The Konyak languages, or alternatively the Konyakian, Northern Naga, or Patkaian languages, is a branch of

Sino-Tibetan languages Sino-Tibetan (also referred to as Trans-Himalayan) is a family of more than 400 languages, second only to Indo-European in number of native speakers. Around 1.4 billion people speak a Sino-Tibetan language. The vast majority of these are the 1.3 ...

spoken by various Naga peoples in southeastern

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeast India. It was formed from the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and India declared it as a state on 20 February 1987. Itanagar is its capital and la ...

and northeastern

Nagaland Nagaland () is a States and union territories of India, state in the northeast India, north-eastern 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 Naga Sel ...

states of northeastern India. They are not particularly closely related to other

Naga languages The Naga languages are a geographic and ethnic grouping of Tibeto-Burman, spoken mostly by Naga peoples. Konyak languages, Northern Naga languages do not fall within the group, in spite of being spoken by Naga groups; instead, these form part ...

spoken further to the south, but rather to other

Sal languages 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 ...

such as Jingpho and the Bodo-Garo languages. There are many dialects, and villages even a few kilometers apart frequently have to rely on a separate common language. Proto-Northern Naga, the reconstructed

proto-language In the tree model of historical linguistics, a proto-language is a postulated ancestral language from which a number of attested languages are believed to have descended by evolution, forming a language family. Proto-languages are usually unatte ...

of the Konyak languages, has been reconstructed by Walter French (1983). The linkage of the Konyak and Jingphaw languages with Boro–Garo languages suggests that Proto-Garo-Bodo-Konyak-Jinghpaw, which is Sal-speaking people also known as Brahmaputran-speaking people, entered Assam from somewhere to the northeast. It has been proposed that the Proto-Garo-Bodo-Konyak-Jinghpaw language was a lingua franca of different linguistic communities, not all of whom were native speakers, and that it began as a creolized lingua franca.

Languages

Konyak–Chang: * Konyak * Chang * Wancho * Phom *Khiamniungic ** Khiamniungan ** Leinong ** Makyam **

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Tangsa–Nocte * Tangsa (Tase) **Muklom **Pangwa Naga **Ponthai **Tikhak * Nocte * Tutsa ''Ethnologue'' 17 adds Makyam (Paungnyuan), while ''Glottolog'' adds a ''Khiamniungic'' branch within the Konyak-Chang branch. Makyam is most closely related to Leinong (Htangan) (Naw Sawu 2016:6).

Classification

Below is a classification of the Northern Naga (Konyak) languages by Hsiu (2018) based on a computational phylogenetic analysis. *Northern Naga ** Makyam ***Kuku Nokkone ***Makyam, Khale, Santung **Nuclear Northern Naga ***Khiamniungic group **** Leinong *****Anbaw, Hwi Thaik *****Wan Ton Tha Mai *****Nok Nyo Kha Shang *****Lahe (subgroup): Lahe, Khamti, Long Kyan Nok Kone ****Ponyo-Gongwan *****

(subgroup): Ponyo Nok Inn, Lang Kheng *****Gongwan **** Khiamniungan ***Konyak-Wancho-Tangsa ****Konyak-Wancho *****Lao ***** Konyak *****Kyan ***** Wancho ******Wancho (Lower Wancho Hill) ******Wancho (Upper Wancho Hill), Karyaw ******Chuyo, Gaqkat *****Phom *****Chang (?) **** Tangsa *****Tikhak (subgroup): Tikhak, Longchang, Yongkuk, Muklom *****Jugli *****Shangvan (subgroup): Shangvan, Meitei, Haqcyeng, Ngaimong *****Pangwa (subgroup): Kyahi, Mungre, Shanke, Chamchang, Lochang, Dunghi, Moshang, Rera, Lungri, Cholim *****Halang (subgroup): Lama, Halang, Haqkhi, Bote *****Ringkhu (subgroup): Gaqyi, Shokrang, Henching, Rasa, Lakki, Ringkhu, Khalak, Shangti, Lungkhi, Kochung *****Gaqha *****Kotlum (subgroup): Kotlum, Raqnu, Aasen, Drancyi, Gaqlun *****Kon-Pingku (subgroup): Kon, Pingku, Nyinshao *****Sansik *****Champhang (subgroup): Nahen, Thamkok, Lumnu, Champhang ***** Nocte- Tutsa (subgroup): Haqkhun, Tutsa, Ponthai, Hawi, Nocte, Haqsik, Haqchum, Yangno, Haqman Phom belongs to the Konyak-Wancho branch. Chang may have originally been a Konyak-Wancho language that was heavily influenced by Ponyo-Khiamniungan-Lainong. The homeland of Northern Naga is placed in the Lahe Township area.

References

*French, Walter T. 1983. ''Northern Naga: A Tibeto-Burman mesolanguage''. Ph.D. Dissertation, The City University of New York. *Stirn, Aglaja, and Peter van Ham. 2003. ''The hidden world of the Naga: living traditions in Northeast India and Burma''. Munich: Prestel. *Saul, Jamie D. 2005. ''The Naga of Burma: Their festivals, customs and way of life''. Bangkok, Thailand: Orchid Press. *George van Driem (2001) ''Languages of the Himalayas: An Ethnolinguistic Handbook of the Greater Himalayan Region.'' Brill.

External links

Classifying Konyak and other Naga languages
{{Sal languages Sal languages Languages of India