Thadou (Thado, Thaadou, Thado-Pao, Thadou-Kuki) is a
Sino-Tibetan
Sino-Tibetan, also cited as Trans-Himalayan in a few sources, is a family of more than 400 languages, second only to Indo-European in number of native speakers. The vast majority of these are the 1.3 billion native speakers of Chinese languages. ...
language of the Northern
Kuki-Chin-Mizo linguistic sub branch. It is spoken in the northeastern part of
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 ...
(specifically in
Manipur
Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of ...
and
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
). It is spoken by the
Thadou people. The Thadou language is known by many names, including Thado, Thado-Pao, Thādo, Thadou-kuki, Thado-Ubiphei, Chin and Thādo-pao. There are several dialects of this language : Hangshing, Khongsai, Kipgen, Saimar, Langiung, Sairang, Thangngeo, Haokip, Sitlhou, Singson (Shingsol).The Saimar dialect was reported in the Indian press in 2012 to be spoken by only four people in one village in the state of
Tripura
Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the ea ...
.
The variety spoken in
Manipur
Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of ...
has partial mutual intelligibility with the other
Mizo-Kuki-Chin languages varieties of the area including
Paite,
Hmar,
Vaiphei,
Simte,
Kom and
Gangte languages.
This language is not utilized as much today.
Thadou culture
The Thadou language comes from the
Tibeto-Burman
The Tibeto-Burman languages are the non- Sinitic members of the Sino-Tibetan language family, over 400 of which are spoken throughout the Southeast Asian Massif ("Zomia") as well as parts of East Asia and South Asia. Around 60 million people spea ...
or
Kuki-Chin-Mizo languages
The Kuki-Chin languages (also called Kuki-Chin-Mizo, Kukish or South-Central Tibeto-Burman languages) are a branch of 50 or so Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in northeastern India, western Myanmar and southeastern Bangladesh. Most speakers of the ...
family of the
Sino-Tibetan
Sino-Tibetan, also cited as Trans-Himalayan in a few sources, is a family of more than 400 languages, second only to Indo-European in number of native speakers. The vast majority of these are the 1.3 billion native speakers of Chinese languages. ...
phylum. The Thadou people were settled in dense jungle sites. The Thadou villages mostly cultivated agriculture and domesticated animals. A unique aspect of the Thadou culture is that men and women shared these cultivation and domestication responsibilities.
Knowing a language connects one to the culture and traditions of the speakers of the language. This was especially the case with the Thadou language. Four important words in this language: , , , and . These terms represent four different forms of marriage. ''Chongmou'' represents the form of marriage where there is a negotiation price of the bride between the parents of the groom as well as the parents of the bride, along with feasting and wrestling. The is a form of marriage where just the negotiation between the parents of the bride and groom take place. The and are both similar forms of marriage, equivalent to eloping. Divorce is allowed and happens often within this culture. Children have a lot of independence in this culture and are encouraged to learn through experience including parental guidance as a stepping stone.
Thadou people consider Pathen the god who has created everything and is thus, the ruler of the universe. They pray to him in times of need and trouble. This culture is very into religious ceremonies. Many of their ceremonies are specific to individual groups or genders. In earlier times, the Thadou also believe in spirits moving on to Mithikho or Mithikhua, which is the village of the dead. As time passed by most of the Thadou people embraced Christianity.
Geographical distribution
Thadou is spoken in the following locations (''
Ethnologue'').
*
Northeast India
, native_name_lang = mni
, settlement_type =
, image_skyline =
, image_alt =
, image_caption =
, motto =
, image_map = Northeast india.png
, ...
**
Manipur
Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of ...
***
Chandel district
***
Churachandpur district
***
Senapati district
***
Kangpokpi district
Kangpokpi district ( Meitei pronunciation: /kāng-pōk-pī/), also known as Sadar Hills district, is one of the 16 districts in the Indian state of Manipur. It was created in December 2016 from areas in the Sadar Hills region which were pre ...
***
Tengnoupal district
Tengnoupal district ( Meitei pronunciation:/teŋ-nə́u-pəl/) is a district in Manipur, India. It was created in December 2016 by splitting the Chandel district.
The district headquarters has been relocated to Tengnoupal – (). In the 1960s a ...
***
Pherzawl district
**
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
***
Karbi Anglong
Karbi may refer to:
Places
* Karbi, Armenia
* Karbi Anglong Plateau, an extension of the Indian Plate in Assam, India
* Karbi Anglong district, a district of Assam, north-eastern India
Other uses
* Karbi people, an ethnic group of North-eas ...
(Mikil Hills)
***NC hills (
Dima Hasoa)
Dialects
''Ethnologue'' lists the following dialects of Thadou, the names of which mostly correspond to clan names. There is high mutual intelligibility among dialects.
*Lupho
*Lupheng
*Misao
*Hangsing
*Chongloi
*Khongsai
*Kipgen
*Langiung
*Sairang
*Thangngeo
*Haokip
*Sitlhou
*Touthang
*Haolai
*Singson (Shingsol)
*Hanghal
*Lhouvum
*Mate
*Lhungdim
*Baite
Phonology
Consonants
* /p t k/ are heard unreleased as
̚ t̚ k̚in word-final position.
* is heard as more apical when occurring before front and central vowels.
* can have a cognate of an aspirated velar plosive in the dialect spoken in Burma.
* can have an allophone of in word-medial position.
Vowels
Comparison between Thadou Dialects
The Saimar dialect is only spoken by 4 people in one village, which is located in
Tripura
Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the ea ...
.
The other dialects, Jangshen, Haokip, Khongsai, Kipgen, Sairang, Thangeo, Langiung, Sitlhou, and Singson have a high mutual intelligibility, which means that speakers, although from different backgrounds and areas, can speak to each other without much effort and with ease.
References
Further reading
*Chin, Thado. (n.d.). Retrieved 10 March 2017, from https://www.ethnologue.com/language/tcz
*Did you know Thado Chin is severely endangered? (n.d.). Retrieved 10 March 2017, from http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/5702
*Haokip, P. (2011). Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area. THE LANGUAGES OF MANIPUR: A CASE STUDY OF THE KUKI-CHIN-MIZO LANGUAGES*, 34.1 (April), 85-118. Retrieved 9 March 2017, from https://dx.doi.org/10.15144/LTBA-34.1.85
*History. (n.d.). Retrieved 9 March 2017, from http://thethadou.webs.com/history.htm
*MultiTree: A Digital Library of Language RelationshipsMultiTree: A Digital Library of Language Relationships. (n.d.). Retrieved 8 March 2017, from http://multitree.org/codes/tcz.html
*"Thadou." Encyclopedia of World Cultures. . Retrieved 3 May 2017 from Encyclopedia.com:
http://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/thadou
*Thado Chin. (n.d.). Retrieved 10 March 2017, from http://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/thad1238
*Thado Chin Rosary Prayers. (n.d.). Retrieved 7 March 2017, from http://www.marysrosaries.com/Chin_Thado_prayers.html
*Thadou Kuki language. (n.d.). Retrieved 10 March 2017, from https://globalrecordings.net/en/language/759
*The Thadou (or Thado). (n.d.). Retrieved 9 March 2017, from http://www.myanmarburma.com/attraction/174/the-thadou-or-thado
*Where on earth do they speak Chin, Thado? (n.d.). Retrieved 10 March 2017, from http://www.verbix.com/maps/language/ChinThado.html
*St George International Ltd. (n.d.). Retrieved 4 May 2017, from
http://www.stgeorges.co.uk/blog/learn-english/how-many-people-in-the-world-speak-english
{{Languages of Northeast India
Languages of Manipur
Languages of Tripura
Endangered languages of India