The Tani peoples are a
complex of languages and ethnic groups spreading from the Tibetan Plateau down
to the valley of the
The most puzzling aspect of
Tani is its relatively recent expansion; the Tani languages are all closely
related which suggests that they must have expanded relatively recently,
perhaps around 1500 years ago. This expansion must have assimilated many
languages in central Arunachal Pradesh, although we believe that their traces
can be discovered in substrate vocabulary. In particular, it may be that the
specialised language used by shamans retains traces of this. The homeland of
the Tani is also a subject for speculation, as they exploit so many different
ecozones. It seems likely that they were not originally plains people and that
their spread to the valley of the
The table lists all the known
Tani groups, defined by ethnicity. The languages they speak are not always very
distinctive and may well run into one another. However, this is how the
literature is organised.
The Tani-speaking peoples
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The following are also
listed in the Ethnologue as possible dialects of Tani: Komkar, Pangi, Shimong,
Sagli, south Aya, Leli. Without further information, their distinctiveness is
left open.
Bibliography
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Das Gupta, Kamalesh. 1976.
Agglutination in Adi languages of Arunachal. Resarun 2.4: 18-21.
DeLancey, Scott. 1991. Mirish languages. International
encyclopaedia of linguistics, Vol. 2, ed. by William Bright, 431.
Duff-Sutherland-Dunbar, George. 1915. Abors
and Galongs. Memoirs of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 5 (Extra number).
Dunbar, G. D-S. 1916. Abors and
Galongs. Part 1: Notes on certain hill-tribes of the Indo-Tibetan border;
part 2: Anthropometric section (by J. Coggin and S.W. Kemp); Part 3: Personal
narrative of a visit to Pemakoichen. Memoirs of the Asiatic Society of
Konow, Sten. 1909. Abor-Miri and Dafla. Linguistic
survey of India, ed. by G. A. Grierson, 584-602.
Konow, Sten. 1909.
Marrison, Geoffrey Edward. 1988. The
Adi-Dafla languages of
Negi, Dev Singh. 1996. A Tryst with the
Mishmi Hills.
Padun, Mahendra. 1971. A note on the North
Assam Tibeto-Burman languages.
Ramirez, P. 1987.
Esprits ennemis, esprits alliés: la cosmologie politique des sociétés de
l'Arunachal Pradesh, Inde. Journal Asiatique 277 (3-4): 263-298.
Robinson, William. 1855. Notes on the
languages spoken by the Mishmis. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (
Sun, Jackson T. S. 1993. A historical-comparative study of the Tani
(Mirish) branch in Tibeto-Burman. PhD dissertation,
Sun, Jackson T. S. 1993. The Linguistic
Position of Tani (Mirish) in Tibeto-Burman: A Lexical Assessment. Linguistics
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Sun, Jackson T. S. 2003. Tani languages. The
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456-466.