Sak language


Sak is a Sino-Tibetan language of the Sal branch spoken in Bangladesh and Myanmar by the Chak people.

Geographical distribution

Cak is spoken in Bangladesh by about 3,000 people and in Rakhine State, Burma by about 1,000 people according to Ethnologue. In Bangladesh, Cak is spoken in Baishari, Naikhyongchari, and Dochari. In Rakhine State, Burma, Sak is spoken in Maungdaw, Buthidaung, Rathedaung, and Mrauk U townships. The Baishari dialect is the most conservative one.
According to Ethnologue, in Bangladesh, Chak is spoken in 14 villages in:

Phonology

Consonants

  • Sounds /tsʰ, kʰ, w/ mainly occur from loanwords.
  • /ts, tsʰ, dz/ is also heard as among other dialects.
  • occurs as a realization of the consonant sequence /ŋj/.

Vowels

Numerals

Sak uses a decimal-based numeral system. Sak uses two sets of numerals: an indigenous system, and another system borrowed from Arakanese, often used for numbers beyond ten.

Writing system

A new script for the Sak language was devised by Mong Mong Cak and disseminated in 2013. Previously, Bengali and Burmese scripts were used on an ad hoc basis. The Cak script is a Brahmic-style abugida with 33 consonants and 11 vowels represented.