A collaborative documentation of Ṭhiek : A South-Central language of the cachar cluster
Conversation with a Thiek Speaker. Photo of Agape Thiek and Marina Infimate by Emmanuel R Tuolor, 2023. Click on image to access collection.
| Language | Ṭhiek |
| Depositor | Marina Laltlinzo Infimate |
| Affiliation | Indian Institute of Technology Delhi |
| Location | India |
| Collection ID | 0804 |
| Grant ID | MDP1024 |
| Funding Body | ELDP |
| Collection Status | Collection online |
| Landing Page Handle | http://hdl.handle.net/2196/b9970008-f0df-4ad5-a6fa-a1adbb5dc83e |
Summary of the collection
The deposit content is a documentation of Thiek, a South-Central language of the Cachar cluster. The documentation of Thiek is a part of a collaborative documentation project funded by ELDP between 2024-2027 and carried out by a group of linguists, three academic institutions, and the speaker communities who are actively involved in the design of the deposit content including the collection, transcription, and translation of data. The deposited data constitutes a large annotated corpus of audio-visual recordings featuring natural conversations, narratives and interactions, covering a broad range of genres and topics.
Group represented
The group represented in this deposit is the Thiek community. The name Ṭhiek refers to both the language and the people. It is considered to be a sub-tribe of the Hmar group of tribes. The Ṭhieks are believed to have reached their present settlements after leaving the Lushai hills in batches around the 18th century. The Ṭhieks consist of numerous clans or sub-clans and are found to inhabit the Cachar and North Cachar hills of Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura. The documentation of Thiek is predominantly carried out in the North Cachar Hills (Dima Hasao District) of Assam.
Language information
Ṭhiek is largely spoken in the Cachar and North Cachar hills of Assam with a total of 3125 speakers spread across 20+ villages although a small number of Ṭhiek speakers are also reportedly present in Manipur. Ṭhiek lacks written literature and continues to be a spoken language only. The only available literary material in the language is a 45 page book titled ‘Ṭhiek Ṭawng’ meaning Ṭhiek Language written by Bapui (2016). Within the Ṭhiek-speaking community, the Hmar language has become dominant, leading many Ṭhiek speakers, especially among the younger generation, to shift to using Hmar. This has contributed to the endangered status of the Ṭhiek language.
Acknowledgement and citation
In addition to the depositor of the collection, users of any part of the collection must credit by name all contributors involved in data collection, transcription, and translation as well as the people recording the sessions. Relevant contributor information is available in the metadata. The Endangered Languages Documentation Programme should be acknowledged as the funder of this project. Users of any part of this collection should also acknowledge Sahiinii Leimana Veikho as the principal investigator and Marina Infimate, Anujeema Saikia, Linda Konnerth, and MaryKim Haokip as the core members of the research team.
To refer to any data from the collection, please cite as follows:
Infimate, Marina Laltlinzo. 2024. A collaborative documentation of Ṭhiek : A South-Central language of the cachar cluster. Endangered Languages Archive. Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/2196/1cfd9cdb-719e-45c8-89de-76473a9cee79. Accessed on [insert date here].
