Tangkhul is a Sino-Tibetan language of the Tangkhulic branch, spoken in different villages of Ukhrul district, Manipur, India. The term "Tangkhul" is derived from the Meitei language terms, "Tang" (Meitei: ꯇꯥꯡ, romanized: /tāng/) meaning "scarce" and "Khul" (Meitei: ꯈꯨꯜ, romanized: /khūl/) meaning "village" respectively.[2]According to another theory, the term "Tangkhul" is derived from "Thankhul", meaning "Than village" in Meitei language.[3][4][5]
Tangkhul | |
---|---|
Luhupa | |
Native to | India |
Region | Manipur, Nagaland |
Ethnicity | Tangkhul people |
Native speakers | 140,000 (2001)[1] |
Dialects |
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| |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | nmf |
Glottolog | tang1336 |
ELP | Tangkhul Naga |
Tangkhul became a written language for the first time in the year 1897, when William Pettigrew compiled "Tangkhul Primer and Catechism", during his Christian missionary activities.[6]
The Department of Language Planning and Implementation of the Government of Manipur offers a sum of ₹5,000 (equivalent to ₹8,500 or US$110 in 2023), to every individual who learns Tangkhul language, under certain terms and conditions.[7]
Tangkhul shares 93%–94% lexical similarity with the Somra variety of Tangkhul, 31% with Tangkhul Naga spoken in India, 51%–52% with Akyaung Ari Naga, and 29%–32% with Koki Naga.[8]
Phonology
Consonants
Bilabial | Labio- dental | Dental/ Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Plosive | voiceless | p | t | k | ʔ | ||
aspirated | pʰ | tʰ | kʰ | ||||
Affricate | tʃ | ||||||
Fricative | voiceless | f | s | h | |||
nasalized | s̃ | ||||||
voiced | z | ||||||
Nasal | m | n | ŋ | ||||
Rhotic | r | ||||||
Lateral | l | ||||||
Approximant | w | ʋ | j |
- Stop sounds /p t tʃ k/ may have voiced allophones [b d dʒ ɡ] in free variation.
- /m/ may be heard as [ɱ] when preceding /f/ or /ʋ/.
- /r/ can be heard as [r] or [ɾ] in free variation.
Vowels
Front | Central | Back | |
---|---|---|---|
Close | i | ɨ | u |
Mid | e | ə | o |
Open | a |
- /i e a u/ can have allophone sounds of [ɪ ɛ ɐ ɯ] in free variation.[9]