Konyak language

Konyak is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Konyak people in the state of Nagaland, north-eastern India. It is written using the Latin script.

The language has speakers in the state (as of the 2011 census); most of these  are in Mon district, with smaller populations in the districts of Dimapur, Kohima , Mokokchung , and Longleng. There are also an estimated 2,000 speakers in neighbouring Myanmar, specifically in Hkamti District and in Lahe township.

Konyak (2021)
A list of Konyak dialects from Hoipo Konyak (2021:5) is given below.

• Angphang

• Hopao

• Changnyu

• Chen (8 villages in Lahe Township, Myanmar, and 10 villages in Mon District, Nagaland, India )

• Chingkao

• Chinglang

• Choha

• Gelekidora

• Jakphang

• Kon (spoken in Myanmar)

• Kahyu (spoken in Myanmar)

• Lhongkhai

• Longmein

• Longwa

• Mon

• Mulung

• Nganching

• Sang

• Shanlang

• Shunyuo

• Shenghah

• Sima

• Sowa

• Shamnyuyanga

• Tableang

• Tabu

• Tamkhungnyuo

• Tang

• Tobunyuo

• Tolamleinyua

• Totok

Ethnologue
Ethnologue lists the following dialects of Konyak.

• Angphang

• Hopao

• Changnyu

• Chen

• Chingkao

• Chinglang

• Choha

• Gelekidoria

• Jakphang

• Longching

• Longkhai

• Longmein

• Longwa

• Mon

• Mulung

• Ngangching

• Sang

• Shanlang

• Shunyuo

• Shengha

• Sima

• Sowa

• Shamnyuyanga

• Tableng (Angwangku, Kongon, Mohung, Wakching)

• Tabu

• Tamkhungnyuo

• Tang

• Tobunyuo

• Tolamleinyua

• Totok

• Hongphoi

Tableng is the standard dialect spoken in Wanching and Wakching.

Phonology
There are three lexically contrastive contour tones in Konyak – rising (marked in writing by an acute accent – á), falling (marked by a grave accent – à) and level (unmarked).

Vowels
The vowels, and  are lengthened before approximants. does not occur finally.

Consonants
The stops and  contrast with the aspirated  and. and become voiced intervocalically across morpheme boundaries. The dental is realised as an alveolar if preceded by a vowel with a rising tone. The approximants and  are pronounced laxer and shorter after vowels;  becomes tenser initially before high vowels. If morpheme-initial or intervocalic,  is pronounced with audible friction. ,, , , , and  do not occur morpheme-finally, while  does not appear morpheme-initially. Except for morpheme-initial and, consonant clusters occur only medially.