Chakma language

Not to be confused with Chak language or Chakpa language.

Chakma (/ˈtʃɑːkmə/; autonym: 𑄌𑄋𑄴𑄟𑄳𑄦 𑄞𑄌𑄴) is an Indo-Aryan language of the Indo-European language family, whose speakers are known as the Chakma or the Daingnet people. It has 740,000 speakers,^[3] with 60% residing in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in Bangladesh and 35% spread across Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Mizoram and Tripura in India. The remaining 5% live in Myanmar. The language has it own script, the Chakma script or the ajhapat (𑄌𑄋𑄴𑄟𑄳𑄦 𑄃𑄧𑄏𑄛𑄖𑄴), which is an abugida similar other South-east Asian scripts. It is mutually intelligible with the Chittagonian language.

Chakma
Changhma
𑄌𑄋𑄴𑄟𑄳𑄦 𑄞𑄌𑄴 (Changhma Bhach)
'Changhma Bhach' in Chakma script
Pronunciation	[tɕaŋma batɕʰ]
Native to	Bangladesh India Myanmar
Region	Bangladesh Chittagong Hill Tracts (Rangamati Khagrachhari Bandarban) India Northeast India (Mizoram Tripura Arunachal Pradesh Assam) Myanmar Rakhine State
Ethnicity	Chakma, Daingnet
Native speakers	740,000 (2011-2024)[1][2]
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Indo-Aryan Eastern Bengali–Assamese Chakma
Early forms	Proto-Chakma Sal Medieval Chakma
Dialects	Tanchangya Daingnet
Writing system	Chakma script Tanchangya alphabets [2]
Official status
Official language in	India (CADC)
Recognised minority language in	Bangladesh  Myanmar
Language codes
ISO 639-3	ccp
Glottolog	chak1266
IETF	ccp

Similarities of the Chakma language with Sanskrit, Maghadi Prakrit and with Pali is visible referring it to be a classical language. This suggests that the Chakmas have been present in the Indian subcontinent since ancient times. Cultural exchanges with neighboring communities have led to the adoption of Indo-Aryan and Arakanese terms. Studies suggest that the language may have originally been a Tibeto-Burman language before transitioning into an Indic language. However, there are abundant of vocabularies used in the Chakma language that do belong neither to Indo-Aryan nor Tibeto-Burman linguistic group, likely originating from their ancestral language. Historically, a Mongoloid group that settled in the Himalayan foothills spoke a Tibetan-related language but gradually incorporated Aryan vocabulary.^[4][5]

History

Further information: Chakma script § History of Chakma writing system

Origins and Early Development

The earliest form of the Chakma language appears to have been distinct from both Indo-Aryan and Tibeto-Burman languages. Evidence for this comes from a significant portion of the Chakma vocabulary, which does not closely resemble words in either linguistic group. This suggests that early Chakma may have belonged to an isolated or lesser-documented linguistic lineage before later influences shaped its development.

Historical migration patterns indicate that the Chakma people likely moved from Magadha (modern Bihar, India) to Arakan (Rakhine State, Myanmar) before settling in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. During this journey, their language encountered and absorbed elements from Pali and Sanskrit, particularly in religious and administrative contexts. At the same time, interactions with Burmese and Arakanese speakers introduced phonetic and structural adaptations, though the core vocabulary remained distinct.^[5]

Medieval Chakma

A sample of Paw'rangpulu Tara used by Chakma Luri(Buddhist priest).

The Chakma and Daingnet people now speak what may be considered divergent dialects of Magadhi Prakrit. However, this is due to language shift from a Tibeto-Burman language; that medieval language may have been related to Sak^[6] or Chairel^[7] (and therefore of the Brahmaputran branch).

Scholars discovered nearly century-old Chakma manuscripts bound in animal hide, preserved by the Chakma community. Displayed at a seminar in Pecharthal, Tripura, these texts cover history, culture, music, herbal medicine, and Buddhism. Written in Chakma script on handmade tree-bark paper, the ink was sourced from China via Myanmar. Over 3,000 such manuscripts exist, with some now conserved by Tripura University. This discovery highlights the rich literary heritage of the Chakma language.^[8]

Modern Chakma

It is officially recognized by the government of Tripura in India and also by the government of Bangladesh. In India, it is also spoken primarily in the Chakma Autonomous District Council (CADC) which consists of the Tuichawng constituency of Lawngtlai district in Mizoram and many places in Tripura.

Although there were no Chakma language radio or television stations as of 2011, the language has a presence in social media and on YouTube. The Hill Education Chakma Script website provides tutorials, videos, e-books, and Chakma language forums.^[9]

In 2012, the government of Tripura announced the implementation of Chakma language in Chakma Script (or Ajhā Pāṭh) in primary schools of Tripura. Imparting of education up to the elementary stage in the mother tongue is a national policy. To begin with, Chakma language subjects in its own scripts has been introduced in 87 primary schools in Chakma concentrated areas in Tripura."^[10][11]

"In preparation for the January 2014 education season, the national curriculum and textbook board has already started printing books in six languages ... Chakma, Kokborok (Tripura community), Marma, Santal, Sadri (Orao community) and Achik."^[12]

Mor Thengari (My Bicycle) was Bangladesh's first Chakma-language movie. However, it was banned in Bangladesh due to its controversial plot.^[13]

Phonology

Vowels

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i		u
Close-mid	e		o
Open-mid	ɛ		ɔ
Open	æ	a

Consonants

Chakma Consonants

		Labial	Dental	Alveolar	Post- alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Plosive	voiceless	p	t				k
	voiced	b	d				ɡ
	breathy	bʱ	dʱ				ɡʱ
Affricate	voiceless				tʃ
	voiced				dʒ
Fricative	voiceless			s	(ʃ)			h
	voiced			z
Nasal		m		n			ŋ
Trill/Tap				r	ɽ
Approximant		w		l		j

• /p/ can be heard as [ɸ] in intervocalic and word-final positions.
• /t k/ can be heard as [t̪ʰ x] in word-initial and intervocalic positions.
• A /ʃ/ sound is rare, and in some cases, is a free variant sound of /s/.^[14][15]

Tones

Chakma is a tonal language, it has contrastive tones; differences in the pitch of the speaker's voice can distinguish words.^{[16][17][18][19]}

Writing system

Main article: Chakma script

The Chakma script is an abugida that belongs to the Brahmic family of scripts. Chakma evolved from the Burmese script, which was ultimately derived from Pallava.^[20][21][22]

Sample text

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:^[23]

𑄝𑄬𑄉𑄴

Baeg

𑄟𑄚𑄪𑄥𑄴𑄥𑄪𑄚𑄴

manussun

𑄥𑄴𑄤𑄙𑄩𑄚𑄴

svadin

𑄉𑄧𑄢𑄨

gori

𑄃𑄬𑄇𑄴𑄇𑄪𑄃𑄨

aekkui

𑄟𑄧𑄢𑄴𑄡𑄘

morjada

𑄃𑄢𑄴

ar

𑄃𑄧𑄙𑄨𑄇𑄢𑄴

udhigar

𑄣𑄧𑄚𑄬

lwnae

𑄣𑄰

loi

𑄎𑄧𑄚𑄴𑄟𑄧

dzawnmw

𑄃𑄧𑄚𑄴𑅂

oan.

𑄖𑄢𑄢𑄴

Tarar

𑄝𑄨𑄝𑄬𑄇𑄴

bibaek

𑄝𑄪𑄘𑄴𑄙𑄨

buddee

𑄝𑄬𑄇𑄴𑄇𑄚𑄨

beakkani

𑄃𑄉𑄬𑅁

aageh.

𑄥𑄬𑄚𑄧𑄖𑄴𑄖𑄬

Saenwtte

𑄃𑄟𑄢𑄴

aamaar

𑄛𑄬𑄇𑄴𑄇𑄪𑄚𑄬𑄣𑄴𑄣𑄯𑄃𑄨

baekkunelei

𑄘𑄮𑄣𑄴

dol

𑄌𑄨𑄖𑄴𑄖𑄧𑄣𑄰

sittawloi

𑄃𑄧𑄋𑄛𑄧𑄢𑄧𑄕

songporona

𑄃𑄪𑄌𑄨𑄖𑄴𑅂

usit.

𑄝𑄬𑄉𑄴 𑄟𑄚𑄪𑄥𑄴𑄥𑄪𑄚𑄴 𑄥𑄴𑄤𑄙𑄩𑄚𑄴 𑄉𑄧𑄢𑄨 𑄃𑄬𑄇𑄴𑄇𑄪𑄃𑄨 𑄟𑄧𑄢𑄴𑄡𑄘 𑄃𑄢𑄴 𑄃𑄧𑄙𑄨𑄇𑄢𑄴 𑄣𑄧𑄚𑄬 𑄣𑄰 𑄎𑄧𑄚𑄴𑄟𑄧 𑄃𑄧𑄚𑄴𑅂 𑄖𑄢𑄢𑄴 𑄝𑄨𑄝𑄬𑄇𑄴 𑄝𑄪𑄘𑄴𑄙𑄨 𑄝𑄬𑄇𑄴𑄇𑄚𑄨 𑄃𑄉𑄬𑅁 𑄥𑄬𑄚𑄧𑄖𑄴𑄖𑄬 𑄃𑄟𑄢𑄴 𑄛𑄬𑄇𑄴𑄇𑄪𑄚𑄬𑄣𑄴𑄣𑄯𑄃𑄨 𑄘𑄮𑄣𑄴 𑄌𑄨𑄖𑄴𑄖𑄧𑄣𑄰 𑄃𑄧𑄋𑄛𑄧𑄢𑄧𑄕 𑄃𑄪𑄌𑄨𑄖𑄴𑅂

Baeg manussun svadin gori aekkui morjada ar udhigar lwnae loi dzawnmw oan. Tarar bibaek buddee beakkani aageh. Saenwtte aamaar baekkunelei dol sittawloi songporona usit.

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Educational institutions

The Chakma language is being taught in many government and private schools in India (Tripura, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh) and Bangladesh. The Chakma language was officially introduced in primary schools by the government of Tripura under The Directorate of Kokborok & Other Minority Languages in 2004 through Bengali script and since 2013 through Chakma script (also known as Ajhā Pāṭh). Presently, the Chakma language is being taught in 87 schools.^[11]