Sangtam language

Sangtam
Sangtam
Thukumi, Sangtam Naga
Lophomi
Native to	Nagaland, India
Region	East-central Nagaland, Tuensang and Khiphire districts
Ethnicity	Sangtam
Native speakers	76,000 (2011 census)
Language family	Sino-Tibetan Tibeto-Burman Central Tibeto-Burman (?) Kuki-Chin–Naga Central Naga Sangtam; ; ; ; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	nsa
Glottolog	sang1321

Sangtam, also called Thukumi, Isachanure, or Lophomi, is a Naga language spoken in northeast India. It is spoken in Kiphire District and in the Longkhim-Chare circle in Tuensang district, Nagaland, India.

Dialects

Ethnologue lists the following dialects of Sangtam.

Kizare
Pirr (Northern Sangtam)
Phelongre
Thukumi (Central Sangtam)
Photsimi
Purr (Southern Sangtam)

The standardized dialect of Sangtam is based on the Tsadanger village speech variety.

Phonology

Sangtam is unusual in having two stops with bilabial trilled release, /t̪͡ʙ̥, t̪͡ʙ̥ʰ/, which contrast with each other phonemically.^[2]^[3]

Consonants^[2]^[3]
		Labial	Dental/ Alveolar	Retroflex	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal		m	n		ɲ	ŋ^[a]
Plosive	plain	p	t̪	ʈʵ	c	k^[b]
Plosive	aspirated	pʰ	t̪ʰ	ʈʰʵ	cʰ	kʰ
Affricate	plain	t̪͡ʙ̥^[c]	t̪͡s		t͡ʃ
Affricate	aspirated	t̪͡ʙ̥ʰ	t̪͡sʰ		t͡ʃʰ
Fricative	voiceless	(f)	s		ʃ	x	h
Fricative	voiced	v	z
Approximant			l	ɻ	j

^ The velar nasal /ŋ/ is in free variation with a null realization [∅] syllable-finally when preceded by a nasalized vowel.
^ The unaspirated velar plosive /k/ is realized as a glottal stop [ʔ] in coda position.
^ The trill in unaspirated /t̪͡ʙ̥/ is typically voiced as [t̪͡ʙ] when word-medial.

Vowels^[2]
	Front	Back
Close	i	u
Close-mid	e	o
Open/ Open-mid	a	ʌ

All vowels can have high, mid, or low tone

References

^ "Statement 1: Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues - 2011". www.censusindia.gov.in. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c Coupe, Alexander (2015). "Prestopped bilabial trills in Sangtam". Proceedings of the 18th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences, Glasgow, 10–14 August 2015. Glasgow: University of Glasgow. ISBN 978-0-85261-941-4. Paper no. 0734.1–5.
^ ^a ^b Coupe, Alexander (2020), "Northern Sangtam phonetics, phonology and word list" (PDF), Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area, 43 (1): 148–189, doi:10.1075/ltba.19014.cou

[ng-4] The velar nasal /ŋ/ is in free variation with a null realization [∅] syllable-finally when preceded by a nasalized vowel.

[k-5] The unaspirated velar plosive /k/ is realized as a glottal stop [ʔ] in coda position.

[tb-6] The trill in unaspirated /t̪͡ʙ̥/ is typically voiced as [t̪͡ʙ] when word-medial.

[1] "Statement 1: Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues - 2011". www.censusindia.gov.in. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 7 July 2018.

[Coupe-2] Coupe, Alexander (2015). "Prestopped bilabial trills in Sangtam". Proceedings of the 18th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences, Glasgow, 10–14 August 2015. Glasgow: University of Glasgow. ISBN 978-0-85261-941-4. Paper no. 0734.1–5.

[Coupe2020-3] Coupe, Alexander (2020), "Northern Sangtam phonetics, phonology and word list" (PDF), Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area, 43 (1): 148–189, doi:10.1075/ltba.19014.cou

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