Thadou language

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

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). 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. 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.

Thadou is spoken in the following locations (Ethnologue).

• Northeast India
  • Manipur
    • Chandel district
    • Churachandpur district
    • Senapati district
    • Kangpokpi district
    • Tengnoupal district
    • Pherzawl district
  • Assam
    • Karbi Anglong (Mikil Hills)
    • NC hills (Dima Hasoa)

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

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

• /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.

• Haokip, Pauthang (April 2011). "The Languages of Manipur: A Case Study of the Kuki-Chin-Mizo Languages" (PDF). Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area. 34 (1): 85–118. doi:10.15144/LTBA-34.1.85. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
• "History". thethadou.webs.com. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
• "Thado Chin". Endangered Languages Project. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
• "Thado Chin". Glottolog. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
• "Thado Chin Rosary Prayers". marysrosaries.com. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
• "Thadou". Encyclopedia of World Cultures. Retrieved 3 May 2017 – via Encyclopedia.com.
• "Thadou Kuki language". globalrecordings.net. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
• "The Thadou (or Thado)". Retrieved 9 March 2017.
• "Where on earth do they speak Chin, Thado?". verbix.com. Retrieved 10 March 2017.