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Lotha language

{{Short description|Sino-Tibetan language spoken in India}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}{{Use Indian English|date=July 2019}}

{{Infobox language

| name = Lotha

| nativename =

| states = India

| region = Wokha district, Nagaland

| ethnicity = Lotha Naga

| speakers = 179,467

| date = 2001 census

| ref = {{Cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011Census/Language_MTs.html|title=Statement 1: Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues - 2011|publisher=Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India|website=www.censusindia.gov.in|access-date=2018-07-07}}

| familycolor = Sino-Tibetan

| iso3 = njh

| glotto = loth1237

| glottorefname = Lotha Naga

}}

{{Naga people}}

The Lotha language is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by approximately 180,000 people in Wokha district of west-central Nagaland, India. It is centered in the small district of Wokha (capital Wokha). This district has more than 114 villages such as Pangti, Maraju (Merapani), Englan, Baghty (Pakti) and others, where the language is widely spoken and studied.

Names

Alternate names include Chizima, Choimi, Hlota, Kyong, Lhota, Lotha, Lutha, Miklai, Tsindir, and Tsontsii (Ethnologue).

Dialects

Ethnologue lists the following dialects of Lotha.

  • Live
  • Tsontsü
  • Ndreng
  • Kyong
  • Kyo
  • Kyon
  • Kyou

In the Linguistic Survey of India, linguist George Abraham Grierson analyzed various branches of languages in India and categorized various Naga languages into three groups: Western Naga, Eastern Naga, and Central Naga.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CM7uC2W58wcC&pg=PA75|title=Naga Identity|last=Kumar|first=Braj Bihari|date=2005-01-01|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=978-81-8069-192-8|page=75}} Lotha falls into the Central Naga group, which also includes the languages Ao, Sangtam, and Yimkhiungrü.

Phonology

= Consonants =

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

! colspan="2" |

!Labial

!Dental/
Alveolar

!Palatal

!Velar

!Glottal

rowspan="2" |Plosive

!voiceless

|{{IPA link|p}}

|{{IPA link|t}}

|

|{{IPA link|k}}

|{{IPA link|ʔ}}

aspirated

|{{IPA link|pʰ}}

|{{IPA link|tʰ}}

|

|{{IPA link|kʰ}}

|

rowspan="2" |Affricate

!voiceless

|{{IPA link|p͡f}}

|{{IPA link|t͡s}}

|{{IPA link|t͡ʃ}}

|

|

vd./aspirated

|{{IPA link|p͡v}}

|{{IPA link|t͡sʰ}}

|{{IPA link|t͡ʃʰ}}

|

|

rowspan="2" |Fricative

!voiceless

|{{IPA link|f}}

|{{IPA link|s}}

|{{IPA link|ʃ}}

|

|{{IPA link|h}}

voiced

|{{IPA link|v}}

|{{IPA link|z}}

|{{IPA link|ʒ}}

|

|

rowspan="2" |Nasal

!voiced

|{{IPA link|m}}

|{{IPA link|n}}

|{{IPA link|ɲ}}

|{{IPA link|ŋ}}

|

aspirated

|{{IPA link|mʰ}}

|{{IPA link|nʰ}}

|{{IPA link|ɲʰ}}

|{{IPA link|ŋʰ}}

|

rowspan="2" |Lateral

!voiced

|

|{{IPA link|l}}

|

|

|

aspirated

|

|{{IPA link|lʰ}}

|

|

|

rowspan="2" |Trill

!voiced

|

|{{IPA link|r}}

|

|

|

aspirated

|

|{{IPA link|rʰ}}

|

|

|

rowspan="2" |Approximant

!voiced

|{{IPA link|w}}

|

|{{IPA link|j}}

|

|

aspirated

|

|

|{{IPA link|jʰ}}

|

|

  • /v/ when followed by /o/ can also be heard as [w] in free variation.
  • The pronunciation of the trills /r, rʰ/ may vary as approximants [ɹ, ɹʰ] or a retroflex fricative [ʐ] among speakers.
  • /j/ only occurs as phonemically aspirated as /jʰ/ among other dialects.
  • Plosives /p, k/ can be heard as unreleased [p̚, k̚] in word-final position.

= Vowels =

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

!

!Front

!Central

!Back

Close

|{{IPA link|i}}

|

|{{IPA link|u}}

Mid

|{{IPA link|e}}

|{{IPA link|ə}}

|{{IPA link|o}}

Open

|

|{{IPA link|a}}

|

  • When /u/ follows a labial consonant or /k, kʰ/, the consonant is then affricated and /u/ is realized as unrounded [ɯ]. The result is then from /ku, kʰu, pu, pʰu/ to [kvɯ, kfɯ, pvɯ, pfɯ].
  • /i/ may also tend to centralize and lower as [ɨ, ə] in open syllables when following sibilant sounds (/ʃi/ ~ [ʃɨ~ʃə]).
  • /ə/ may also range in pronunciation to a back sound [ɯ].{{Cite book|last=Bruhn|first=Daniel W.|title=Proto-Central Naga; Lotha|publisher=University of California, Berkeley|year=2014|location=A Phonological Reconstruction of Proto-Central Naga|pages=151-154}}
  • /i, u/ can also be heard shortened as [ɪ, ʊ] within the first syllable.{{Cite book|last=Acharya|first=K. P.|title=Lotha grammar|publisher=Mysore: Central Institute of Indian Languages|year=1983}}

Orthography and literature

Lotha is written in the Latin script, introduced by the British and American missionaries in the late 19th century. It is a medium of education up to the post-graduate level in the state of Nagaland. It is also the language in which the church sermons are preached. The Bible has been translated into the Lotha language, adding significantly to its vocabulary, which had an influence of Assamese and Hindi.

Lotha Yi Tsüngon

Various Lotha Naga groups have started observing May 1 as its language day, Lotha Yi Tsüngon. In 2025 simultaneous events were organised by the Kohima Lotha Hoho,{{Cite news |last=Morung Express News |date=4 May 2025 |title=Lotha Yi Tsüngon observed to promote indigenous language |url=https://www.morungexpress.com/lotha-yi-tsngon-observed-to-promote-indigenous-language |access-date=5 May 2025 |work=The Morung Express}} Lotha Hoho Dimapur, and Lotha Academy (Wokha) where an anthology of Lotha prose, Lotha Motsüran Ekhvürhyucho was released.{{Cite news |last=Morung Express News |date=1 May 2025 |title=Language roots cultural identity |url=https://morungexpress.com/language-roots-cultural-identity |access-date=5 May 2025 |work=The Morung Express}}

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

  • [https://archive.org/details/rosettaproject_njh_gen-1 Translation of the beginning of the Book of Genesis in Lotha].
  • Sino-Tibetan Languages
  • [http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/5659 Endangered Languages Project: Lotha Naga]

{{Kuki-Chin–Naga languages}}

{{Languages of Northeast India}}

Category:Ao languages

Category:Languages of Nagaland

Category:Endangered languages of India

Category:WikiProject Endangered languages