Thadou language

Thadou or Thado Chin is a Sino-Tibetan language of the Northern Kuki-Chin-Mizo sub-branch. It is spoken by the Thadou people in Northeast India (specifically in Manipur and Assam).[2] The speakers of this language use Meitei language as their second language (L2) according to the Ethnologue.[3]

"Kuki language" redirects here. Not to be confused with Kuki language (Nigeria).

Thadou-Kuki
Thado, Thaadou, Thado-Pao
Thadou
Native toIndia Myanmar
RegionManipur Nagaland Assam Mizoram
EthnicityThadou people and Kuki people
Native speakers
350,000 (2011–2017)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3tcz
Glottologthad1238
ELPThado Chin

The language is known by many names, including Thado, Thado-Pao, Thado-Ubiphei, Thādo, Thaadou Kuki, or just Kuki or Chin.

There are several dialects of this language: Hangshing, Khongsai, Kipgen, Saimar, Langiung, Sairang, Thangngeo, Haokip, Sitlhou, Singson (Shingsol).[1] The Saimar dialect was reported in the Indian press in 2012 to be spoken by only four people in one village in the state of Tripura.[4] The variety spoken in Manipur has partial mutual intelligibility with the other Mizo-Kuki-Chin languages varieties of the area including Paite, Hmar, Vaiphei, Simte, Kom and Gangte languages.[5]

Geographical distribution

Thadou is spoken in the following locations (Ethnologue).

Dialects

Ethnologue lists the following dialects of Thadou, the names of which mostly correspond to clan names. There is high mutual intelligibility among dialects.

  • Lupho
  • Lupheng
  • Misao
  • Hangsing
  • Chongloi
  • Khongsai
  • Kipgen
  • Langiung
  • Sairang
  • Thangngeo
  • Haokip
  • Sitlhou
  • Touthang
  • Haolai
  • Singson (Shingsol)
  • Hanghal
  • Lhouvum
  • Mate
  • Lhungdim
  • Baite

The Saimar dialect is only spoken by 4 people in one village, which is located in Tripura.[6]

Phonology

Consonants
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive voiceless p t k ʔ
aspirated pʰ tʰ
voiced b d ɡ
Affricate ts
Nasal m n ŋ
Fricative voiceless s x h
voiced v z
lateral ɬ
Approximant w l j
  • /p t k/ are heard unreleased as [p̚ t̚ k̚] in word-final position.
  • /ts/ is heard as more apical [ts̺] when occurring before front and central vowels.
  • /x/ can have a cognate of an aspirated velar plosive [kʰ] in the dialect spoken in Burma.
  • /ɬ/ can have an allophone of [l̥] in word-medial position.[7]

Vowels
Front Central Back
Close i u
Mid e ə o
Open a

References
  1. Thadou-Kuki at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) closed access
  2. Mahapatra, Bijaya P.; Padmanabha, P. (December 1989). The Written Languages of the World: A Survey of the Degree and Modes of Use : Book 2, Non-Constitutional Languages. Pr De L'Universite Laval. p. 1311. ISBN 978-2-7637-7196-0.
  3. "Meitei | Ethnologue". Ethnologue. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  4. "Just 4 people keep a language alive". The Hindu. 18 July 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  5. Singh, Chungkham Yashawanta (1995). "The linguistic situation in Manipur" (PDF). Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area. 18 (1): 129–134. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  6. "Just 4 people keep a language alive". The Hindu. 18 July 2012.
  7. Haokip, Marykim (2014). Grammar of Thadou-Kuki: A Descriptive Study. New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru University.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

Further reading
Thadou language test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator
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