Milang language

Milang
Holon, Dalbo
Native toIndia
RegionArunachal Pradesh
Ethnicity4,000
Native speakers
2,150 (2011)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3None (mis)
Glottologmila1245
ELPMilang

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

Classification

[edit]

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.

References

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  • Modi, Milorai (2007). The Millangs. Itanagar: Himalayan Publishers. ISBN 81-86393-72-2.
  • Modi, Yankee. 2017. The Milang Language: Grammar and Texts. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Bern.
  • Post, Mark W. and Roger Blench (2011). "Siangic: A new language phylum in North East India", 6th International Conference of the North East India Linguistics Society, Tezpur University, Assam, India, Jan 31 – Feb 2.
  • Tayeng, Aduk (1976). Milang phrase-book. Shillong: The Director of Information and Public Relations, Arunachal Pradesh.
[edit]
  1. ^ Post, Mark W.; Modi, Yankee. "Language contact and the genetic position of Milang (Eastern Himalaya)". 2011. Anthropological Linguistics 53.3: 215-258.