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 (Milang: Holon), Dalbing, and Pekimodi (Milang: Moobuk Ade), located in Mariyang Subdivision, Upper Siang District, Arunachal Pradesh (Tayeng 1976).

Milang
Holon, Dalbo
Native to	India
Region	Arunachal Pradesh
Ethnicity	4,000
Native speakers	2,150 (2011)[1]
Language family	Possibly Sino-Tibetan Greater Siangic? Siangic Milang
Language codes
ISO 639-3	None (mis)
Glottolog	mila1245
ELP	Milang
Milang is classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

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

• 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.

External links

• ELAR archive of documentation of Milang

1. Post, Mark W.; Modi, Yankee. "Language contact and the genetic position of Milang (Eastern Himalaya)". 2011. Anthropological Linguistics 53.3: 215-258.