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Northern Kuki-Chin languages

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Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in Myanmar and Northeast India
Northern Kuki-Chin
Northeastern Kuki-Chin
Northern Chin
Zo
Geographic
distribution		Myanmar and Northeast India
EthnicityZomi and Chin
Linguistic classificationSino-Tibetan
Language codes
Glottolognort3179  (Northeastern Kuki-Chin)

Northern Kuki-Chin (or Northeastern Kuki-Chin) 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.

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 Paite (also known as Zokam) 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

See also: Zomi people

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.

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.

  • Proto-Kuki-Chin *-r > Proto-Northern Chin *-k
  • Proto-Kuki-Chin * θ- > Proto-Northern Chin *ts-
  • Proto-Kuki-Chin *kl- > Proto-Northern Chin *tl-

Further reading

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

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).
  • Button, Christopher. 2011. Proto Northern Chin. STEDT Monograph 10. ISBN 0-944613-49-7.
  • 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.
  • VanBik, Kenneth. 2009. Proto-Kuki-Chin: A Reconstructed Ancestor of the Kuki-Chin Languages. STEDT Monograph 8. ISBN 0-944613-47-0.
Sino-Tibetan branches
Western Himalayas (Himachal,
Uttarakhand, Nepal, Sikkim)
Greater Magaric
Map of Sino-Tibetan languages
Eastern Himalayas
(Tibet, Bhutan, Arunachal)
Myanmar and Indo-
Burmese border
"Naga"
Sal
East and Southeast Asia
Burmo-Qiangic
Dubious (possible
isolates) (Arunachal)
Greater Siangic
Proposed groupings
Proto-languages
Italics indicates single languages that are also considered to be separate branches.
Kuki-Chin–Naga languages
Kuki-Chin
Southern Naga
(Northwestern)
Northern
Central
Maraic
Khomic
Southern
Naga
Ao (Central Naga)
Angami–Pochuri
Tangkhulic
Zemeic (Western Naga)
Meitei
Karbic
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