Tangkhul language

Tangkhul
Luhupa
Native toIndia
RegionManipur, Nagaland
EthnicityTangkhul people
Native speakers
(140,000 cited 2001)
Dialects
  • Ukhrul
  • Kupome (Luhupa)
  • Phadang
Language codes
ISO 639-3nmf
Glottologtang1336
ELPTangkhul Naga

Tangkhul is a Sino-Tibetan language of the Tangkhulic branch, spoken in different villages of Ukhrul district, Manipur, India.

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.

The Department of Language Planning and Implementation of the Government of Manipur offers a sum of ₹5,000 (equivalent to ₹9,300 or US$96 in 2026), to every individual who learns Tangkhul language, under certain terms and conditions.

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.

Phonology

Consonants

Labial Dental/
Alveolar		 Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ŋ
Plosive/

Affricate

 voiceless p t tʃ k ʔ
aspirated pʰ tʰ kʰ
Fricative voiceless f s h
nasalized s̃
voiced z
Rhotic r
Approximant ʋ l j w

Vowels

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

References

  1. ↑ Tangkhul at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ↑ S, Vangamla Salle K. (26 November 2023). "Manipur: Literature festival strives to promote Tangkhul language". EastMojo. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  3. ↑ "Applications invited for local language training programme". Imphal Free Press. Archived from the original on 1 December 2024. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  4. ↑ "Myanmar". Ethnologue: Languages of the World. 2016. Archived from the original on 10 October 2016.
  5. ↑ Ahum, Victor (1997). Tangkhul-Naga grammar: a study of word formation. New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru University.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)

Further reading