Milang language

Milang is a Siangic or Tani language of Upper Siang district, Arunachal Pradesh, India. It is spoken in the 3 villages of Milang (Milang: Holon), Dalbing, and Pekimodi (Milang: Moobuk Ade), located in Mariyang Subdivision, Upper Siang District, Arunachal Pradesh (Tayeng 1976).

Milang
Holon, Dalbo
Native to	India
Region	Arunachal Pradesh
Ethnicity	4,000
Native speakers	2,150 (2011)[1]
Language family	Possibly Sino-Tibetan Greater Siangic? Siangic Milang
Language codes
ISO 639-3	None (mis)
Glottolog	mila1245
ELP	Milang

Classification

Milang has traditionally been classified as the most divergent of the Tani languages, hence ultimately Sino-Tibetan. Post & Blench (2011) reclassified it as Siangic, on the basis of clear correspondences with the Koro language in vocabulary that may not ultimately be of Sino-Tibetan origin. The implication is that Milang may, like other Siangic languages, harbour a non-Sino-Tibetan substrate, or may be a non-Sino-Tibetan language with Sino-Tibetan features acquired through prolonged contact, perhaps with the neighbouring and much larger Padam tribe, who speak an Eastern Tani language.

References

• Modi, Milorai (2007). The Millangs. Itanagar: Himalayan Publishers. ISBN 81-86393-72-2.
• Modi, Yankee. 2017. The Milang Language: Grammar and Texts. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Bern.
• Post, Mark W. and Roger Blench (2011). "Siangic: A new language phylum in North East India", 6th International Conference of the North East India Linguistics Society, Tezpur University, Assam, India, Jan 31 – Feb 2.
• Tayeng, Aduk (1976). Milang phrase-book. Shillong: The Director of Information and Public Relations, Arunachal Pradesh.