Tangkhul language

Tangkhul is a Sino-Tibetan language of the Tangkhulic branch, spoken in different villages of Ukhrul district, Manipur, India. The term "Tangkhul" is derived from the Meitei language terms, tāng (ꯇꯥꯡ, scarce) and khūl (ꯈꯨꯜ, village). According to another theory, the term "Tangkhul" is derived from "Thankhul", meaning "Than village" in Meitei language.

Tangkhul became a written language for the first time in the year 1897, when William Pettigrew compiled "Tangkhul Primer and Catechism", during his Christian missionary activities.

The Department of Language Planning and Implementation of the Government of Manipur offers a sum of inr 5000, to every individual who learns Tangkhul language, under certain terms and conditions.

Tangkhul shares 93%–94% lexical similarity with the Somra variety of Tangkhul, 31% with Tangkhul Naga spoken in India, 51%–52% with Akyaung Ari Naga, and 29%–32% with Koki Naga.

Consonants

 * Stop sounds /p t tʃ k/ may have voiced allophones [b d dʒ ɡ] in free variation.
 * /m/ may be heard as [ɱ] when preceding /f/ or /ʋ/.
 * /r/ can be heard as [r] or [ɾ] in free variation.

Vowels

 * /i e a u/ can have allophone sounds of [ɪ ɛ ɐ ɯ] in free variation.