Jingpho or Kachin, is a Tibeto-Burman language of the Sal branch mainly spoken in Kachin State, Burma and Yunnan, China. There are many meanings for Jingpho. In the Jingpho language, Jingpho means people or Jinghpho tribe. The term "Kachin language" can refer either to the Jingpho language or to a group of languages spoken by various ethnic groups in the same region as Jingpo: Lisu, Lashi, Rawang, Zaiwa, Lhao Vo, Achang and Jingpho. These languages are from distinct branches of the highest level of the Tibeto-Burman family. The Jingpho alphabet is based on the Latin script. The ethnic Jingpho are the primary speakers of Jingpho language, numbering approximately 900,000 speakers. The Turung of Assam in India speak a Jingpho dialect with many Assamese loanwords, called Singpho. Jingpho syllable finals can consist of vowels, nasals or oral stops.
Dialects
There are at least 16 Jingphoish varieties. The demographic and location information listed below is drawn from Kurabe. Standard Jingpho and Nkhum are the best described varieties, whereas the Jingphoish varieties of India have been recently documented by Stephen Morey. Jingphoish varieties in northern Kachin State remain little described. The Ethnologue lists Duleng, Dzili, Hkaku, and Kauri. According to the Ethnologue, Dzili might be a separate language, whereas Hkaku and Kauri are only slightly different. Other underdescribed Jingphoish varieties include Mungji and Zawbung. Shanke is a recently described language closely related to Jingpho, although its speakers identify themselves as Naga.
Southern
Standard Jingpho is the standard variety of Jingpho as used among the Kachin people in Myanmar, as well as by non-Kachin ethnic minorities in Kachin State. Most speakers live in Kachin State, though some live in Shan State and Sagaing Division. It is spoken primarily in Myitkyina, Bhamo, and Kutkai. Younger generations tend to pronounce and as and, contrasting them with . Standard Jingpho as spoken in Shan State often has ʔə- added to monosyllabic words, and also places the interrogative particleʔi before verbs.
Nkhum / Enkun 恩昆 is spoken in Lianghe, Ruili, Longchuan, and Luxi counties of Yunnan, China. It is the most widely spoken Jingpho dialect in China. The Nkhum dialect displays tense-lax register contrast, whereas Shadan does not. Although the Shadan dialect frequently has -ŋ, Nkhum often does not. The Tongbiguan 铜壁关 variety of Nkhum is used as the Jingpho standard variety in China. Small pockets of speakers are also found in Gengma County.
Shadan / Shidan 石丹 is spoken in Yunnan, China. It is spoken in the townships of Kachang 卡昌 and Taiping 太平, located in Yingjiang County 盈江县.
Gauri / Khauri is spoken in the Gauri Hills, located to the east of Bhamo. Villages include Prang Hkudung, Man Dau, Hkarawm Kawng, Manda, Ka Daw, Lamai Bang, Bum Wa, Ma Htang, Jahkai, and Loi Ming. In China, Gauri is spoken by about 300 people in Hedao 贺岛 and Hongka 硔卡 villages of Longchuan County, and in Kachang 卡场镇 of Yingjiang County.
Mengzhi 蒙支 is spoken by about 200 people in the two villages of Getong 格同 and Zhengtongyou 正通猶 in Mengzhi 蒙支, Yingjiang County 盈江县.
Thingnai is spoken near Mohnyin, southern Kachin State.
Small pockets of Jingpho speakers are also scattered across Gengma County 耿马县, including the following villages. Dai also includes 1,000-word vocabulary lists of the Yingjiang 盈江, Xinzhai 新寨, and Caoba 草坝 dialects.
Jingpo Xinzhai 景颇新寨, Mangkang Village 芒抗村, Hepai Township 贺派乡
Nalong 那拢组, Nongba Village 弄巴村, Gengma Town 耿马镇
Hewen 贺稳组, Jingxin Village 景信村, Mengding Town 孟定镇
Hebianzhai 河边寨, Qiushan Village 邱山村, Mengding Town 孟定镇
Caobazhai 草坝寨, Mang'ai Village 芒艾村, Mengding Town 孟定镇
Northeastern
Dingga: a recently discovered Jingpho variety spoken near Putao, Kachin State, in the villages of Ding Ga, Ding Ga Gabrim, Tsa Gung Ga, Layang Ga, Dai Mare, and Mărawt Ga. These villages are all located between the Shang Hka and Da Hka rivers in northern Kachin State. There are between 2,000 and 3,000 speakers.
Duleng is spoken near Putao, in Machanbaw, and in the Nam Tisang valley of Kachin State. The only published description is that of Yue.
Numphuk is spoken by about 2,000 speakers in 20 villages, including Ingthong, Ketetong, Inthem, Kumsai, Bisa, Wagun 1, Wagun 2, Wagun 3, Wakhet Na, Kherem Bisa, Guju, and Giding. These villages are situated along the Burhi Dihing river in Assam, which is called the Numhpuk Hka river in Numphuk.
Tieng is spoken in India.
Turung is spoken by about 1,200 speakers mainly in the Titabor area and the Dhonsiri river valley. There are many Tai loanwords in Turung. Some Turung speakers also self-identify as ethnic Tai.
Internal classification
Kurabe classifies seven Jingphoish dialects as follows.
Proto-Jingpho
*Southern
**Gauri
**Standard Jingpho, Nkhum
*Northern
**Northwestern
***Numphuk
***Turung
**Northeastern
***Duleng
***Dingga
The Southern branch is characterized the loss of Proto-Jingpho final stop *-k in some lexical items. The Northern branch is characterized by the following mergers of Proto-Jingpho phonemes.
*ts- and *c-
*dz- and *j-
*ʔy- and *∅-
merger of Proto-Jingpho plain and preglottalized sonorants
