| Northern Kuki-Chin | |
| Also Known As: | Northeastern Kuki-Chin Northern Chin Zo |
| Region: | Myanmar and Northeast India |
| Ethnicity: | Zomi and Chin |
| Familycolor: | Sino-Tibetan |
| Fam2: | Tibeto-Burman |
| Fam3: | Central Tibeto-Burman (?) |
| Fam4: | Kuki-Chin–Naga |
| Fam5: | Kuki-Chin |
| Glotto: | nort3179 |
| Glottoname: | Northeastern Kuki-Chin |
Northern Kuki-Chin (or Northeastern Kuki-Chin[1]) is a branch of Kuki-Chin languages. It is called Northeastern Kuki-Chin by Peterson (2017) to distinguish it from the Northwestern Kuki-Chin languages. VanBik (2009:31) also calls the branch Northern Chin or Zo.
Except for Thado speakers, most Northern Kuki-Chin speakers self-identify as part of a wider Zomi ethnic group.
Tedim is the local lingua franca of northern Chin State, Myanmar, while Paite (also known as Zokam) is the local lingua franca of much of southern Manipur State, India.
VanBik (2009) includes the following languages as Northern Kuki-Chin languages. The positions of Ngawn and Ralte are not addressed by VanBik (2009), but they are classified as Northern Kuki-Chin in Glottolog.
See also: Zomi people. The Zomi languages refer to most of the Northern Kuki-Chin languages, excluding Thado (Kuki) and a few other peripheral languages. Zomi is a cultural cover term that refers to speakers of languages such as Tedim, Paite, Simte, Zou, Vaiphei, and Ralte. Organizations such as the Zomi Language & Literature Society (ZOLLS) in Churachandpur, Manipur, India are currently working on developing a unified standard "Zomi" language.[2]
VanBik (2009:31) divides the Northern Kuki-Chin branch into two major language clusters, namely the Thado cluster and Sizang cluster.
VanBik (2009) lists the following sound changes from Proto-Kuki-Chin to Proto-Northern Chin.