Chakma language
Chakma is an Eastern Indo-Aryan language in the branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family, whose speakers are known as the Chakma or the Daingnet people. It has nearly 1 million speakers, with 60% residing in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh and 35% spread across Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Mizoram and Tripura in India. The remaining 5% live in Myanmar. The language has it own script, the Chakma script or the ajhapat, which is an abugida similar other South-east Asian scripts. It is mutually intelligible with the Chittagonian language.
Similarities of the Chakma language with Sanskrit, Maghadi Prakrit and with Pali is visible referring it to be a classical language. This suggests that the Chakmas have been present in the Indian subcontinent since ancient times. Cultural exchanges with neighboring communities have led to the adoption of Indo-Aryan and Arakanese terms. Studies suggest that the language may have originally been a Tibeto-Burman language before transitioning into an Indic language. However, there are abundant of vocabularies used in the Chakma language that do belong neither to Indo-Aryan nor Tibeto-Burman linguistic group, likely originating from their ancestral language. Historically, a Mongoloid group that settled in the Himalayan foothills spoke a Tibetan-related language but gradually incorporated Aryan vocabulary.
Classification
Chakma is classified as an Eastern Indo-Aryan language within the Bengali-Gauda subgroup. According to Masica, the Bengali-Gauda group includes Bengali, Noakhali, Chittagonian, Sylheti, Bishnupriya Manipuri, Hajong, Chakma, Tanchangya, Thar, and Rohingya. The language is mutually intelligible with Chittagonian.Studies indicate that the Chakma people originally spoke a Tibeto-Burman language belonging to the Jingpo-Luish branch before adopting their current Indo-Aryan language. This historical language shift was aimed at consolidating intertribal power. Evidence of this transition is preserved in the Chakma lexicon, which contains abundant vocabulary items that belong neither to Indo-Aryan nor Tibeto-Burman linguistic groups, likely originating from their ancestral language.
Despite its Indo-Aryan classification, Chakma is notably tonal—a characteristic rare among Indo-Aryan languages, which are typically non-tonal. This tonal feature is believed to be a substrate influence from the earlier Tibeto-Burman language.
History
Origins and Early Development
The earliest form of the Chakma language appears to have been distinct from both Indo-Aryan and Tibeto-Burman languages. Evidence for this comes from a significant portion of the Chakma vocabulary, which does not closely resemble words in either linguistic group. This suggests that early Chakma may have belonged to an isolated or lesser-documented linguistic lineage before later influences shaped its development.Historical migration patterns indicate that the Chakma people likely moved from Magadha to Arakan before settling in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. During this journey, their language encountered and absorbed elements from Pali and Sanskrit, particularly in religious and administrative contexts. At the same time, interactions with Burmese and Arakanese speakers introduced phonetic and structural adaptations, though the core vocabulary remained distinct.
Medieval Chakma
The Chakma and Daingnet people now speak what may be considered divergent dialects of Magadhi Prakrit. However, this is due to language shift from a Tibeto-Burman language; that medieval language may have been related to Sak or Chairel.Scholars discovered nearly century-old Chakma manuscripts bound in animal hide, preserved by the Chakma community. Displayed at a seminar in Pecharthal, Tripura, these texts cover history, culture, music, herbal medicine, and Buddhism. Written in Chakma script on handmade tree-bark paper, the ink was sourced from China via Myanmar. Over 3,000 such manuscripts exist, with some now conserved by Tripura University. This discovery highlights the rich literary heritage of the Chakma language.
Modern Chakma
It is officially recognized by the government of Tripura in India and also by the government of Bangladesh. In India, it is also spoken primarily in the Chakma Autonomous District Council which consists of the Tuichawng constituency of Lawngtlai district in Mizoram and many places in Tripura.Although there were no Chakma language radio or television stations as of 2011, the language has a presence in social media and on YouTube. The Hill Education Chakma Script website provides tutorials, videos, e-books, and Chakma language forums.
In 2012, the government of Tripura announced the implementation of Chakma language in Chakma Script in primary schools of Tripura. Imparting of education up to the elementary stage in the mother tongue is a national policy. To begin with, Chakma language subjects in its own scripts has been introduced in 87 primary schools in Chakma concentrated areas in Tripura."
"In preparation for the January 2014 education season, the national curriculum and textbook board has already started printing books in six languages... Chakma, Kokborok, Marma, Santal, Sadri and Achik."
Mor Thengari was Bangladesh's first Chakma-language movie. However, it was banned in Bangladesh due to its controversial plot.
Phonology
Vowels sounds
Consonant sounds
- can be heard as in intervocalic and word-final positions.
- can be heard as in word-initial and intervocalic positions.
- A sound is rare, and in some cases, is a free variant sound of.
Tones