A print and verbal explanation of vowels in Tai Aiton,.
Also Known As:
Aitonia, Sham Doaniya
Dialects & Varieties
Tai Aiton (Assam, India) - Language Snapshot
Kakoty, Deepmoni. 2020. Tai Aiton (Assam, India) – Language Snapshot. In Peter K. Austin (ed.) Language Documentation and Description 17, 76-81. London: EL Publishing. http://www.elpublishing.org/PID/183
Threatened
100 percent certain, based on the evidence available
1,500
Native Speakers Worldwide
Speaker Number Trends
Speaker Number Trend 1
Most members of the community or ethnic group speak the language. Speaker numbers may be decreasing, but very slowly.
1
Domains of Use
Domain Of Use 3
Used mainly in the home and/or with family, but remains the primary language of these domains for many community members.
3
Transmission
Transmission -1
All members of the community, including children, speak the language.
-1
Speakers
Native or fluent speakers:
No results found.
Second-language speakers and learners
No results found.
Semi-speakers or rememberers
No results found.
Children:
No results found.
Young adults
No results found.
Older adults
No results found.
Elders
No results found.
Ethnic or community population
8000
Year information was gathered
No results found.
Comments on speakers
No results found.
Location and Context
Countries
The original homeland of the Aiton was the Aiton district of the Upper Chindwin Valley of Myanmar, and they migrated to Assam sometime in the 16th-17th century. The Tai Aiton presently live in the villages of Golaghat and Karbi Anglong districts in the Upper Assam, along with the Turung people.
Location Description
No results found.
Government Support
Recognized by the Indian government as a Scheduled Tribe (Hill), and as Man-Tai speaking by the Assam government
Institutional Support
No results found.
Speakers' Attitude
The Aiton speak their language with family and community members, and generally Assamese with others. They are very conscious about their language, culture, and traditions which they try to pass on to the younger generations. Few Tai monks know the language anymore, so they can no longer teach it to young monks.
Other Languages Used By The Community
Tai, Assamese, English, Hindi
Number of Other Language Speakers:
None
Domains of Other Languages:
None
Writing Systems
Standard orthography:
No results found.
Writing system:
Derived from Shan, which was derived from Burmese
Other writing systems used:
No results text.
Comments on writing systems:
Few people are literate in the traditional Tai writing system, which was brought when they migrated to Assam. Literacy in other languages is 85-90%, and Assamese and English words are borrowed.