Khamti language
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The Khamti language is a Southwestern Tai language spoken in Myanmar and India by the Khamti people. It is closely related to, and sometimes considered a dialect of, Shan.
Name
Khamti has been variously rendered Hkamti, Khampti, Kam Ti, Kamti, Tai Kam Ti, Tai-Khamti, Khamti Shan, Khampti Shan, Khandi Shan, Hkampti Shan, and Khampti Sam (Template:Langx).[1] The name Khamti means 'place of gold'.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Demographics
In Burma, Khamti is spoken by 3,500 near Myitkyina and by 4,500 in Putao District, Kachin State (both reported in 2000). In India, it is spoken by 5,000 in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, in the Dikrong Valley, Narayanpur, and north bank of the Brahmaputra (reported in 2007).Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Three dialects of Khamti are known: North Burma Khamti, Assam Khamti, and Sinkaling Khamti. All speakers of Khamti are bilingual, largely in Assamese and Burmese.[1]
Possibly, there are also some Khamti in some parts of China (5,000 people).
History
The language seems to have originated around Mogoung in Upper Burma.[2] Mung Kang was captured, a large group of Khamtis moved to the north and east of Lakhimpur. In the year 1850, 300–400 Khamtis settled in Assam.[3]
Phonology
Initial consonants
Khamti has the following initial consonants:[4][5][6]
/c/ can be heard as [c] or [tʃ] across dialects. /s/ can also be heard as [ʃ].
Note: only the variety found in Myanmar uses the palatal nasal /ɲ/ and the rhotic /r/.[5]
Final consonants
Khamti has the following final consonants:
-[w] occurs after front vowels and [a]-, -[j] occurs after back vowels and [a]-.[4]
Vowels
The Khamti language uses the following vowels:[5][6]
| Front | Back | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| unr. | unr. | rnd. | ||||
| short | long | short | long | short | long | |
| Close | Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link |
| Mid | Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link | |
| Open | Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link |
| Diphthong | Script error: No such module "IPA". | Script error: No such module "IPA". | Script error: No such module "IPA". | |||
/ɤ/ only appears in the dialect in Myanmar.[5]
Tones
Khamti uses five tones, namely: low falling /21/, mid rising /34/, mid falling /42/, high falling /53/~[33], and high level /55/~[44].[5]
Grammar
Syntax
Unlike other Tai languages that display SVO word order, Khamti has SOV word order.[7]
Nouns
Nouns are divided into common nouns and proper nouns.[8]
Common nouns
Common nouns can pluralized by adding Template:Tone superscript behind the noun. Common nouns are class categorized by using classifiers such as the generic Template:Tone superscript for people and Template:Tone superscript for animals.[8]
Proper nouns
People's names and place names are classified as proper nouns. Khamti prefixes people's names, depending on the social class or status of that person. These prefixes are gender specific. The prefix for Miss is Template:Tone superscript and the prefix for Mr is Template:Tone superscript. A prefix for Mr used to respectfully address a male of higher status is Template:Tone superscript or Template:Tone superscript.[8]
Pronouns
Khamti uses a triparte pronoun system, consisting of singular, dual and plural forms. The dual form and the first person plural form are further divided between inclusive and exclusive forms. The following set of pronouns are the pronouns found in the Khamti language:[8]
| singular | dual | plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person | inclusiveScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | Template:Tone superscript | Template:Tone superscript | Template:Tone superscript |
| exclusiveScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | Template:Tone superscript | Template:Tone superscript | ||
| 2nd person | Template:Tone superscript | Template:Tone superscript | Template:Tone superscript | |
| 3rd person | Template:Tone superscript | Template:Tone superscript | Template:Tone superscript | |
Demonstratives
Khamti uses the following demonstratives:[8]
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| near | Template:Tone superscript 'this' |
Template:Tone superscript 'these' |
| approximate | Template:Tone superscript 'that near you' |
Template:Tone superscript 'those by you' |
| distal | Template:Tone superscript 'that over there' |
Template:Tone superscript 'those over there' |
Writing system
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". The Tai Khamtis have their own writing system called 'Lik-Tai', which they share with the Tai Phake people and Tai Aiton people.[4] It closely resembles the Northern Shan script of Myanmar, which is a variant of the Mon–Burmese script, with some of the letters taking divergent shapes.[5] Their script is evidently derived from the Lik Tho Ngok script since hundreds of years ago. There are 35 letters including 17 consonants and 14 vowels. The script is traditionally taught in monasteries on subjects like Tripitaka, Jataka tales, code of conduct, doctrines and philosophy, history, law codes, astrology, and palmistry etc. The first printed book was published in 1960. In 1992 it was edited by the Tai Literature Committee, Chongkham. In 2003 it was again modified with tone marking by scholars of Northern Myanmar and Arunachal Pradesh.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Consonants
Vowels
Tones and other diacritics
Displaying with the dummy letter ဢ,
- tone 1 [21]:
- for checked syllable, including single consonant - ဢႉ
- for else - ဢႇ
- tone 2 [34] - ဢႛ
- tone 3 [42] - ဢႈ
- tone 4 [53] - ဢး - In speaking, it may become [33].
- tone 5:
- for short open syllable - ဢႚ [44] (rare usage)
- for else - ဢ [55] (unmarked)
- ဢ် - asat - final consonant, silences inherent vowel[9]
- ꩰ - duplication
Further reading
- Thai Khamti Grammar
- Inglis, Douglas. (forthcoming) Khamti Shan anti-ergative construction: a Tibeto-Burman influence? Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area. 40(2).
- Inglis, Douglas. 2014. This here thing: Specifying Morphemes an3, nai1, and mai2 in Tai Khamti Reference-point Constructions. PhD Dissertation. The University of Alberta.
- Inglis, Douglas. 2013. Oral stop consonants in Tai Khamti: An acoustic study in voice onset time. Paper presented at ISCTLL46. Dartmouth College.
- Inglis, Douglas. 2013. Deictic mai2 'here' as an object marker in Khamti Shan: A Tibeto-Burman influence in Tai?. Paper presented at ISCTLL46. Dartmouth College.
- Inglis, Douglas. 2004. Preliminary report: Khamti Shan wordlist and lexicostatistical results. Payap University. Chiang Mai.
References
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- ↑ a b c Cite error: Invalid
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- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Wilaiwan Kanittanan. 1986. Kamti Tai: From an SVO to an SOV language. In Bhadriraju Krishnamurti (ed.), South Asian Languages: Structure, Convergence and Diglossia, 174-178. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
- ↑ a b c d e Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedKhamti alphabet and language
External links
- The Khamti language at Omniglot
- Mung huw Tai Khamti Song
- Tai-Khamti Song - Tai-Khamti Girls
- Tai-Khamti Talk
- Words of Life Khamti People/Language Movie Trailer
- Tai Khamti Song - Mung hau
- Tai Khamti Song - panlong sau
Template:Languages of Burma Template:Languages of Northeast India Template:Tai-Kadai languages