Pangkhu language

{{Short description|Kuki-Chin language spoken in Bangladesh}} {{Infobox language |name=Pangkhua |altname=Pangkhu |states=Bangladesh and India |region=Chittagong Hill Tracts (Bilaichari, Jorachari, Barkal & Baghaichari districts and parts of Rangamati district) and Mizoram (Chamdur valley and Adjacent hills in Lawngtlai district, Tlabung and West Phaileng subdivision) |ethnicity= Pangkho |speakers=3,200 in Bangladesh |date=2012 |ref=e18 |speakers2=unknown number in India<ref name=e18/> |familycolor=Sino-Tibetan |fam2=Tibeto-Burman |fam3=Central Tibeto-Burman (?) |fam4=Kuki-Chin-Naga |fam5=Kuki-Chin |fam6=Central |iso3=pkh |glotto=pank1249 |glottorefname=Pankhu }}

'''Pangkhua''' (Pangkhu), or '''Paang''', is a Kuki-Chin language primarily spoken in Bangladesh and India. Most speakers of Pangkhu are bilingual in Bengali or Mizo in the respective countries and most education in Pangkhu is conducted in that language.

Since there is essentially no literature in Pangkhua, other than oral folk tales and songs, the Pangkhua community members use Lushai literature. There are minimal language differences between Pangkhua, Tlanglau, Falam Chin, Bawm and Mizo.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kim|first=Amy|last2=Roy|date=2011|title=The Kuki-Chin Communities of Bangladesh: A sociolinguistic survey|url=http://www-01.sil.org/SILESR/2011/silesr2011-025.pdf|journal=SIL International}}</ref>

==Dialects== The dialects of the two main communities that use Pangkhu, Bilaichari and Konglak, share 88% of their basic vocabulary. Residents of Pangkhua Para refer to their village as Dinthar (IPA: {{IPA|/d̪int̪ʰar/}}; from Mizo ''d̪in'' 'stay' and Mizo and Pangkua ''t̪ʰar'' 'new')

== Phonology == Pangkhu has twenty-one consonant phonemes: {| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center |+Pangkhu consonants ! colspan="2" rowspan="2" | ! colspan="2" |Bilabial ! rowspan="2" |Labio-dental ! colspan="2" |Dental ! rowspan="2" |Alveolar ! rowspan="2" |Post-alveolar ! rowspan="2" |Palatal ! colspan="2" |Velar ! rowspan="2" |Glottal |- !plain !asp. !plain !asp. !plain !asp. |- ! rowspan="2" |Stop !Voiceless |{{IPAplink|p}} |pʰ {{angbr|ph}} | |{{IPA link|t̪}} {{angbr|t}} |t̪ʰ {{angbr|th}} | | | |{{IPA link|k}} |kʰ {{angbr|kh}} |({{IPA link|ʔ}}) |- !Voiced |{{IPA link|b}} | | |{{IPA link|d̪}} {{angbr|d}} | | | | | | | |- ! rowspan="2" |Fricative !Voiceless | | |{{IPA link|f}} | | | colspan="3" |{{IPA link|s}}~{{IPA link|ʃ}} | | |{{IPA link|h}}~{{IPA link|ʔ}} |- !Voiced | | |{{IPA link|v}} | | |{{IPA link|z}} | | | | | |- ! colspan="2" |Affricate | | | | | | |{{IPA link|t͡s}} {{angbr|ch}} | | | | |- ! colspan="2" |Rhotic | | | | | |{{IPA link|r}} | | | | | |- ! colspan="2" |Nasal |{{IPA link|m}} | | | | |{{IPA link|n}} | | |{{IPA link|ŋ}} {{angbr|ng}} | | |- ! colspan="2" |Glide |{{IPA link|w}} | | | | | | |{{IPA link|j}} {{angbr|y}} | | | |- ! colspan="2" |Lateral | | | | | |{{IPA link|l}} | | | | | |} However, only unaspirated voiceless stops, /h/, /r/, /m/, /n/, /ŋ/, and /l/ may occur at syllable coda. When stops occur in coda position, they are not audibly released. The glottal fricative /h/ may be deleted syllable-initially.

There are also seven vowel phonemes: {| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center |+ ! !Front !Central !Back |- !High |{{IPA link|i}} | |{{IPA link|u}} |- !Close-mid |{{IPA link|e}} | | |- !Mid | |{{IPA link|ə}} | |- !Open-mid | | |{{IPA link|ʌ}} |- !Low |{{IPA link|ɑ}} | |{{IPA link|ɒ}} |} The vowel [æ] serves as an allophone of /e/ and [o] serves as an allophone of /u/. Vowel length contrasts occur only in closed syllables and diphthongs. There are 9 diphthongs, these being /ɑi/, /ɑu/, /ei/, /eu/, /əu/, /ou/, /iɑ/, /uɑ/, and /ui/. Diphthongs and long vowels are monophthongized following another syllable.

The basic syllable structure of Pangkhu is (C)(L)V(X), with L being a lateral consonant and X being a coda consonant.

There are two tones: a high tone and low tone.<ref>{{cite book |last=Akter |first=Zahid |title=A Grammar of Pangkhua |date=2024 |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |location=Berlin, Boston |doi=10.1515/9783111387673}}</ref>

== Morphology ==

=== Derivational affixes ===

==== Diminutive and augmentative ==== Augmentative ''-pui'' and diminutive ''-te'' can be affixed to kinship terms in order to denote relative age or size. {| class="wikitable" |+Pangkhua diminutives and augmentatives !Root !Gloss !Diminutive !Augmentative |- |''pɑ'' |father |''pɑte'' 'father's younger brother' |''pɑpui'' 'father's elder brother' |- |''nu'' |mother |''nute'' 'mother's younger sister' |''nupui'' 'mother's elder sister' |- |''thing'' |tree |''thingte'' 'tree-plant' |''thingpui'' 'big tree' |- |''tui'' |water |''tuite'' 'small river' |''tuipui'' 'river' |- |''kut'' |hand |''kutte'' 'little finger' |''kutpui'' 'thumb' |}

==== Gender ==== The gender suffixes ''-pɑ'' and -''mɑ'' may derive a new referent from a root, as in ''lɑl'' 'monarch', ''lɑlpɑ'' 'king, and ''lɑlnu'' 'queen'.

==== Negation ==== Negation -ləu can be suffixed to a root to denote its opposite, as in ''dam'' 'healthy' and ''damləu'' 'sick'.

=== Noun forms === In Pangkhua, only human nouns can be marked for plurality and only animate marked for gender. Relator nouns share a function similar to adpositions in other languages. {| class="wikitable" |+Relator nouns !Semantics !Form !Gloss |- | rowspan="9" |Locational |''kiɑng'' |by |- |''kung'' |'from, near' |- |''lɑi'' |'between' |- |''ler'' |'at the top' |- |''mɑng'' |'in front' |- |''nuɑi'' |'under' |- |''sung'' |'inside' |- |''chung'' |'on top' |- |''nung'' |'behind, later' |- |Temporal |''sung/hun'' |'during' |- |Directional |''kɑng'' |'by' |- |Associative |''ruɑl'' |'with' |- |Ablative |''thɒ(k)'' |'from' |- |Benefactive |''(mə)rɑng'' |'for' |}

==References== {{Reflist}}

== Bibliography == {{cite book |last=Akter |first=Zahid |title=A Grammar of Pangkhua |location=Berlin, Boston |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |date=2024 |doi=10.1515/9783111387673}}

== Further reading == * {{cite book |last=Hock |first=Hans Henrich |chapter=The languages, their histories, and their genetic classification |title=The Languages and Linguistics of South Asia: A Comprehensive Guide |editor1=Hans Henrich Hock |editor2=Elena Bashir |pages=9-240 [145] |location=Berlin, Boston |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |date=2016 |doi=10.1515/9783110423303-003}} * Akter, Zahid (2016). "[http://dspace.ewubd.edu:8080/bitstream/handle/123456789/2090/Zahid_Akter.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y The Endangerment and Documentation of the Pangkhua Language in Bangladesh]". In: ''EWUCRT Working Paper'' no 10. East West University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. * {{cite book |last=DeLancey |first=Scott |chapter=Classifying Trans-Himalayan (Sino-Tibetan) languages |title=The Languages and Linguistics of Mainland Southeast Asia: A comprehensive guide |editor1=Paul Sidwell |editor2=Mathias Jenny |pages=207-224 [215-216] |location=Berlin, Boston |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |date=2021 |doi=10.1515/9783110558142-012}} * {{Cite journal |last=Akter |first=Mohammed Zahid |date=2024-08-21 |title=An overview of Pangkhua: A South Central Tibeto-Burman (Kuki-Chin) language of Bangladesh |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/58g4915h |journal=Himalayan Linguistics |volume=23 |issue=2 |doi=10.5070/H923259047 |issn=1544-7502|doi-access=free }}

==External links== *[http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/4971 Endangered Languages Profile for Panghku]

Category:Kuki-Chin languages Category:Sino-Tibetan languages Category:Kuki-Chin–Naga languages Category:Languages of Bangladesh Category:Languages of Mizoram