian state of Manipur and in the Chin State of Myanmar. They share cultural similarities with other tribes in the region like Paite, Thadou, Simte, Hmar, Sou, Gangte and Kom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zou language</span> Sino-Tibetan language of Burma and India

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

Thadou or Thado Chin is a Sino-Tibetan language of the Northern Kuki-Chin-Mizo sub-branch. It is spoken mainly by the Thadou people and also the other Zo people/Kuki people tribes as their second language, as well as first in Northeast India. The speakers of this language use Meitei language as their second language (L2) according to the Ethnologue.

Guite is the progenitor clan of Mizo people He is also said to be the Older Brother of Thadou progenitor of the Thadou people. Mostly the Guite clan speak mizo language. Some known as Zomi and few also as Kuki in India and as Chin in Myanmar (Burma). Depending on local pronunciation, the clan was also called differently such as Nguite, Vuite, and was also recorded even as Gwete, Gwite, Nwite. In accord with the claim of their solar origin, the Guite clan has been called nampi, meaning noble or major or even dominant people, of the region in local dialect in the past.

The Kuki-Chin languages are a branch of 50 or so Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in northeastern India, western Myanmar and southeastern Bangladesh. Most speakers of these languages are known as Mizo in Mizoram and Manipur. Also, as Kukī in Assamese and Bengali and as Chin in Burmese; some also identify as Zomi. Mizo is the most widely spoken of the Kuki-Chin languages. The Kuki-Chin language has official status in both Chin State and Mizoram as Chin and Mizo respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zomi Revolutionary Army</span> Nationalist insurgent group

The Zomi Revolutionary Army is an armed Zomi nationalist insurgent group formed in 1997, following an increase in ethnic tensions between the Kuki people and the Paites tribe in Churachandpur district of Manipur, India. Its parent organisation, the Zomi Revolutionary Organisation, was founded in April 1993. Pu K Guite, a Zomi leader from Karbi Anglong, is the founder president of the organisation. It is one of the most powerful group operations in Manipur.

The Zo people are an ethnic group which inhabit areas of India, Myanmar and the Chittagong hill tracts of Bangladesh. The word Zohnatlâk/Zo is used to describe an ethnic group, which is also known as the Chin, the Mizo, the Kuki, or a number of other names based on geographic distribution, that speaks the Kuki-Chin languages. They are from same origin which is known as Sinlung. They spread throughout the northeastern states of India, northwestern Myanmar and the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. In northeastern India, they are present in Tripura, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, Meghalaya and Assam.

The Tedim or Zomi language is spoken mostly in Myanmar and India. In Chin State (Khamtunggam), it is spoken in Tedim and Tonzang townships, while in Sagaing Division, it is spoken in Kalay and Mawlaik townships (Ethnologue). Dialects are Sokte and Kamhau.

Paite is a Sino-Tibetan Language and spoken by a group of Paite people. There are different Paite dialects; Some notable Paite dialects are Tedim, Bukpi, Lousau, Valpau, Dapzal, Saizang, Teizang, Tuichiap, Sukte, Dim, Lamzang and Sihzang. The language exhibits mutual intelligibility with the other languages of the region including Thadou, Hmar, Vaiphei, Simte, Kom, Gangte and other languages. The name Paite could translate to 'the people who went', 'a group of people marching'.

Sakachep also known as Khelma, is a Central Kuki-Chin-Mizo language of Northeast India. Dialects are Khelma, Thangachep, and Sakachep (Ethnologue). VanBik (2009) classifies Sakachep as closely related to Hmar.

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. However, it shares similarities with Bodo-Garo languages

Southern Naga is a branch of Kuki-Chin-Naga languages.

Central Kuki-Chin is a branch of the Kuki-Chin languages. Central Kuki-Chin languages are spoken primarily in Mizoram, India and in Hakha Township and Falam Township of Chin State, Myanmar.

The Maraic languages are a branch of Kuki-Chin languages.

Southern Kuki-Chin is a branch of Kuki-Chin languages. They are spoken mostly in southern Chin State, Myanmar and in southeastern Bangladesh.

The Hmar languages or Hmaric languages are a subbranch of the Kukish branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family which comprises Hmar proper (Khawsak), Biate, Hrangkhol, Sakachep, Zote, Darlong, Thiek, Saihriem (Faihriem) and others. The Hmar languages are often treated as dialects of a single language, since differences between them are reportedly minor. The speakers of the language are also known as Hmar.

References

  1. 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.
  2. S. Dal Sian Pau. 2014. The comparative study of Proto-Zomi (Kuki-Chin) languages. Lamka, Manipur, India: Zomi Language & Literature Society (ZOLLS).