Thadou language

Thadou–Kuki
Thadou–Kuki
Thado Chin, Thadou, Kuki
Thadoupao
Native to	India
Region	Manipur
Ethnicity	Kuki people, natively to the Thadou tribe.
Native speakers	350,000 (2011–2017)
Language family	Sino-Tibetan Tibeto-Burman Kuki-Chin-Naga Kuki-Chin Northern Thadou–Kuki; ; ; ; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	tcz
Glottolog	thad1238
ELP	Thado Chin

Thadou, Kuki, or Thado Chin is a Sino-Tibetan language of the Northern Kuki-Chin 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]

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).

Northeast India
- Manipur
- Assam
  - Karbi Anglong (Mikil Hills)
  - NC hills (Dima Hasoa)

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

^ ^a ^b Thadou–Kuki at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
^ 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. Archived from the original on 27 May 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
^ "Meitei | Ethnologue". Ethnologue. Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
^ "Just 4 people keep a language alive". The Hindu. 18 July 2012. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
^ Singh, Chungkham Yashawanta (1995). "The linguistic situation in Manipur" (PDF). Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area. 18 (1): 129–134. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
^ "Just 4 people keep a language alive". The Hindu. 18 July 2012. Archived from the original on 13 September 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
^ Haokip, Marykim (2014). Grammar of Thadou-Kuki: A Descriptive Study. New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru University.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)