Daai language
 | This article includes a list of general references but lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (January 2026) |
| Dai | |
|---|---|
| Region | Myanmar |
| Ethnicity | Dai Chin |
Native speakers | 37,000 (2010)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | dao |
| Glottolog | dai1236 |
Daai(also known as Daai Chin), which borders the Mün and Ütbü language groups, is a Southern Kuki-Chin of Myanmar.[2] It is spoken in 142 villages in Kanpetlet, Matupi, Mindat, and Paletwa townships in Chin State, Burma (Ethnologue). A writing system for the Daai language was created in 1976 by U Kheng Sho and Ms. Halga So Hartmann. However, it is stated that this writing system is not intended for all Daai people.
Mutual intelligibility among Nghngilo (Yang), Daai Yindu, and Mkui groups is high, but is lower among other groups.[4] Daai has greater than 90% lexical similarity with Daai Yindu, Yang, Mkui, Duk, and Msang, 81%–88% with Ngxang (Paletwa township) and Kheng, 80% with Shiip (Matupi township), 91%–94% with Gah/Ng-Gha (part of Mün), and 81%–87% with Mün.[4]
Dialects
[edit]Ethnologue lists the following dialects of daai Chin.
- Ngxang
- Nghngilo (Yang)
- Ma-Tu
- Shiip
- Duk-Msang
- Kheng
- Mkuui
- Ngjääng
- Yet
Phonology
[edit]Consonants
[edit]Daai has twenty-four consonant phonemes.
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasals | m̥ m | n̥ n | ŋ̊ ŋ | ||
| Plosives | p pʰ b | t tʰ d | k kʰ | ʔ | |
| Fricatives | s sʰ | x ɣ | h | ||
| Lateral Fricatives | ɬ | ||||
| Approximants | w | l | j |
Vowels
[edit]Daai has seven vowel phonemes, each with a phonemic length contrast.
| Front | Central | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrounded | Rounded | |||
| High | i iː | ɯ ɯː | u uː | |
| Mid | ɛ ɛː | ə əː | ɔ ɔː | |
| Low | a aː | |||
Grammar
[edit]Daai Chin is an isolating or analytic language. There is no inflectional morphology at the word level; case, number, and tense are marked by clitics.
Examples
[edit]| Daai Chin | English |
|---|---|
| mthan | night |
| mpyong | mouth |
| kpyak | to destroy |
| pha | to arrive |
| Nghngaai-ktheih hmin lokti. | The mango fruits became ripe. |
| Mat jah mata i:ma am ngleh-ei ni. | They did not visit each other's houses. |
References
[edit]- ↑ Dai at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ↑ Hartmann-So, Helga (1989). "Morphophonemic changes in Daai Chin". Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area. 12 (2): 51. doi:10.32655/LTBA.12.2.07.
- ↑ Lian, Salai Van Cung; Salem-Gervais, Nicolas (November 2020). "How Many Chin Languages Should Be Taught in Government Schools? Ongoing developments and structural challenges of language-in-education policy in Chin State". Parami Journal of Education. 1 (1).
- 1 2 "Myanmar". Ethnologue: Languages of the World. 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-10-10.
- Naing Kheng. 2017. A phonological description of the Mkuui variety of Daai Chin Archived 2018-06-12 at the Wayback Machine. Master's Thesis.
- Helga So-Hartmann. 2009. A Descriptive Grammar of Daai Chin. The Regents University of California.
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