Sangtam, also called Thukumi, Isachanure, or Lophomi, is a
Naga language
The Naga languages are a geographic and ethnic grouping of languages under the Kuki-Chin-Naga languages, spoken mostly by Naga peoples.
Northern Naga languages do not fall within the group, in spite of being spoken by Naga groups; instead, the ...
spoken in northeast
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. It is spoken in Kiphire District and in the Longkhim-Chare circle in
Tuensang district
Tuensang District (Pron:/ˌtjuːənˈsæŋ/) is the largest district in Nagaland, a state in North-East India. Its headquarters is in Tuensang town.
History
Tuensang is one of the original three districts, along with Mokokchung district and K ...
,
Nagaland
Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...
, India.
Dialects
''
Ethnologue
''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' (stylized as ''Ethnoloɠue'') is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world. It is the world's most comprehensiv ...
'' lists the following dialects of Sangtam.
*Kizare
*Pirr (Northern Sangtam)
*Phelongre
*Thukumi (Central Sangtam)
*Photsimi
*Purr (Southern Sangtam)
The standardized dialect of Sangtam is based on the Tsadanger village speech variety.
Phonology
Sangtam is unusual in having two
stops with bilabial trilled release, .
[Coupe (2015]
"Prestopped bilabial trills in Sangtam"
''Proceedings of the 18th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences, Glasgow, 10–14 August 2015''
All phonemes with /t/ are dental
/ʈ/ is realised like /ʈʵ/
All vowels can have high, mid, or low
tone
References
{{Languages of Northeast India
Ao languages
Languages of Nagaland
Endangered languages of India