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{{Short description|Branch of Sino-Tibetan languages}}
{{Infobox language family
|name=Sal
|altname=Brahmaputran<br>Bodo-Konyak-Jinghpaw
|region=[[India]], [[Bangladesh]], and [[Burma]]
|familycolor=Sino-Tibetan
|fam1=[[Sino-Tibetan]]
|fam2=[[Tibeto-Burman]]
|fam3=[[Central Tibeto-Burman languages]] (?)
|child1=[[Boro–Garo languages|Boro–Garo]]
|child2=[[Konyak languages|Konyak]]
|child3=[[Jingpho–Luish languages|Jingpho–Luish]]
|child4=[[Chairel]] {{extinct}}
|glotto=brah1260
|glottorefname=Brahmaputran
}}

The '''Sal languages''', also known as the '''Brahmaputran languages''', are a branch of [[Tibeto-Burman languages]] spoken in [[northeast India]], as well as parts of [[Bangladesh]], [[Myanmar]] (Burma), and [[China]].

==Alternative names==
''[[Ethnologue]]'' calls the group "Jingpho–Konyak-Garo–Bodo", while [[Scott DeLancey]] (2015)<ref name="DeLancey2015"/> refers to it as "Bodo-Konyak-Garo-Jinghpaw" (BKJ). Glottolog lists this branch as “[https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/brah1260 Brahmaputran (brah1260)]”, as the languages occur around the [[Brahmaputra Valley]].

==Classification within Sino-Tibetan==
[[Scott DeLancey]] (2015)<ref name="DeLancey2015">DeLancey, Scott. 2015. "Morphological Evidence for a Central Branch of Trans-Himalayan (Sino-Tibetan)." ''Cahiers de linguistique - Asie oriental'' 44(2):122-149. December 2015. {{doi|10.1163/19606028-00442p02}}</ref> considers the Sal languages, which he refers to as Garo-''Bodo-Konyak-Jinghpaw'' (BKJ), to be part of a wider [[Central Tibeto-Burman languages|Central Tibeto-Burman]] group.

==Internal classification==
{{harvcoltxt|Benedict|1972|p=7}} noted that the [[Bodo–Garo languages|Bodo–Garo]], [[Konyak languages|Konyak]], and [[Jingpho language|Jingpho]] (Kachin) languages, as well as the extinct [[Chairel language]], shared distinctive roots for "sun" and "fire".

{{harvtxt|Burling|1983}} proposed a grouping of the Bodo–Garo, Konyak (Northern Naga), and Jingpho languages, characterized by several shared [[Lexical Innovation|lexical innovations]], including:
* *sal "sun"<ref>{{cite web |title=STEDT Etymon #2753 |url=http://stedt.berkeley.edu/~stedt-cgi/rootcanal.pl/etymon/2753 |website=stedt.berkeley.edu |access-date=3 April 2024}}</ref>
* *war "fire"<ref>{{cite web |title=STEDT Etymon #2152 |url=http://stedt.berkeley.edu/~stedt-cgi/rootcanal.pl/etymon/2152 |website=stedt.berkeley.edu |access-date=3 April 2024}}</ref>
* *s-raŋ "sky"<ref>{{cite web |title=STEDT Etymon #3571|url=http://stedt.berkeley.edu/~stedt-cgi/rootcanal.pl/etymon/3571 |website=stedt.berkeley.edu |access-date=3 April 2024}}</ref>
* *wa "father"<ref>{{cite web |title=STEDT Etymon #5484|url=http://stedt.berkeley.edu/~stedt-cgi/rootcanal.pl/etymon/5484|website=stedt.berkeley.edu |access-date=3 April 2024}}</ref>
* *nu "mother"<ref>{{cite web |title=STEDT Etymon #1621|url=http://stedt.berkeley.edu/~stedt-cgi/rootcanal.pl/etymon/1621|website=stedt.berkeley.edu |access-date=3 April 2024}}</ref>
Burling (1983) called the proposed group Sal, after the words ''sal'', ''san'' and ''jan'' for "sun" in various of these languages.
{{harvcoltxt|Coupe|2012|pp=201–204}} argues that some of Burling's proposed innovations are either not attested across the Sal languages, or have cognates in other Sino-Tibetan languages. Nevertheless, Matisoff (2013)<ref name="Matisoff2013"/> accepts Burling's Sal group, and considers *s-raŋ 'sky/rain' and *nu 'mother' to be the most convincing Sal innovations.

The family is generally presented with three branches ({{harvcolnb|Burling|2003|p=175}}, {{harvcolnb|Thurgood|2003|p=11}}):
* The [[Bodo–Garo languages]], including the [[Bodo languages|Bodo]] and [[Koch languages|Koch]] languages, are spoken in the northeast Indian states of [[Assam]], [[Meghalaya]] and [[Tripura]].
* The [[Konyak languages]] are spoken by the [[Naga people]] in southeastern [[Arunachal Pradesh]] and northeastern [[Nagaland]] (both in northeastern India). This group is called Eastern Naga by {{harvcoltxt|Burling|1983}} and Northern Naga by other authors. (The remaining languages of Nagaland belong to the separate [[Kuki-Chin-Naga languages|Kuki-Chin-Naga]] group.)
* The Kachinic or [[Jingpho–Luish languages]] include [[Jingpho language|Jingpho]] (Jinghpaw, Singhpo or Kachin), spoken in northern [[Burma]] and adjacent regions, and the [[Luish languages|Luish]] (or Sak) languages spoken in western Burma.

Shafer had grouped the first two as his Baric division, and {{harvcoltxt|Bradley|1997|p=20}} also combines them as a subbranch.

Bradley (1997) tentatively considers [[Pyu language (Burma)|Pyu]] and [[Kuki-Chin languages|Kuki-Chin]] to be possibly related to Sal, but is uncertain about this.

Peterson (2009)<ref name="Peterson2009">Peterson, David A. 2009. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110722070911/http://ic.payap.ac.th/sino-tibetan-conference/Conference%20Handbook.pdf?v=1256612245 "Where does Mru fit into Tibeto-Burman?"] Paper presented at ''The 42nd International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages and Linguistics'' (ICSTLL 42), November 2009, [[Payap University]], [[Chiang Mai|Chiangmai]], [[Thailand]].</ref> considers [[Mruic languages|Mru-Hkongso]] to be a separate Tibeto-Burman branch, but notes that Mru-Hkongso shares similarities with Bodo–Garo that could be due to the early split of Mruic from a Tibeto-Burman branch that included Bodo–Garo.

===van Driem (2011)===
The '''Brahmaputran''' branch of van Driem (2011) has three variants:
*[[Bodo–Garo languages|Bodo–Garo]] and [[Konyak languages|Konyak]].<ref name=vanDriem2014>{{harvtxt|van Driem|2014}}</ref>
*Bodo–Garo, Konyak, and [[Dhimalish languages|Dhimalish]].<ref name=vanDriem2001>{{harvcoltxt|van Driem|2001|pp=397–398, 403}}</ref>
*Bodo–Garo, Konyak, Dhimalish, and [[Kachin–Luic languages|Kachin–Luic]].<ref name=vanDriem2001/>
The smallest is his most recent, and the one van Driem considers a well-established low-level group of Sino-Tibetan.<ref name=vanDriem2011>{{citation | last = van Driem | first = George L.
| title = Tibeto-Burman subgroups and historical grammar
| journal = Himalayan Linguistics Journal | volume = 10 | issue = 1 | year = 2011
| url = https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2641q8vv
| postscript = .}}</ref> However, Dhimalish is not accepted as a Sal language by [[Glottolog]].<ref>Hammarstrom, et al. http://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/dhim1245</ref> Sotrug (2015)<ref>Sotrug, Yeshy T. (2015). ''Linguistic evidence for madeskā kirãntī. The phylogenetic position of Dhimalish''. Bern: University of Bern Master’s Thesis, 22 June 2015.</ref> and Gerber, et al. (2016)<ref>Gerber, Pascal, Tanja Gerber, Selin Grollmann. 2016. ''[https://www.academia.edu/30259338/Links_between_Lhokpu_and_Kiranti_some_observations Links between Lhokpu and Kiranti: some observations]''. Kiranti Workshop. CNRS Université Paris Diderot, 1-2 Dec 2016.</ref> consider Dhimalish to be particularly closely related to the [[Kiranti languages]] rather than to the Sal languages.

===Matisoff (2012, 2013)===
[[James Matisoff]] (2012)<ref name="Matisoff2012">Matisoff, James. 2012. [https://www.eva.mpg.de/lingua/conference/2012_MSA_Languages/pdf/JAM_Jingpho-Luish_20121003.pdf Re-examining the genetic position of Jingpho: can the Sal hypothesis be reconciled with the Jingpho/Nungish/Luish grouping?]. Paper presented at the [https://www.eva.mpg.de/lingua/conference/2012_MSA_Languages/ Mainland Southeast Asian Languages: The State of the Art in 2012] workshop, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany, 29 November - 1 December 2012.</ref> makes the following observations about the Sal grouping.

*Although [[Bodo–Garo languages|Bodo–Garo]] and Northeastern Naga ([[Konyak languages|Konyak]]) are indeed closely related, Jingpho and Northeastern Naga (Konyak) seem to be even more closely related to each other than Jingpho and Bodo-Garo are to each other.
*[[Luish languages|Luish]] is the Tibeto-Burman branch most closely related to Jingpho, for which further evidence is provided in Matisoff (2013).<ref name="Matisoff2013">Matisoff, James A. 2013. [https://www.academia.edu/16300693/Re-examining_the_genetic_position_of_Jingpho_putting_flesh_on_the_bones_of_the_Jinghpho_Luish_Relationship Re-examining the genetic position of Jingpho: putting flesh on the bones of the Jingpho/Luish relationship]. ''Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area'' 36(2). 1–106.</ref>
*Similarities between Jingpho and [[Nungish languages|Nungish]] are due to contact. Thus, Nungish is not particularly closely related to Jingpho, and is not a Sal language. On the other hand, [[Lolo-Burmese languages|Lolo-Burmese]] appears to be more closely related to Nungish than to Jingpho.

Matisoff (2012) notes that these Tibeto-Burman branches did not split off neatly in a tree-like fashion, but rather form a [[linkage (linguistics)|linkage]]. Nevertheless, Matisoff (2013:30)<ref name="Matisoff2013"/> still provides the following [[Stammbaum]] for the Sal branch.

{{tree list}}
*'''Sal'''
**[[Bodo–Garo languages|Bodo–Garo]]
**Jingpho-Konyak
***[[Konyak languages|Konyakian]] (Northern Naga)
***[[Jingpho–Luish languages|Jingpho-Asakian]]
****[[Jingpho language|Jingphoic]]
****[[Luish languages|Asakian]]
{{tree list/end}}

The unclassified extinct [[Taman language (Sino-Tibetan)|Taman language]] of northern Myanmar displays some similarities with Luish languages, Jingpho, and Bodo-Garo, but it is undetermined whether Taman is a Sal language or not.<ref>Huziwara, Keisuke. 2016. [https://repository.kulib.kyoto-u.ac.jp/dspace/handle/2433/219018 タマン語の系統再考 / On the genetic position of Taman reconsidered]. In ''Kyoto University Linguistic Research '' 35, p.1-34. {{doi|10.14989/219018}} ([https://repository.kulib.kyoto-u.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2433/219018/1/kulr35_1.pdf PDF])</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{citation
| first = Paul K. | last = Benedict | author-link = Paul K. Benedict
| title = Sino-Tibetan: A Conspectus
| location = Cambridge: [[Cambridge University Press]]
| year = 1972 | isbn = 978-0-521-08175-7
| url = http://stedt.berkeley.edu/pubs_and_prods/Benedict_1972_Sino-Tibetan-Conspectus.pdf
| postscript = .
}}
* {{citation
| last = Bradley | first = David | author-link = David Bradley (linguist)
| chapter = Tibeto-Burman languages and classification | pages = 1–71
| chapter-url = http://sealang.net/sala/archives/pdf8/bradley1997tibeto-burman.pdf
| editor-last = Bradley | editor-first = David
| title = Tibeto-Burman languages of the Himalayas
| series = ''Papers in South East Asian linguistics'' | volume = 14
| location = Canberra | publisher = Pacific Linguistics | year = 1997
| isbn = 978-0-85883-456-9
| postscript = .
}}
* {{citation
| title = The Sal Languages
| first = Robbins | last = Burling | author-link = Robbins Burling
| journal = Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area | year = 1983 | volume = 7 | issue = 2 | pages = 1–32
| url = http://sealang.net/sala/archives/pdf8/burling1982sal.pdf
| postscript = .
}}
* {{citation
| chapter = The Tibeto-Burman languages of northeast India
| last = Burling | first = Robbins | author-mask = 2
| title = Sino-Tibetan Languages | pages = 169–191
| editor1-last = Thurgood | editor1-first = Graham
| editor2-last = LaPolla | editor2-first = Randy J.
| location = London | publisher = Routledge | year = 2003
| isbn = 978-0-7007-1129-1
| postscript = .
}}
* {{citation
| given = Alexander R. | surname = Coupe
| title = Overcounting numeral systems and their relevance to sub-grouping in the Tibeto-Burman languages of Nagaland
| journal = Language and Linguistics | year = 2012 | volume = 13 | issue = 1 | pages = 193–220
| url = http://www.ling.sinica.edu.tw/Files/LL/Docments/Journals/13.1/j2012_1_09_0854.pdf
| postscript = .
}}
* {{citation
| last = van Driem | first = George | author-link = George van Driem
| title = Languages of the Himalayas: An Ethnolinguistic Handbook of the Greater Himalayan Region
| publisher = BRILL | year = 2001
| isbn = 978-90-04-12062-4
| postscript = .
}}
* {{citation
| last = van Driem | first = George | author-mask = 2
| chapter = Trans-Himalayan | pages = 11–40
| chapter-url = http://www.himalayanlanguages.org/files/driem/pdfs/2014a.pdf
| title = Trans-Himalayan Linguistics: Historical and Descriptive Linguistics of the Himalayan Area
| editor1-first = Thomas | editor1-last = Owen-Smith
| editor2-first = Nathan W. | editor2-last = Hill
| location = Berlin | publisher = Mouton de Gruyter | year = 2014
| isbn = 978-3-11-031083-2
| postscript = .
}}
* {{citation
| chapter = A subgrouping of the Sino-Tibetan languages
| last = Thurgood | first = Graham | author-link = Graham Thurgood
| title = Sino-Tibetan Languages | pages = 3–21
| editor1-last = Thurgood | editor1-first = Graham
| editor2-last = LaPolla | editor2-first = Randy J.
| location = London | publisher = Routledge | year = 2003
| isbn = 978-0-7007-1129-1
| postscript = .
}}

{{Sino-Tibetan languages}}
{{Sal languages}}
{{Languages of Northeast India}}

[[Category:Sal languages| ]]

Sal languages - Revision history

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