Khamyang language
| Khamyang | |
|---|---|
| Native to | India |
| Region | Assam |
| Ethnicity | 810 Khamyang people (1981 census) |
|
Native speakers
|
50 (2003) |
|
Tai–Kadai
|
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Either: ksu – Khamyang nrr – Nora |
|
Linguist list
|
nrr |
| Glottolog | kham1291 |
Khamyang is a critically endangered Tai language of India, spoken by the Khamyang people. Approximately fifty people speak the language; all reside in the village of Powaimukh, located seven miles downstream of Margherita in the Tinsukia district district. It is closely related to the other Tai languages in the Assam region: Tai Ahom, Aiton, Khamti, Phake, and Turung.
The Khamyang (also spelled Kamjang, Khamjang) language is in a critically endangered state. It is only spoken as a mother tongue in Powaimukh, and only by no more than fifty older adults. It is used by the older adults to communicate with one another, in specific religious and ritual times, and when in contact with other Tai speakers. Only two Khamyang speakers can read the language: Chaw Sa Myat Chowlik, and Chaw Cha Seng. Both are elderly, and were born in 1920 and 1928, respectively. Additionally, the resident monk, Etika Bhikku, who natively speaks Tai Phake, is fluent in the Tai script. In addition to the older generation of full speakers, there is a middle generation of semi-speakers of Khamyang. Morey writes that their knowledge has not yet fully been investigated. Also, children in Pawaimukh have some knowledge of the language.
The phonetic transcription of Khamyang's name for the village is maan3 paa1 waai6, and its Assamese/English name Pawoimukh. According to Chaw Sa Myat, waai6 means rattan, and was given because rattan plants grow on the river. There are several variants of the spelling: Pawaimukh, Powaimukh, and others; the 2011 census of India lists the village as Powai Mukh No. 2, as does Google Earth. The translation of the village's Khamyang name is "Village of the Pawai River."
The Khamyangs are also sometimes referred to as the Nora, although Morey notes that he has never heard the remaining Khamyang speakers refer to themselves as Nora.
Very little has been written about the origin, language, and history of the Khamyang people. In 1981, Muhi Chandra Shyam Panjok discussed the history of the Khamyangs. Panjok's account begins with a group of Tai, who in the future would be called Khamyangs, being sent into Assam by Tai King Sukhanpha. Their goal was to search for the king's brother Sukapha, the founder of the Ahom Kingdom in the Brahmaputra valley in 1228. After finding Sukapha and returning to King Sukhanpha, the Khamyangs settled at the Nawng Yang lake and lived there for approximately 500 years. Leach believes the lake to the south of the Tirap River, and cites the lake as the origin of the name "Khamyang". In 1780, the Khamyangs resettled in the Assam region and became divided in the troubles of the final years of the Ahom Kingdom, fighting "with and against" the Ahoms.
...
Wikipedia