Native to India and Burma Ethnicity Anal people Dialects Langet? | Region Southeast Manipur Native speakers 23,000 (2001 census) | |
Language family Sino-Tibetan
(Tibeto-Burman)
Naga language
Northern
Anal | ||
Anal, also known as Namfau after the two principal villages it is spoken in, is a Northern Naga language, part of the Sino-Tibetan language family, spoken by the Anal people in India and a dwindling number in Burma. It had 23,000 speakers in India according to the 2001 census, and 50 in Burma in 2010. It has two principal dialects, Laizo and Malshom, and is closest to Lamkang. The language of wider communication is Meithei. Langet may be a dialect, though its position within Kukish is uncertain (Shafer 1955:106). Anal is written in the Latin script, with a literacy rate of about 74%.
Contents
History
Namfau language started to be written in the late 19th- early 20th century. One of the first books believed to be written in the Namfau language is held by a friend from TOHS. They estimate it to date back to the early 20th century. They think it could be in written in Langet but they don't know that for sure as they do not have enough evidence to support this claim.
Geographical distribution
Anal is spoken in Chandel district, southeastern Manipur, on the banks of the Chakpi River in Chandel, Chakpikarong, and Engnoupal subdivisions (Ethnologue).
Alphabet
Standard 26 letter Latin A-Z
Vocabulary
The following vocabulary exemplifies words in the language.