Monsang (Monsang, Monshang; autonym: Si:rti) is an unclassified

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. ...

(possibly

) language spoken in the Northeast of India.

Scott DeLancey Scott DeLancey (born 1949) is an American linguist from the University of Oregon. His work focuses on typology and historical linguistics of Tibeto-Burman languages as well as North American indigenous languages such as the Penutian family, par ...

, et al. (2015) classifies Monsang as a "Northwest

Naga Naga or NAGA may refer to: Mythology * Nāga, a serpentine deity or race in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions * Naga Kingdom, in the epic ''Mahabharata'' * Phaya Naga, mythical creatures believed to live in the Laotian stretch of the Mekong Riv ...

" language.

Distribution

Monsang is spoken in Chandel subdivision,

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 ...

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 ...

, in the 6 villages of Liwachangning, Changnhe, Liwa Khullen (Meeleen), Liwa Sarei, Japhou, and Monsang Pantha (Pentha Khuwpuw).Monsang, Sh. Francis; Veikho, Sahiinii Lemaina. 2018
Sound System of Monsang
''Himalayan Linguistics'', Vol. 17(2): 77–116.

Phonology

Unlike the more conservative Kuki-Chin languages spoken to the south such as Mizo, Monsang has many innovative phonological and morphological features.Konnerth, Linda. 2018
The historical phonology of Monsang (Northwestern South-Central/“Kuki-Chin”): A case of reduction in phonological complexity
''Himalayan Linguistics'', Vol. 17(1): 19-49.

References

External links

Link to ELAR documentation on Monsang grammar
Southern Naga languages Languages of Manipur {{St-lang-stub