Thor language explained

Thor Chin
Also Known As:Tawr Chin
Nativename:Laamtuk Thet
Ruavan Thet
Region:Myanmar
Ethnicity:Chin
Speakers:580
Date:2019
Familycolor:Sino-Tibetan
Fam2:Tibeto-Burman
Fam3:Central Tibeto-Burman (?)
Fam4:Kuki-Chin-Naga
Fam5:Kuki-Chin
Fam6:Central
Iso3:tcp
Glotto:tawr1235
Glottorefname:Laamtuk Thet

Thor (Thor Chin; IPA: pronounced as /t̪ʰɔːɹ³³/), also known as Tawr (Tawr Chin), Laamtuk Thet, or Ruavan Thet, is a Kuki-Chin language spoken in two villages of Hakha Township, Chin State, Myanmar.

VanBik (2009:48) proposes the name Laamtuk Thet (from the speakers' autonym Thet), and notes that Thawr is in fact a derogatory exonym that means ‘dirty’ or ‘sour’ in Hakha. It is spoken in Laamtuk and Ruavaan villages, located about 60 miles southeast of Hakha town (VanBik 2009:48).[1]

Background

Thor is spoken by 580 people in two villages about 40 miles southeast of Hakha Town, namely Laamtuk (320 people) and Ruavan (260 people). Speakers often refer to their language as the Laamtuk language or Ruavan language.[2]

Other spellings include Tawr, Torr, and Thawr.[2] Another name is Tet, also spelled Thet.[3]

Notes and References

  1. VanBik, Kenneth. 2009. Proto-Kuki-Chin: A Reconstructed Ancestor of the Kuki-Chin Languages. STEDT Monograph 8. .
  2. Mang, Ṭial Khun. 2019. A Phonological and Lexical Comparison of Thor and Hakha. M.A. dissertation. Chiang Mai: Payap University.
  3. Cin, N. (1998). ချင််းတ ောင်တ ောက် သက်လူမျ ်းသမ ိုင််း (The history of Tet people who lived in the Chin Hill). M.A. dissertation. Yangon: University of Yangon.