| Aiton | |
| Nativename: | (တႝ)ဢႝတွꩫ် |
| States: | India |
| Region: | Assam |
| Ethnicity: | Aiton people |
| Speakers: | 1,500 |
| Date: | 2006 |
| Ref: | e18 |
| Familycolor: | Kradai |
| Fam2: | Tai |
| Fam3: | Southwestern |
| Fam4: | Northwestern |
| Script: | Burmese script (Aiton variation, called Lik-Tai)[1] |
| Nation: |  India
|
| Agency: | Language Academy |
| Iso3: | aio |
| Glotto: | aito1238 |
| Glottorefname: | Aiton |
The Aiton language or Tai Aiton language is spoken in Assam, India, in the Dhonsiri Valley and the south bank of the Brahmaputra. It is currently classified as a threatened language, with fewer than 2,000 speakers worldwide. Its other names include Aitonia and Sham Doaniya.[2]
The Aiton language is a part of the Southwestern branch of the Tai family of languages. It is closely related to, and sometimes considered a dialect of, Shan. There are three other actively spoken languages of this branch in Assam: Khamti, Phake, and Khamyang.[3]
The Tai languages in Assam share many grammatical similarities, a writing system, and much of their vocabulary.[4] The most prominent differences between the languages are their tonal systems.
According to the oral and written records of the Aiton people, they originated from a place named Khao-Khao Mao-Lung, a Burmese state near the Chinese border.[5] It is generally believed that they came to India about two or three hundred years ago, seeking refuge from oppression. Despite how long they have been in Assam, many members of the older generations are not fluent in Assamese, the official language of the state.
Aiton is spoken predominantly in India, in the northeastern state of Assam.
According to Morey (2005), Aiton is spoken in the following villages:
| Flood village (บ้านน้ำท่วม) | Duburoni | Golaghat | ||
| Sour village (บ้านส้ม) | Tengani | Golaghat | ||
| Big fruit village | Borhola | Golaghat | ||
| Stone village (บ้านหิน) | Ahomani | Karbi Anglong | ||
| Big village (บ้านหลวง) | Bargaon | Karbi Anglong | ||
| Hill village (บ้านดอย) | Sukhihola | Karbi Anglong | ||
| Sand village (บ้านทราย) | Kalyoni | Karbi Anglong | ||
| Sand village (บ้านทราย) | Balipathar | Karbi Anglong | ||
| Sand village (บ้านทราย) | Jonapathar | Lohit |
Buragohain (1998) reports a total of 260 Aiton households, comprising a total population of 2,155.
| Ahomani | Karbi Anglong | 1939 | 31 | 267 | |
| Baragaon | Karbi Anglong | 1835 | 39 | 359 | |
| Balipathar | Karbi Anglong | 1898 | 59 | 528 | |
| Chakihola | Karbi Anglong | unknown | 18 | 180 | |
| Kaliyani | Karbi Anglong | Man era 1239 | 15 | 154 | |
| Borhola | Golaghat | 1836 | 26 | 235 | |
| Dubarani | Golaghat | unknown | 43 | 334 | |
| Tengani | Golaghat | unknown | 19 | 150 | |
| Jonapathar | Lohit | 1950s | 15 | 148 |
Morey reports the following initial consonants:[6]
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| voiceless | voiced | voiceless | voiced | voiceless | voiced | voiceless | voiced | voiceless | voiced | ||
| Plosive | Tenuis | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |||
| Aspirated | pronounced as /link/ | ||||||||||
| Nasal | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |||||||
| Fricative | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |||||
| Lateral | pronounced as /link/ | ||||||||||
| Trill | pronounced as /link/ | ||||||||||
Aiton, like some other Tai languages, have a "minimal three-way contrast in voicing". It also only allows vowels to be voiced stops when they are in bilabial and dental/alveolar places of articulation. According to Morey, "pronounced as /[m]/ and pronounced as /[n]/ are variants for pronounced as //b// and pronounced as //d//, respectively". Aiton, has voiced pronounced as //r, l, w, j// and four voiced nasals in its sound inventory. It does not have voiceless sonorants.
Aiton has the following final consonants:
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| voiceless | voiced | voiceless | voiced | voiceless | voiced | voiceless | voiced | voiceless | voiced | ||
| Plosive | Tenuis | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||||||
| Aspirated | |||||||||||
| Nasal | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||||||||
| Semi-vowel | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |||||||||
-[w] occurs after front vowels and [a]-, -[j] occurs after back vowels and [a]-.[1]
Aiton today uses three tones, however it originally used five but two have merged with other tones. The first tone still used today is 'mid/high level', the second tone is 'high level then falling' and the third is 'mid falling'. Originally the fourth tone, 'mid rising', has merged with the first tone. The fifth tone, 'mid falling glottalised', has merged with the third tone.[6] [7]
Aiton has a vowel system of only seven vowels, pronounced as //i, ɯ, u, ɛ, ɔ, a, aa//, which is the smallest out of all the Tai languages spoken in Assam. From these seven vowels, Aiton allows only nine possible sequences.
The following set of pronouns are the pronouns found in the Aiton language:[8]
| Word | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| /kaw1/ | I | |
| /maɯ1/ | You | |
| /mɯn1/ | He/She/It | |
| /haw1/ | We | |
| /su3/ | You | |
| /kʰaw3/ | They |
Note: the form /-an2/ is a post-clitic form that approaches a definite article in function and may be attached to pronouns and even verbs.[8]
| Deictics | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| /nay2/ | This, here | |
| /nan2/, /han2/ | That, there | |
| /-an2/ | That, there |
The most common classifiers are:[8]
See also: Burmese script and Burmese alphabet. The Tai Aiton have their own writing system called 'Lik-Tai', which they share with the Khamti people and Tai Phake people.[1] It closely resembles the Northern Shan script of Myanmar, which is a variant of the Burmese script, with some of the letters taking divergent shapes.[9]