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 | |
|---|---|
| Holon | |
| Dalbo | |
| Region | Arunachal Pradesh |
Native speakers | around 2,000 |
Possibly Sino-Tibetan
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
| Glottolog | mila1245[1] |
Classification
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
- Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Milang". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
- 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.