LINGUISTIC RESOURCES FOR
Northeast India remains the least well-known part of |
|
The page begins with a table which allows you to access resources on
individual families and continues with a general description of the
linguistic makeup of the region. The
languages of |
Phylum |
Branches/Categories |
Tani, Naga,
Bodish, Bodo-Garo,
Kuki-Chin, Karbi, Lolo-Burmese |
|
Austroasiatic |
Munda, Khasian, ? Palaungic |
Indo-European |
Indo-Aryan |
Tai-Kadai |
Tai |
Title |
Date |
Author(s) |
Rethinking Sino-Tibetan phylogeny
from the perspective of Northeast Indian languages. In: Selected papers from the 16th Himalayan Languages Symposium,
September 2010. Nathan Hill & Tom Owen-Smith eds. 71-104. |
2013 |
Roger Blench & Mark
Post |
2015 |
Roger Blench |
|
(De)classifying Arunachal
(unpublished paper) |
2012 |
Roger Blench & Mark
Post |
Languages of Arunachal Pradesh: more Amazonia
than the British Isles? Powerpoint presentation at the Berner Linguistische Zirkel, 13th April, 2011 |
2011 |
Roger Blench |
Linguistic
background to Northeast India
|
Arunachal Pradesh in
particular is inhabited by populations whose languages are hard to classify.
Most have been treated as Tibeto-Burman although without any good evidence.
Many languages are known only by name; no material has ever been published on
them, and their actual affiliation remains unproven. |
|
Archaeology and prehistory
remains poorly developed in |
|
In the earliest period, from
the Palaeolithic onwards, the region must have been inhabited by highly
diverse hunter-gatherers. These would undoubtedly have spoken a variety of
languages, which have largely diapppeared today, although evidence for them
may survive as substrates in existing languages. Only in Arunachal Pradesh,
where we find languages that are difficult to classify, such as Puroik, Mey,
Bugun, Koro, Hruso and Miji, are there probable survivals from this period.
Elsewhere, such as in the Khasi Hills and the |
|
The first clear evidence for
the expansion in the region of an outside population is the spread of
Austroasiatic. Only one Austroasiatic language, Khasi, is spoken in |
|
Following this era, which
may have been around 3500 years ago, there was an expansion of Sino-Tibetan
languages. The exact homeland of Sino-Tibetan and the period at which it
began to expand is much disputed. However, some of the incursions into |
|
Scattered across the region
are various languages which constitute individual branches of Sino-Tibetan,
including the Meithei and the Karbi [Mikir]. Two very widespread branches of
Sino-Tibetan represented in |
|
Around the tenth century,
perhaps earlier, came the expansion of Indo-Aryan. This is represented
principally by the eastward extension of Bengali into the flood plains of the
|
|
The last major expansion
was the Tai-Ahom. Representing the westernmost branch of the Tai languages,
these peoples entered the region in the early Middle Ages, probably
originally as a military expansion. Indeed, some of their forts can still be
seen in the region of Itanagar. After their kingdoms broke up, they dispersed
and became small village-oriented populations, which persist as the Khamti
and others. Unlike many of the peoples in this region, the Tai had their own
writing system, so there is a certain amount of information concerning their
history. |
|
The British colonial era
also had an important impact on language and ethnic distribution. Tibetan
military expansion was under way in the late nineteenth century and British
opposition effectively froze this process. At the same time, the cessation of
chronic warfare among the hill peoples allowed some of them to move south
into the plains without fear of attack. The southern distribution of the
Tani-speaking Mishing is a likely reflection of this process. |
Bibliography
Aisher, Alexander. 2006. Through
spirits: tribal cosmology and landscape ecology in Arunachal Pradesh, northeast
Aisher, Alexander 2007. Voices of
uncertainty: spirits, humans and forests in upland
Blackburn, Stuart 2003/2004. Memories of
migration: notes on migration legends and material culture in Arunachal
Pradesh. European Bulletin of Himalayan Research, 25/26: 15–60.
Blackburn, Stuart 2005. Die reise der Seele: bestattungsritualen und oralen
texten in Arunachal Pradesh, Indien [The journey of
the soul: funeral rituals and oral texts in Arunachal Pradesh
Blackburn, Stuart 2007. Oral stories and
culture areas: from northeast
Hamilton, Angus 1912. In Abor Jungles:
Being an Account of the Abor Expedition, the Mishmi Expedition and the Miri
Mission.
MacKenzie, Alexander 1989 [1884]. History
of the Relations of the Government with the Hill Tribes of the North-East
Frontier of Bengal.
Pandey, B. B. 1981. Festivals of
Subansiri. Shillong: Government of Arunachal Pradesh.
Tarr, Michael Aram and Stuart Blackburn
2008. Through the Eye of Time: Photographs of Arunachal Pradesh, 1859–2006.