Lamkang is a

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 spe ...

language of Southern Naga linguistic sub branch. It is spoken by the Lamkang Nagas of

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a States and territories of India, 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 ...

, India, with one village in Burma. The Lamkangs mostly live in the southwest and southeastern parts of

. The speakers of this language use Meitei language as their

second language A person's second language, or L2, is a language that is not the native language ( first language or L1) of the speaker, but is learned later. A second language may be a neighbouring language, another language of the speaker's home country, or a ...

(L2) according to the Ethnologue.

Background

The language has been influenced by

's state language, Meitei ( Manipuri) as the people have been in contact with

Meiteis The Meitei people, also known as the Manipuri people,P.20: "historically, academically and conventionally Manipuri prominently refers to the Meetei people."P.24: "For the Meeteis, Manipuris comprise Meeteis, Lois, Kukis, Nagas and Pangal." is ...

, and as Meitei ( Manipuri) is used as a lingua franca among local tribes. There are current language documentation efforts by native speakers including

Bible translations The Bible has been translated into many languages from the biblical languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. all of the Bible has been translated into 724 languages, the New Testament has been translated into an additional 1,617 languages, a ...

by Mr. Swamy Tholung Ksen under the Bibles International, Pautum Ren (New Testament) the collection of traditional stories songs (done by Beshot Khullar) Children's story book Knao Bu Then, Naoluwng Paomin, published by SIL, and the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights (UDHR) and United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) translated by Sumshot Khular, and videography of traditional dances and stories (done by the Rev. Daniel Tholung) and work on creating a standard orthography (by the Lamkang Literature and Education Committee).

Geographical distribution

Lamkang is spoken in the following locations ('' Ethnologue''). *

Chandel district Chandel district ( Meitei pronunciation:/ˌtʃænˈdɛl/) is one of the 16 districts of Manipur state in northeastern India. As of 2011 it was the second least populous district in the state, after Tamenglong. In December 2016, a part of the d ...

, southwestern and southeastern

** 7 villages to the west and east of Sugunu, Keithelmanbi, Chayang, Purum Pantha, Leingangching, Nungkangching, Komsen, Kurnuching ** 7 villages between Challong and Mombi New, Kongpe, Angbrasu, Challong, Paraolon, Lungkharlon, M.Seljol, Khuutun ** c. 20 villages between Pallel, Chandel town Thamlakhuren, Thamlapokpi (Damloonkhuupii), Leipungtampak (Rindamkhuu), Laiktla, Ksen Khuupii, Lamkang Khunthak, New Lamkang Khunthak, Sektaikarong, Lamkang Khunou (Wangjangloon), Mantri Pantha, Damjool, Aibuldaam, Ringkhuu, P.RaalRingkhuu, Angkhel Chayang, Deeringkhuu, Daampii, Khuutii, Charancghing Khunkha, Chanrangching khunou,Lamrinkhuu, SS. Morhring khuu, Tsuu Loon, *

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in the northeast India, 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 ...

: Kohima and Dimapur-Lamkang Colony

References

Southern Naga languages Languages of Nagaland Languages of Manipur {{St-lang-stub