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Article published In:
Ethnolinguistic contact across the Indo-Myanmar-Southwestern China mountains
Edited by Alexander R. Coupe, Randy J. LaPolla and Hideo Sawada
[Asian Languages and Linguistics 4:2] 2023
► pp. 136–166

Linguistic similarities between Asho Chin and Burmese

| Osaka University

Asho Chin (ISO 639-3: csh), also known as Plains Chin, is a Kuki-Chin language spoken mainly in the southwestern areas of Myanmar, where Burmese is the dominant language. This paper presents a qualitative linguistic analysis to explore the similarities between Asho Chin and Burmese. The analysis reveals a significant influence of Burmese on Asho Chin that goes beyond vocabulary to include grammatical features. Additionally, the study highlights the importance of considering both the temporal and geographical context of Burmese loanwords in Asho Chin. The findings suggest that Asho Chin is constantly evolving, largely due to the continued influence of Burmese. This influence is evident in the range of loanwords and linguistic structures in Asho Chin that appear to have resulted from interaction with Burmese.

Keywords: Kuki-Chin, Burmese, loanwords, borrowing, language contact
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Linguistic profile
      • 1.1.1Asho Chin
      • 1.1.2Burmese
    • 1.2Language contact
    • 1.3Method
  • 2.Asho Chin as a Kuki-Chin language
    • 2.1Asho Chin’s relationship with Proto-Kuki-Chin
    • 2.2Morphosyntactic features of Asho Chin as a Kuki-Chin language
  • 3.Discussion
    • 3.1The phonology of Burmese loanwords
      • 3.1.1Heads
        • [1]WB bh‑ / SB b‑
        • [2]WB s‑ / SB t̪‑
        • [3]WB r‑ / SB y‑
        • [4]WB rh‑ / SB ɕ‑
      • 3.1.2Rhymes
        • [1]Open rhymes
        • [2]Nasal rhymes
        • [3]Checked rhymes
          • Internal factors
          • External factors
          • Diachronic factors
      • 3.1.3Tones
    • 3.2The grammatical influence of Burmese on Asho Chin
      • 3.2.1Nominals
      • 3.2.2Verbs
      • 3.2.3Particles
  • 4.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • References
Published online: 25 April 2024
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https://doi.org/10.1075/alal.00010.ots
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