Tarao (Tarao Naga), or ''Taraotrong'', is an unclassified

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 spea ...

(possibly Southern Naga) language of Burma. It is marginally (70%) intelligible with Chothe.

Locations

According to the ''

Ethnologue ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' (stylized as ''Ethnoloɠue'') is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world. It is the world's most comprehensiv ...

'', Tarao is spoken in Heikakpokpi, Leishokching, and Khuringmul Laiminei villages in the Palel area of

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 ...

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a 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 also borders two regions of Myanm ...

, as well as in Sinakeithei village of

Ukhrul district Ukhrul district ( Meitei pronunciation:/ˈuːkˌɹəl or ˈuːkˌɹʊl/) is an administrative district of the state of Manipur in India with its headquarters at Ukhrul, that is Hunphun. The district occupies the north-eastern corner of the state ...

. Singh (2011:109)Singh, Ch. Yashawanta. 2011. "Linguistic Ecology of Tarao." In Singh, Shailendra Kumar (ed). ''Linguistic Ecology of Manipur''. Guwahati: EBH Publishers. lists the Tarao villages as Tarao Khullen (Tarao Laimanai), Leishok Ching, Khuringmul, and Heikamul in

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 ...

, Manipur. There are also about 8 families in Shajkeithel,

Ukhrul District Ukhrul district ( Meitei pronunciation:/ˈuːkˌɹəl or ˈuːkˌɹʊl/) is an administrative district of the state of Manipur in India with its headquarters at Ukhrul, that is Hunphun. The district occupies the north-eastern corner of the state ...

. The 2001 census reported a population of 870 Tarao people.

References

Southern Naga languages Languages of Manipur Endangered languages of India {{St-lang-stub