Milang language

Milang is a Siangic or Tani language of Upper Siang district, Arunachal Pradesh, India. It is spoken in the 3 villages of Milang, Dalbing, and Pekimodi, located in Mariyang Subdivision, Upper Siang District, Arunachal Pradesh (Tayeng 1976).

Milang has traditionally been classified as the most divergent of the Tani languages, hence ultimately Sino-Tibetan. Post & Blench (2011) reclassified it as Siangic, on the basis of clear correspondences with the Koro language in vocabulary that may not ultimately be of Sino-Tibetan origin. The implication is that Milang may, like other Siangic languages, harbour a non-Sino-Tibetan substrate, or may be a non-Sino-Tibetan language with Sino-Tibetan features acquired through prolonged contact, perhaps with the neighbouring and much larger Padam tribe, who speak an Eastern Tani language.