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Northeastern Kuki-Chin is a branch ofKuki-Chin languages. It was formerly calledNorthern Kuki-Chin, but renamed to distinguish it from theNorthwestern Kuki-Chin languages.^[1] VanBik also calls the branchNorthern Chin orZo.^[2]

These languages are spoken in northern parts ofChin State in Myanmar, and various parts ofNortheast India, most notably in the state ofManipur.

VanBik (2009) includes the following languages as Northern Kuki-Chin languages. The positions ofNgawn andRalte are not addressed by VanBik (2009), but they are classified as Northern Kuki-Chin inGlottolog.

Tedim is the locallingua franca of northernChin State, Myanmar, whilePaite (also known as Zokam) is the local lingua franca of some parts ofChurachandpur Town whileThadou is the lingua franca of most of the areas inhabited by the non-Nagas ofManipur.

VanBik divides the Northern Kuki-Chin branch into two majorlanguage clusters, namely theThado cluster andSizang cluster.^[2]

• Thado cluster:Thado/Kuki,Tedim, Khuangsai,Paite, Vuite,Chiru,Zou,Ralte
• Sizang cluster:Sizang/Siyin,Guite/Nguite,Vaiphei,Zou

VanBik (2009) lists the followingsound changes from Proto-Kuki-Chin to Proto-Northern Chin.

• Proto-Kuki-Chin *-r > Proto-Northern Chin *-k
• Proto-Kuki-Chin * θ- > Proto-Northern Chin *ts-
• Proto-Kuki-Chin *kl- > Proto-Northern Chin *tl-

• Button, Christopher (2011).Proto Northern Chin. STEDT Monograph. Vol. 10.ISBN 0-944613-49-7.OCLC 1013268663.
• Dal Sian Pau, S. (2014).The comparative study of Proto-Zomi (Kuki-Chin) languages. Lamka, Manipur, India: Zomi Language & Literature Society. – Comparative word list of Paite, Simte, Thangkhal, Zou, Kom, Tedim, and Vaiphei]
• Peterson, David A. (2017). "On Kuki-Chin subgrouping". In Ding, Picus Sizhi; Pelkey, Jamin (eds.).Sociohistorical linguistics in Southeast Asia: New horizons for Tibeto-Burman studies in honor of David Bradley. Leiden: Brill. pp. 189–209.doi:10.1163/9789004350519_012.ISBN 978-90-04-34983-4.
• VanBik, Kenneth (2009).Proto-Kuki-Chin: A Reconstructed Ancestor of the Kuki-Chin Languages. STEDT Monograph. Vol. 8.ISBN 0-944613-47-0.

• Kuki-Chin languages

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