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Tanchangya language

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Tanchangya
𑄖𑄧𑄐𑄴𑄌𑄧𑄁𑄉𑄴𑄡
'Tanchangya' in Tanchangya/Chakma script
Native toBangladesh
RegionChittagong Hill Tracts (Bangladesh)
Mizoram and Tripura (India)
Rakhine State (Myanmar)
EthnicityTanchangya people
Native speakers
46,000 (2022)[1]
Tanchangya alphabet
Language codes
ISO 639-3tnv
Glottologtang1330

The Tanchangya language is one of the eleven indigenous languages in Chittagong Hill Tracts in present-day Bangladesh, and an ethnic group in the Indian states of Tripura and Mizoram, as well as Rakhine State in Myanmar. Despite the common belief that it is a Tibeto-Burman language, it is categorized as a Indo-Aryan language.[2] It is closely related to Chakma and Chittagonian.

Linguistic Analysis

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Tanchangyas people primarily speak Tanchangya language. The language category is debatable. According to Rupak Debnath Tanchangya retains several features of Tibeto-Burman, viz., dentalisation of palatal and palate-alveolar obstruents, aspiration of word initial [t], substitution of [r] by [j] in the environment of the palatal vowel [i], and occurrence of tone contrasts with changes in laryngeal and supra-laryngeal setting of phonemes.[3]

Vocabulary

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Tanchangya language has many words Indo-Aryan languages, with mixture of Pali, Sanskrit, Prakrit and other middle-Indo-Aryan languages. It also maintains some of the Burmanised words in their language, particularly in Buddhist terminologies.

Ancient Tanchangya language

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Ancient Tanchangya's words are believed to be the original words of Tanchangya since those words have been handing down a long time ago. It is not simply due to its earlier usage but it is universally understood by every Tanchangya despite any geographical distribution. According to Roti Kanta Tanchangya's collection of some ancient Tanchangya words.[4]

Tanchangya English
Mwga (মগা) Uneducated, uncivilised
Awnsur (অন্সুর্) Regularly, always
Awnawpinaw (অন-পিন); Awnaw-sawnaw (অন- সনঅ) Insane, foolish
Awrawk (অরক্) Nest
Hawla (হলা) Fry, thick shrub bushes
Awsangya (অসাঙ্যা); Besangya (বেসাঙ্যা) An unmarriageable relation
A-uk/Aruk (আ-উক্, আরুক্) Picture; Sketch

Middle Indo-Aryan

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The ancient Indo-Aryan language, Sanskrit is the most influential language impacting on most of the present middle-Indo-Aryan languages such as without Hindi, and with Odiya, Bengali, and Assamese and even in Tanchangya language with distorted and half assimilated form. Though the Tanchangya language is thought to be the Indo-Aryan language family, due to its long gap of meeting with Pāḷi and Sanskrit, their vocabularies are almost untraceable distorted forms. According to ‘Tanchangya Parichiti’ written by Biro Kumar Tanchangya of the words originated from the Indo-Aryan language.

Tanchangya Pāḷi/Sanskrit English
Manai, Manei, Manus, Manuit (মানাই, মানেই, মানুইস্, মানুউত্) Manussa/Manusa Man
Mela (মেলা) Mahilā Woman
Ucu, Uju (উচু, উজু) Uju (Pāḷi) Straight

Tibeto-Burman

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Tanchangay language belongs to Tibeto-Burman language family; hence, today there are many Buddhist religious’ terms are found in the Tanchangya Language. According to Rupak Debnath, 'During the 14th century, Daingnak group absorbed several Marma elements into them, even acquired something of the Marma’s language and adopted Marma script and numerals.[5]

Myanmar language and its culture influence to the neighbouring tribes in many ways.

Tanchangya Myanmar/Arakanese English
Pullyang/Pillang (পুল্ল্যাং পিলাং) Palawng (Burmese) A traditional cane-basket
Pullang (পুলাং) Paleing (Burmese) Bottle
Dama Tagawl (ডামা তাগল্) Straight Knife
Mawng Mawng (Burmese) Gong

Foreign words

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In the Tanchangya language it could also find few vocabularies derived from Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Dutch, Turkish, Persian, French, English, and Hindi.

Tanchangya Arabic/English/ French English
Awktaw (অক্ত) Owakta (Arabic) Time
Gawrba (গর্বা) Gorba(Arabic) Guest
Gamala/Gabala (গাবালা, গামালা) Gamela (Portuguese) Bucket
Balti (বাল্তি) Balde (Portuguese) Bucket

Opinions on Tanchangya language

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Outside the Tanchangya tribe, there is a common belief that there is no difference at all between Tanchangya language and Chakma language. Such an instance can be seen at Dr. Satyakam Phukan's article named “An Analysis of the Ethno-Linguistic Roots and Connections of the Chakma and Tanchangya People”. According to him, the similarity is much compared to the difference between the words between Chakma and Tanchangya.[6] His analysis is basically from morphological perspective.

Tanchangya Chakma English
Bitsyawl Bijawl Smooth
Pawd, Jangal Pawt Road
Awna sawna Suli sawlaw Half-brain
Diri, Bilawng Dighawli Long time

References

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  1. ^ Tanchangya at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024) Closed access icon
  2. ^ Debnath, Rupak (2008). Ethnographic Study of Tanchangya of CHT, CADC, Sittwe, and South Tripura. Kolkata: Kreativmind, India. p. 167.
  3. ^ Debnath, Rupak (2008). Ethnographic Study of Tanchangya of CHT, CADC, Sittwe, and South Tripura. Kolkata: Kreativmind, India. p. 71.
  4. ^ Roti Kanta Tanchangya (2000): 62-65
  5. ^ Debnath, Rupak (2008). Ethnographic Study of Tanchangya of CHT, CADC, Sittwe, and South Tripura. Kolkata: Kreativmind, India. p. 88.
  6. ^ "An Analysis of the Ethno-Linguistic Roots and Connections of the Chakma-Tanchangya People" (PDF). Dr Satyakam Phukan's Webpages. 1 July 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
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