Tai Laing (, variously spelt Tai Lai or Tai Nai), also known as Shan-ni (, ), is a Tai language of Burma, related to Khamti. It is written in its own variant of Burmese script, and though not taught in schools, is experiencing a cultural revival, albeit still small. There is no census of speakers, but they are estimated to number around 100,000.

History

The Tai Laing settled in the Indawgyi Lake valley, in modern-day

Kachin State Kachin State ( my, ကချင်ပြည်နယ်; Kachin: ), also known by the endonym Kachinland, is the northernmost state of Myanmar. It is bordered by China to the north and east (Tibet and Yunnan, specifically and respectively); Sh ...

, Myanmar, establishing city-states including

Mongyang Mongyang or Möngyang ( my, မိုးညှင်း, translit=Mohnyin; also known as Mong Yang)(Thai:เมืองยาง) was a Shan state in what is today Burma. It was an outlying territory, located away from the main Shan State are ...

, Mogaung, Wuntho, and Momeik. Tai Laing has had long-term close contact with several Tibeto-Burman languages, including

Burmese Burmese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia * Burmese people * Burmese language * Burmese alphabet * Burmese cuisine * Burmese culture Animals * Burmese cat * Burmese chicken * Burmese (hor ...

speakers to the south,

Lolo-Burmese The Lolo-Burmese languages (also Burmic languages) of Burma and Southern China form a coherent branch of the Sino-Tibetan family. Names Until ca. 1950, the endonym ''Lolo'' was written with derogatory characters in Chinese, and for this reas ...

Nungish The Nung or Nungish languages are a poorly described family of uncertain affiliation within the Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in Yunnan, China and Burma. They include: * Derung (Trung, Dulong, Drung, Tvrung) * Rawang (Răwang, Rvwang) * Nung (An ...

, and Jingpho-Luish languages to the east and north and Naga languages to the west. These languages have influenced the phonology and grammar of Tai Laing, including the frequency of disyllabic words and presence of different grammatical markers, and variation in word order. Following the

1962 Burmese coup d'état The 1962 Burmese coup d'état on 2 March 1962 marked the beginning of one-party rule and the political dominance of the army in Burma (now Myanmar) which spanned the course of 26 years. In the coup, the military replaced the civilian AFPFL-g ...

, restrictive language policies were promulgated by the military regime. The Kachin Independence Organization also repressed Tai Laing speakers, who lived in contested territory. In the 1990s, a military ceasefire enabled the Tai Laing to recover manuscripts, publish literacy books, and teach the language in summer schools. During the

2011–2015 Myanmar political reforms The 2011–2020 Myanmar political reforms were a series of political, economic and administrative reforms in Myanmar undertaken by the military-backed government. These reforms include the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from ...

, Khin Pyone Yee was appointed Kachin State's Minister of Shan Affairs. She spearheaded a program to institutionalize Tai Laing education materials and curricula. While Tai Laing is experiencing a linguistic revival driven by youth, many Tai Laing are now bilingual or monolingual in Burmese, due to assimilation and intermarriage with Burmese speakers.

Names

Alternate names for Tai Laing are Red Tai, Shan Bamar, Shan Kalee, Shan-ni (ရှမ်းနီ), Tai Laeng, Tai Lai, Tai Lang, Tai Nai, and Tai Naing (''Ethnologue'').

Distribution

Tai Laing is spoken in Homalin Township, Sagaing Region, along the Chindwin, Irrawaddy, and Uru rivers. It is also spoken in

from Bhamo to Myitkyina townships (''Ethnologue'').

Dialects

There are two subgroups of Tai Laing, namely Tai Nai and Tai Lai. The Tai Nai live along the railway line between Myitkyina and

Mandalay Mandalay ( or ; ) is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. Located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631km (392 miles) (Road Distance) north of Yangon, the city has a population of 1,225,553 (2014 census). Mandalay was fo ...

. The Tai Lai live along the river south of Myitkyina (''Ethnologue'').

References

Languages of Myanmar Tai languages {{tk-lang-stub