| Lyngngam | |
| Also Known As: | Lyngam |
| Region: | Meghalaya, Assam |
| States: | India |
| Speakers: | 11,586 |
| Date: | 2011 census |
| Ref: | [1] |
| Familycolor: | Austroasiatic |
| Fam2: | Khasi-Palaungic |
| Fam3: | Khasic |
| Fam4: | Khasi-Pnar-Lyngngam |
| Iso3: | lyg |
| Glotto: | lyng1241 |
| Glottorefname: | India Lyngam |
Lyngngam is an Austroasiatic language of Northeast India closely related to Khasic languages. Once listed as a dialect of Khasi, Lyngngam has in recent literature been classified as a distinct language and believed to be former Garo speakers. Lyngngam speakers have food and dress similar to the neighboring Garo people. Garos consider Lyngngam ancestors to belong to the Garo Megam tribe, from which the Lyngam tribe emerged. Garo Megam tribe is also referred by name, Chisak Megam. Lyngngam Male Traditional dance outfits and customs are similar to that of Garo Tribe. As per Garo Oral Traditions Megam/Lyngngam people are said to be part of Garo Tribe.
The following table lists the consonants attested in Lyngngam.
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | pronounced as //m// | pronounced as //n// | pronounced as //ɲ// | pronounced as //ŋ// | |||
| Stop | voiceless | pronounced as //p// | pronounced as //t// | pronounced as //c// | pronounced as //k// | pronounced as //ʔ// | |
| aspirated | pronounced as //pʰ// | pronounced as //tʰ// | pronounced as //cʰ// | pronounced as //kʰ// | |||
| voiced | pronounced as //b// | pronounced as //d// | pronounced as //ɟ// | pronounced as //ɡ// | |||
| Voiceless fricative | pronounced as //s// | pronounced as //h// | |||||
| Liquid | pronounced as //l, r// | ||||||
| Glide | pronounced as //w// | pronounced as //j// | |||||
| Lyngngam | Khasi | meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|
| pronounced as /cʔeŋ/ | pronounced as /çʔeŋ/ | bone | |
| pronounced as /cɨppʰeu/ | pronounced as /çipʰeu/ | 10 | |
| pronounced as /sɲjək/ | pronounced as /çɲiuʔ/ | hair | |
| pronounced as /snaːr/ | pronounced as /çnjaʔ/ | chisel |
The following table lists the vowel inventory of the language. The only vowels showing a length distinction are pronounced as //i// and pronounced as //a//, in contradistinction to Khasi, where length is distinctive for all vowels.
| Front unrounded | Central unrounded | Back rounded | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | pronounced as //i, iː// | pronounced as //ɨ// | pronounced as //u// | |
| Mid | pronounced as //e// | pronounced as //ə// | pronounced as //o// | |
| Low | pronounced as //a, aː// | |||
Words with diphthongs in Khasi have monophthongs in Lyngngam, as in the following pairs of cognates:
| Lyngngam | Khasi | meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|
| pronounced as /bni/ | pronounced as /bnaːi/ | month | |
| pronounced as /ksu/ | pronounced as /ksəu/ | dog | |
| pronounced as /mot/ | pronounced as /miet/ | night |