| Kuki-Chin–Naga | |
|---|---|
| (not a language family) | |
| Geographic distribution: |
East Asia |
| Linguistic classification: | Sino-Tibetan
|
| Subdivisions: |
(various)
|
The Kuki-Chin–Naga languages are a geographic clustering of languages of the Tibeto-Burman family in James Matisoff's classification used by Ethnologue. Their genealogical relationship both to each other and to the rest of Tibeto-Burman is unresolved, but Matisoff lumps them together as a convenience pending further research.
The languages are spoken by the ethnically related Naga people of Nagaland, the Chin people of Burma, and the Kuki people. The larger among these languages have communities of several ten thousands of native speakers, and a few have more than 100,000, such as Mizo (540,000), Thado (150,000) or Ao (140,000).
None of these ethnicities corresponds to a linguistic unit. "Kuki" and "Chin" are essentially synonyms, whereas the Naga speak languages of several families. The families are:
Meithei is also often included. The Konyak languages, also spoken by ethnic Naga, are not.