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Taman language (Myanmar)

April 12, 2024

Taman is an extinct Sino-Tibetan language that was spoken in Htamanthi village in Homalin Township, Sagaing Region, northern Myanmar. It was documented in a list of 75 words in Brown (1911). Keisuke Huziwara (2016)[1] discovered an elderly rememberer of Taman in Htamanthi who could remember some Taman phrases as well as a short song, but was not fluent in the Taman language. However, no fluent speakers of Taman remained in the area.

Taman
Native toMyanmar
RegionHtamanthi, Sagaing Region
EthnicityShan
Extinct1931[1][2]
Sino-Tibetan
  • (unclassified)
    • Taman
Language codes
ISO 639-3tcl
Glottologtama1328

Language shift edit

Taman speakers have since shifted to Burmese and Tai Naing (Red Shan), a Tai language spoken in northern Myanmar.[1] Matisoff (2013:25)[3] surmises that pressure from the formerly widespread Kadu language had caused Taman to become marginalized. The descendants of Taman speakers have since been assimilated into Shan society.[1]

Classification edit

Benedict (1972) and Shafer (1974) classified Taman as part of the Luish branch of languages.

Words and affixes shared exclusively between Luish and Taman are (Huziwara 2016):

  • negative prefix (Proto-Luish *a-, Taman ʔə-)
  • ‘put’ (Proto-Luish *péy, Taman pe)
  • ‘go, walk’ (Proto-Luish *ha, Taman hɔ)
  • ‘sun’ as a compound word that includes ‘eye’

However, Huziwara (2016)[1] notes that despite Taman sharing some similarities with Luish, Taman cannot be securely classified within the Luish branch itself, and its place in Tibeto-Burman remains uncertain. Taman also shares various similarities with many nearby non-Luish languages, including various Sal languages. Huziwara (2016) concludes that Taman is part of a linkage of Tibeto-Burman languages spanning across northeast India and northern Myanmar (i.e., comparable to Scott DeLancey's Central Tibeto-Burman languages), but does not recognizably fit into any known Tibeto-Burman branch.

Phonology edit

Taman has the following phonemes.[1]

  • Vowels: a, e, ɛ, i, ɨ, ɐ, o [ɔ, ɑ], u, ə
  • Consonants: p, ph, t, th, c [ts, tʃ], k, m, n, ŋ, r, l, s (sʰ), ʃ, x, h, w (v), y

Sound changes edit

Below are five innovations from Proto-Tibeto-Burman (PTB) to Taman identified by Huziwara (2016).

  • raising of low vowels (PTB *-a > Taman -ɔ)
  • fricativization of velar stops in word-initial positions (PTB *k- > Taman x-)
  • loss of velar stops in word-final positions (PTB *-ak > Taman -a)
  • addition of velar stops after high vowels (PTB *-i/-u > Taman -ek/-ouk)
  • affrication of *gry- (PTB *gry- > Taman c-)

Lexicon edit

Below is Brown's (1911) Taman word list as cited and re-transcribed in Huziwara (2016:19–29), and Brown's (1911) Taman list re-transcribed by Luce (1985), as cited and re-transcribed in Huziwara (2016).

The Taman word for 'river' is the same as the word for 'water'.

Gloss Taman (Brown 1911) Taman (Luce 1985)
one tɔ tə
two nek nek
three sùm sum
four pəli pəli
five məŋɔ məŋə
six kwa kwɑ
seven sənè səne
eight pəsè pəse
nine təxɐ tə̈xəː
ten ʃi ʃi
ape jùn –
arm, hand la la
arrow pʰəlɔ pʰəlɔ
axe wɔtùm wɔtum
bag tʰùmbɔ tʰumbə
bamboo wɔ wɔ
bat sɔŋpʰula sɔŋ-pulɑ
bear sʰap sʰap
bee ùìŋ uiŋ
big lwaŋ lwɑŋ
bird kətʃeksɔ kətʃeksɔ (sparrow)
bitter xɔ xɔ
blood sʰe sʰe
boat li li
body tu tu
bone raŋ raŋ
buffalo mɔk mɔk (cattle)
call lu –
cat mətʃeksɔ mətʃeksɔ
cold xɑm xɑːm
dog vi vi
ear nəpʰɑ nəpʰɑː
earth (soil) pəkɔ pəkɔ
eat sɔ –
elephant məki məki
eye pekkwe pəkkwe
father vɔ ~ wɔ vɔ ~ wɔ
female nëm nëm
fire vè ve
fish ətsɔ ətsɔ
flesh hè he
give nëm nëm
go hɔ hɔ
gold xɑm xɑːm
good kəmë kəmë
grass sʰèìŋ sʰeɪŋ
head kəkɐ kəkəː
hill kɔùŋrwe kɔʊŋrwe
hog va ~ wa va ~ wa (pig)
horse tʃipòùk tʃipɔʊk
house ʃìp ʃɪp
I në në
iron ʃa ʃa
kill səsʰèùk –
know tʃùp –
man (human being) mek mek
male laktʃaŋ lɑk tʃaŋ
moon səlɔ səlɔ
mother nëm nëm
name təmeŋ təmeŋ
night nɑtaŋ nɑːtaŋ
road lam lam
rock taŋpɔ taŋpɔ (stone)
salt tsùm tsum
snake pɐ pəː
silk nè –
speak tʰè –
star taŋpɐ taŋpəː
steal xɐlɔ xəːlɔ
sun pupek pupek
tooth vɑkòùn ~ wɑkòùn vɑkɔʊn ~ wɑkɔʊn
water tʰi tʰi
write rek –
year kèìŋ –

Phrases and transcribed song edit

On March 2, 2015, Keisuke Huziwara[1] discovered an 83-year-old woman in Htamanthi who remembered some words and phrases of the Taman language, as well as a short song. The woman was born in a village just outside Htamanthi. The elicited words and phrases are (Huziwara 2016:14–16):

  • hɔ əna, hɔ təyauŋ '(I) went over there.' (hɔ 'to go')
  • kʰam sɔ-nə-kɔ 'Did (you) eat?' (kʰam 'food, cooked rice'; sɔ 'to eat')
  • sɔ-kɛʔ 'already ate'
  • ʔə-sɔ-wɛʔ 'did not eat (yet)' (ʔə- 'negative prefix')
  • sɔ-nə-kɔ-ya 'ate; finished eating' (-nə 'desiderative suffix')
  • tʰitum ŋɔ lɔ 'Where is the water?' (tʰi 'water'; tum 'container'; ŋɔ 'where'; lɔ 'interrogative')
  • ʔəyɔ pe 'Where did I put it?' (pe 'to place'; ʔəyɔ 'where?')
  • wa dɔ 'Come!' (wa 'to come')
  • pi 'firewood' (cf. Meithei upi 'firewood')
  • məla 'tea'
  • məla sɔ nɔ 'Please drink tea.' (məla 'tea'; sɔ 'to eat')

The song is transcribed as follows.

ʔi ʔələyaŋ ʔi ʔələyaŋ
nənum təhɔ ʔinahɔ
məceiʔ cɔ he lɔcɔ ci
məceiʔ cɔ ʔi na
nam ha mina
hɔ pi cɔ

Huziwara (2016:15–16) analyzes the song as follows.

  • ʔi ʔələyaŋ ʔi ʔələyaŋ: exclamation introducing the song
  • nənum təhɔ ʔina hɔ: 'The child went.'
  • məceiʔcɔ he: 'Where is the child?' (Taman məceiʔcɔ 'child' < PTB *tsa-n)
  • lɔcɔ ci: [meaning unclear]
  • məceiʔcɔ, ʔina: 'I told the child'
  • nam ha mina: 'Where did you go?'
  • hɔ pi cɔ: 'I went outside.'

Altogether, the nouns, verbs, and prefixes elicited from Huziwara's (2016) Taman informant are:

  • kʰam 'food, cooked rice'
  • tʰi 'water'
  • məla 'tea'
  • pi 'firewood'
  • tum 'container'
  • məceiʔcɔ 'child'
  • ʔə- 'negative prefix'
  • sɔ 'to eat'
  • hɔ 'to go'
  • wa 'to come'
  • pe 'to place, put'

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Huziwara (2016)
  2. ^ "Unesco Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger". unesco.org. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
  3. ^ Matisoff (2013), p. 25

References edit

  • Benedict, Paul K. (1972). Sino-Tibetan: A Conspectus. Cambridge: University Press.
  • Brown, R. Grant (1911). "The Tamans of the Upper Chindwin, Burma". The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. 41: 305–317. doi:10.2307/2843177. JSTOR 2843177.
  • Huziwara, Keisuke 藤原 敬介 (2016). タマン語の系統再考 [On the Genetic Position of Taman Reconsidered]. 京都大学言語学研究 京都大学言語学研究 [Kyoto University Linguistic Research] (in Japanese). 35: 1–34. doi:10.14989/219018. hdl:2433/219018.
  • Luce, George H. (1985). Phases of Pre-Pagan Burma: Languages and History, vol. I, II. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Matisoff, James A. (2013). "Re-Examining the Genetic Position of Jingpho: Putting Flesh on the Bones of the Jingpho/Luish Relationship" (PDF). Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area. 36 (2): 15–95.
  • Shafer, Robert (1974). Introduction to Sino-Tibetan. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz.

April 12, 2024
taman, language, myanmar, taman, extinct, sino, tibetan, language, that, spoken, htamanthi, village, homalin, township, sagaing, region, northern, myanmar, documented, list, words, brown, 1911, keisuke, huziwara, 2016, discovered, elderly, rememberer, taman, h. Taman is an extinct Sino Tibetan language that was spoken in Htamanthi village in Homalin Township Sagaing Region northern Myanmar It was documented in a list of 75 words in Brown 1911 Keisuke Huziwara 2016 1 discovered an elderly rememberer of Taman in Htamanthi who could remember some Taman phrases as well as a short song but was not fluent in the Taman language However no fluent speakers of Taman remained in the area TamanNative toMyanmarRegionHtamanthi Sagaing RegionEthnicityShanExtinct1931 1 2 Language familySino Tibetan unclassified TamanLanguage codesISO 639 3 a href https iso639 3 sil org code tcl class extiw title iso639 3 tcl tcl a Glottologtama1328 Contents 1 Language shift 2 Classification 3 Phonology 4 Sound changes 5 Lexicon 6 Phrases and transcribed song 7 Notes 8 ReferencesLanguage shift editTaman speakers have since shifted to Burmese and Tai Naing Red Shan a Tai language spoken in northern Myanmar 1 Matisoff 2013 25 3 surmises that pressure from the formerly widespread Kadu language had caused Taman to become marginalized The descendants of Taman speakers have since been assimilated into Shan society 1 Classification editBenedict 1972 and Shafer 1974 classified Taman as part of the Luish branch of languages Words and affixes shared exclusively between Luish and Taman are Huziwara 2016 negative prefix Proto Luish a Taman ʔe put Proto Luish pey Taman pe go walk Proto Luish ha Taman hɔ sun as a compound word that includes eye However Huziwara 2016 1 notes that despite Taman sharing some similarities with Luish Taman cannot be securely classified within the Luish branch itself and its place in Tibeto Burman remains uncertain Taman also shares various similarities with many nearby non Luish languages including various Sal languages Huziwara 2016 concludes that Taman is part of a linkage of Tibeto Burman languages spanning across northeast India and northern Myanmar i e comparable to Scott DeLancey s Central Tibeto Burman languages but does not recognizably fit into any known Tibeto Burman branch Phonology editTaman has the following phonemes 1 Vowels a e ɛ i ɨ ɐ o ɔ ɑ u e Consonants p ph t th c ts tʃ k m n ŋ r l s sʰ ʃ x h w v ySound changes editBelow are five innovations from Proto Tibeto Burman PTB to Taman identified by Huziwara 2016 raising of low vowels PTB a gt Taman ɔ fricativization of velar stops in word initial positions PTB k gt Taman x loss of velar stops in word final positions PTB ak gt Taman a addition of velar stops after high vowels PTB i u gt Taman ek ouk affrication of gry PTB gry gt Taman c Lexicon editBelow is Brown s 1911 Taman word list as cited and re transcribed in Huziwara 2016 19 29 and Brown s 1911 Taman list re transcribed by Luce 1985 as cited and re transcribed in Huziwara 2016 The Taman word for river is the same as the word for water Gloss Taman Brown 1911 Taman Luce 1985 one tɔ tetwo nek nekthree sum sumfour peli pelifive meŋɔ meŋesix kwa kwɑseven sene seneeight pese pesenine texɐ te xeːten ʃi ʃiape jun arm hand la laarrow pʰelɔ pʰelɔaxe wɔtum wɔtumbag tʰumbɔ tʰumbebamboo wɔ wɔbat sɔŋpʰula sɔŋ pulɑbear sʰap sʰapbee uiŋ uiŋbig lwaŋ lwɑŋbird ketʃeksɔ ketʃeksɔ sparrow bitter xɔ xɔblood sʰe sʰeboat li libody tu tubone raŋ raŋbuffalo mɔk mɔk cattle call lu cat metʃeksɔ metʃeksɔcold xɑm xɑːmdog vi viear nepʰɑ nepʰɑːearth soil pekɔ pekɔeat sɔ elephant meki mekieye pekkwe pekkwefather vɔ wɔ vɔ wɔfemale nem nemfire ve vefish etsɔ etsɔflesh he hegive nem nemgo hɔ hɔgold xɑm xɑːmgood keme kemegrass sʰeiŋ sʰeɪŋhead kekɐ kekeːhill kɔuŋrwe kɔʊŋrwehog va wa va wa pig horse tʃipouk tʃipɔʊkhouse ʃip ʃɪpI ne neiron ʃa ʃakill sesʰeuk know tʃup man human being mek mekmale laktʃaŋ lɑk tʃaŋmoon selɔ selɔmother nem nemname temeŋ temeŋnight nɑtaŋ nɑːtaŋroad lam lamrock taŋpɔ taŋpɔ stone salt tsum tsumsnake pɐ peːsilk ne speak tʰe star taŋpɐ taŋpeːsteal xɐlɔ xeːlɔsun pupek pupektooth vɑkoun wɑkoun vɑkɔʊn wɑkɔʊnwater tʰi tʰiwrite rek year keiŋ Phrases and transcribed song editOn March 2 2015 Keisuke Huziwara 1 discovered an 83 year old woman in Htamanthi who remembered some words and phrases of the Taman language as well as a short song The woman was born in a village just outside Htamanthi The elicited words and phrases are Huziwara 2016 14 16 hɔ ena hɔ teyauŋ I went over there hɔ to go kʰam sɔ ne kɔ Did you eat kʰam food cooked rice sɔ to eat sɔ kɛʔ already ate ʔe sɔ wɛʔ did not eat yet ʔe negative prefix sɔ ne kɔ ya ate finished eating ne desiderative suffix tʰitum ŋɔ lɔ Where is the water tʰi water tum container ŋɔ where lɔ interrogative ʔeyɔ pe Where did I put it pe to place ʔeyɔ where wa dɔ Come wa to come pi firewood cf Meithei upi firewood mela tea mela sɔ nɔ Please drink tea mela tea sɔ to eat The song is transcribed as follows ʔi ʔeleyaŋ ʔi ʔeleyaŋ nenum tehɔ ʔinahɔ meceiʔ cɔ he lɔcɔ ci meceiʔ cɔ ʔi na nam ha mina hɔ pi cɔHuziwara 2016 15 16 analyzes the song as follows ʔi ʔeleyaŋ ʔi ʔeleyaŋ exclamation introducing the song nenum tehɔ ʔina hɔ The child went meceiʔcɔ he Where is the child Taman meceiʔcɔ child lt PTB tsa n lɔcɔ ci meaning unclear meceiʔcɔ ʔina I told the child nam ha mina Where did you go hɔ pi cɔ I went outside Altogether the nouns verbs and prefixes elicited from Huziwara s 2016 Taman informant are kʰam food cooked rice tʰi water mela tea pi firewood tum container meceiʔcɔ child ʔe negative prefix sɔ to eat hɔ to go wa to come pe to place put Notes edit a b c d e f g Huziwara 2016 Unesco Atlas of the World s Languages in Danger unesco org Retrieved 2018 08 16 Matisoff 2013 p 25References editBenedict Paul K 1972 Sino Tibetan A Conspectus Cambridge University Press Brown R Grant 1911 The Tamans of the Upper Chindwin Burma The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 41 305 317 doi 10 2307 2843177 JSTOR 2843177 Huziwara Keisuke 藤原 敬介 2016 タマン語の系統再考 On the Genetic Position of Taman Reconsidered 京都大学言語学研究 京都大学言語学研究 Kyoto University Linguistic Research in Japanese 35 1 34 doi 10 14989 219018 hdl 2433 219018 Luce George H 1985 Phases of Pre Pagan Burma Languages and History vol I II Oxford Oxford University Press Matisoff James A 2013 Re Examining the Genetic Position of Jingpho Putting Flesh on the Bones of the Jingpho Luish Relationship PDF Linguistics of the Tibeto Burman Area 36 2 15 95 Shafer Robert 1974 Introduction to Sino Tibetan Wiesbaden Otto Harrassowitz Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Taman language Myanmar amp oldid 1104016698, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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