The Tani language, often referred to as Tani languages, encompasses a group of closely related languages spoken by the
Tani people
The Tani people include the Adi, Apatani, Galo, Mising, Nyishi, and Tagin ethnic groups of India and China. As members of the Tibeto-Burman ethnic group, they speak various Tani languages and primarily reside in the Indian states of Arunac ...
in the northeastern region of India, primarily in the Indian states of
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
Assam
Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...
. These languages belong to the Sino-Tibetan family and include several major dialects such as in
Mising,
Galo,
Apatani,
Adi,
Tagin, and
Nyishi.
Background
The Tani languages are spoken by about 2,170,500 people of
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 ...
, including the
Adi,
Apatani,
Galo,
Mising,
Nyishi,
Tagin, and of the
East Kameng,
West Kameng
West Kameng (pronounced ) is a district of Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India. It accounts for 8.86% of the total area of the state. The name is derived from the Kameng river, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, that flows through the distric ...
,
Papumpare,
Lower Subansiri,
Upper Subansiri,
West Siang,
East Siang,
Upper Siang,
Lower Dibang Valley and
Lohit district
Lohit () is an administrative district in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in India. The district headquarters is located at Tezu. As of 2011 it is the third most populous district of Arunachal Pradesh, after Papum Pare and Changlang.
Etymol ...
s of Arunachal Pradesh and
Dhemaji,
North Lakhimpur,
Sonitpur,
Majuli
Majuli (also spelled Majoli) is the largest river island in Assam, a state in northeastern India. It is bordered by the Brahmaputra River to the South and East, the Subansiri River to the West, and an anabranch of the Brahmaputra River.
The is ...
etc. districts of Assam. In Arunachal Pradesh alone the Tani-speaking area covers some 40,000 square kilometers, or roughly half the size of the state. Scattered Tani communities spill over the Sino-Indian border into adjacent areas in
Mêdog (
Miguba people),
Mainling (
Bokar and Tagin peoples), and
Lhünzê (
Bangni,
Na,
Bayi, Dazu, and
Mara
Mara or MARA may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Mara (''Doctor Who''), an evil being in two ''Doctor Who'' serials
* Mara (She-Ra), fictional characters from the ''She-Ra and the Princesses of Power'' and ''The New Advent ...
peoples) counties of Tibet.
The name ''Tani'' was originally suggested by Jackson Tianshin Sun in his 1993 doctoral dissertation.
Classification
The Tani languages are conservatively classified as a distinct branch in Sino-Tibetan. Their closest relatives may be their eastern neighbors the
Digaro languages
The Digaro (Digarish), Northern Mishmi (Mishmic), or Kera'a–Tawrã languages are a possible small family of possibly Sino-Tibetan languages spoken by the Mishmi people of southeastern Tibet and Arunachal Pradesh.
The languages are Idu language ...
, Taraon and Idu; this was first suggested by Sun (1993), but a relationship has not yet been systematically demonstrated. Blench (2014) suggests that Tani has a
Greater Siangic substratum
Substrata, plural of substratum, may refer to:
*Earth's substrata, the geologic layering of the Earth
*''Hypokeimenon'', sometimes translated as ''substratum'', a concept in metaphysics
*Substrata (album), a 1997 ambient music album by Biosphere
* ...
, with the Greater Siangic languages being a non-Sino-Tibetan language family consisting of
Idu-
Taraon and
Siangic languages.
Mark Post (2015) observes that Tani typologically fits into the
Mainland Southeast Asia linguistic area
The Mainland Southeast Asia linguistic area is a sprachbund including languages of the Sino-Tibetan, Hmong–Mien (or Miao–Yao), Kra–Dai, Austronesian and Austroasiatic families spoken in an area stretching from Thailand to China. Neighb ...
, which typically has creoloid morphosyntactic patterns, rather than with the languages of the Tibetosphere. Post (2015) also notes that Tani culture is similar to those of Mainland Southeast Asian hill tribe cultures, and is not particularly adapted to cold montane environments.
A provisional classification in Sun (1993), who argued that Tani is a primary branch of
Tibeto-Burman (within Sino-Tibetan), is:
*Tani
**Eastern Tani (
Adi/Abor)
***?
Damu
***
Bori
***
Mishing ( Plains Miri) – Padam (Bor Abor) – Minyong
***
Bokar (incl. Palibo & Ramo)
**Western Tani
***
Apatani ( Tani)
***Nishi
****
Nishi ( E. Dafla, Nishing; possibly including Nyisu,
Yano),
Tagin ( W. Dafla),
Bangni ( Na),
Hill Miri ( Sarak), ?
Gallong ( Duba, Galo)
To Eastern Tani, van Driem (2008) adds the following possible languages:
:
Tangam
Milang has traditionally been classified as a divergent Tani language, but in 2011 was tentatively reclassified as
Siangic (Post & Blench 2011).
Proto-Tani was partially reconstructed by Sun (1993). A large number of reconstructed roots have cognates in other Sino-Tibetan languages. However, a great deal of Proto-Tani vocabulary have no cognates within Sino-Tibetan (Post 2011), and most Tani grammar seems to be secondary, without cognates in grammatically conservative Sino-Tibetan languages such as
Jingpho or the
Kiranti languages
The Kiranti languages are a major family of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in Nepal and India (notably Sikkim, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and Bhutan) by the Kirati people.
External relationships
George van Driem had formerly proposed that the K ...
(Post 2006). Post (2012) suggests that Apatani and Milang have non-Tani substrata, and that as early Tani languages had expanded deeper into Arunachal Pradesh, mixing with non-Tani languages occurred.
Mark Post (2013) proposes the following revised classification for the Tani languages.
*Tani
**?
Milang
**Eastern Tani
***''
Bori''
***
Siang (Adi)
****''
Minyong''
****''
Mising''
****''
Pasi
Pasi may refer to:
* Pasi (caste), a Hindu caste of northern India
* Pasi (film), ''Pasi'' (film), a 1979 Tamil film
* Pasi (given name)
* Pasi (surname), a surname of the Pasi community
* Pasi, Papua New Guinea, a settlement near the coast of San ...
''
****''
Padam''
****''
Bokar''
**Pre-Western Tani
***''
Tangam'', ''
Damu''?
***Western Tani
****''
Apatani''
****Subansiri
*****''
Bangni-
Tagin''
*****''
Nyishi–
Hill Miri''
*****
Galo
******''Lare''
******''Pugo''
The undocumented
Ashing language presumably belongs here.
However, Macario (2015) notes that many Apatani words are closer to reconstructions of
Proto-Tibeto-Burman (Matisoff 2003) than to Proto-Tani (Sun 1993). Possible explanations include Apatani having a substratum belonging to an extinct Tibeto-Burman branch or language phylum, or linguistic variation in Proto-Tani.
Isoglosses
Sun (1993: 254–255) lists the following 25 lexical
isogloss
An isogloss, also called a heterogloss, is the geographic boundary of a certain linguistics, linguistic feature, such as the pronunciation of a vowel, the meaning of a word, or the use of some morphological or syntactic feature. Isoglosses are a ...
es between Western Tani and Eastern Tani.
Tani Language Foundation
The
Tani Language Foundation (TLF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and revitalizing the linguistic and cultural heritage of the Tani people, an indigenous group primarily residing in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, India. Established by a group of college students of Tani ethnicity, TLF focuses on unifying the various dialects of the Tani languages and ensuring their continued relevance in contemporary society.
Founded by Luke Rimmo (Mingkeng) Lego and Takar Mili, TLF focuses on preserving the various dialects of the Tani languages and ensuring their continued relevance in contemporary society.
Proposed writing system

A new alphabetical writing system for Tani languages was invented by Tony Koyu, a social scientist from Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh. It was first presented at a seminar at the
North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology
North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology (or NERIST) is a science and technology oriented higher education institute in Nirjuli, Itanagar, Papum Pare district, in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Established in 1984, it ...
at
Nirjuli, Arunachal Pradesh in November 2001. It is borrowed and created using the
Devanagari
Devanagari ( ; in script: , , ) is an Indic script used in the Indian subcontinent. It is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental systems: alphabets, writing system), based on the ancient ''Brāhmī script, Brā ...
and
Bengali–Assamese writing systems.
The script has faced considerable criticism, with detractors questioning its authenticity and cultural relevance. A key argument against the script is that it appears to be heavily influenced by the Devanagari script rather than being an indigenous creation. Critics point out that the use of the term "Lipi", derived from Hindi, raises concerns about the script's originality and its alignment with local traditions. Furthermore, some view this initiative as a subtle attempt to promote cultural assimilation with North India, potentially at the expense of the unique linguistic and cultural identity of the Tani people. Additionally, Tani Lipi does not account for the tonal nature of the Tani languages, which is a critical feature for accurate representation and pronunciation.
Furthermore, Tani Lipi is often criticized for its limited applicability, as it primarily suits the Galo language, that too only in limited settings and does not adequately serve the diverse Tani linguistic group. This limitation hinders its broader acceptance and usefulness across the different Tani-speaking communities. These criticisms underscore the challenges in creating a unifying script for a linguistically diverse group while ensuring it retains cultural authenticity and practical utility.
See also
*
Siangic languages
*
Greater Siangic languages
Notes
References
* Bradley, David, 1997. "Tibeto-Burman languages and classification." In David Bradley, ed. ''Tibeto-Burman languages of the Himalayas.'' Canberra, Australian National University Press: 1–72. .
* Blench, Roger (2014).
Fallen leaves blow away: a neo-Hammarstromian approach to Sino-Tibetan classification'. Presentation given at the University of New England, Armidale, 6 September 2014.
* James A. Matisoff, 2003.
The Handbook of Proto-Tibeto-Burman: System and Philosophy of Sino-Tibetan Reconstruction'' Berkeley, University of California Press. .
* van Driem, George, 2001. ''Languages of the Himalayas: An Ethnolinguistic Handbook of the Greater Himalayan Region.'' Brill. .
* Post, Mark, 2006.
Compounding and the structure of the Tani lexicon" ''Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area'' 29 (1): 41–60.
* Post, Mark, 2011. "Isolate substrates, creolization and the internal diversity of Tibeto-Burman." ''Workshop on The Roots of Linguistic Diversity.'' The Cairns Institute, James Cook University, Australia, June 9–10.
* Post, Mark, 2012. "The language, culture, environment and origins of Proto-Tani speakers: What is knowable, and what is not (yet)." In T. Huber and S. Blackburn, Eds. ''Origins and Migrations in the Extended Eastern Himalayas''. Leiden, Brill: 161–194. .
* Post, Mark W. and Roger Blench, 2011.
Siangic: A new language phylum in North East India" ''6th International Conference of the North East Indian Linguistics Society'', Tezpur University, Assam, India, January 29 – February 2.
* Sun, Tianshin Jackson, 1993
''A Historical–Comparative Study of the Tani (Mirish) Branch in Tibeto-Burman.''Berkeley, University of California PhD Dissertation.
{{Languages of Northeast India
Languages of Assam