Northern Kuki-Chin languages

Northern Kuki-Chin
Northeastern Kuki-Chin
Northern Chin
Zo
EthnicityZomi and Chin
Geographic
distribution
Myanmar and Northeast India
Linguistic classificationSino-Tibetan
Glottolognort3179  (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.

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

Lingua francas[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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

Sound changes[edit]

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[edit]

  • S. Dal Sian Pau. 2014. The comparative study of Proto-Zomi (Kuki-Chin) languages. Lamka, Manipur, India: Zomi Language & Literature Society (ZOLLS). [Comparative word list of Paite, Simte, Thangkhal, Zou, Kom, Tedim, and Vaiphei]

References[edit]

  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.