Daai language
Kuki-Chin language of Myanmar
| Dai | |
|---|---|
| Region | Myanmar |
| Ethnicity | Dai Chin |
Native speakers | 37,000 (2010)[1] |
Language family | Sino-Tibetan
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | dao |
| Glottolog | daai1236 |
Dai (also known as Daai Chin), which borders the Mün and Ütbü language groups, is a Kuki-Chin of Myanmar. It is spoken in 142 villages in Kanpetlet, Matupi, Mindat, and Paletwa townships in Chin State, Burma (Ethnologue).
Mutual intelligibility among Nghngilo (Yang), Daa Yindu, and Mkui groups is high, but is lower among other groups.[2] Dai has greater than 90% lexical similarity with Daa Yindu, Yang, Mkui, Duk, and Msang, 81%–88% with Ngxang (Paletwa township) and Kheng, 80% with Shiip (Matupi township), 91%–94% with Gah/Ng-Gha (part of Mün), and 81%–87% with Mün.[2]
Dialects
Ethnologue lists the following dialects of Dai Chin.
- Ngxang
- Nghngilo (Yang)
- Ma-Tu
- Shiip
- Duk-Msang
- Kheng
- Mkuui
- Yet
Phonology
Consonants
Dai has twenty-four consonant phonemes.
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasals | m̥ m | n̥ n | ŋ̊ ŋ | ||
| Plosives | p pʰ b | t tʰ d | k kʰ | ʔ | |
| Fricatives | s sʰ | x ɣ | h | ||
| Lateral Fricatives | ɬ | ||||
| Approximants | w | l | j |
Vowels
Dai has seven vowel phonemes, each with a phonemic length contrast.
| Front | Central | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrounded | Rounded | |||
| High | i iː | ɯ ɯː | u uː | |
| Mid | ɛ ɛː | ə əː | ɔ ɔː | |
| Low | a aː | |||
Grammar
Dai is an isolating or analytic language. There is no inflectional morphology at the word level; case, number, and tense are marked by clitics.
Examples
| Dai | English |
|---|---|
| mthan | night |
| mpyong | mouth |
| kpyak | to destroy |
| pha | to arrive |
| Nghngaai-ktheih hmin lokti. | The mango fruits became ripe. |
| Mat jah mata i:ma am ngleh-ei ni. | They did not visit each other's houses. |
References
- ^ Dai at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ a b "Myanmar". Ethnologue: Languages of the World. 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-10-10.
- Naing Kheng. 2017. A phonological description of the Mkuui variety of Dai Chin Archived 2018-06-12 at the Wayback Machine. Master's Thesis.
- Helga So-Hartmann. 2009. A Descriptive Grammar of Dai Chin. The Regents University of California.
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Sino-Tibetan branches
Uttarakhand, Nepal, Sikkim)
| Greater Magaric |
|---|
(Tibet, Bhutan, Arunachal)
Burmese border
| "Naga" | |
|---|---|
| Sal |
| Burmo-Qiangic |
|---|
isolates) (Arunachal)
| Greater Siangic |
|
|---|
Italics indicates single languages that are also considered to be separate branches.
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