Shö language


Shö is a Kuki-Chin language dialect cluster of Burma and Bangladesh. There are perhaps three distinct dialects, Asho, Chinbon, and Shendu.
Mayin and Longpaw are not mutually intelligible, but have been subsumed under the ISO code for Chinbon because Mayin-Longpaw speakers generally understand Chinbon. Minkya is similarly included because most Minkya speakers understand Mayin.

Geographical distribution

Chinbon is spoken in the following townships of Myanmar.
Asho is spoken in Ayeyarwady Region, Bago Region, and Magway Region, and Rakhine State, Myanmar.
VanBik lists the following Asho dialects.
Shendu is spoken in Mizoram, India.

Phonology

Asho dialect has 28 consonants and seven vowels.
BilabialLabio-dentalInter-dentalAlveolarPost-AlveolarVelarGlottal
V1 stopsp pʰt tʰk kʰʔ
Ingressivesɓɗ
V1 Fricativesʃxh
Vd Fricativesvʒɣ
V1 Affricatestθkx
Vd Affricatesd ʒk ɣ
Nasalsm m̥n ŋ ŋ̊
Laterall ɬ
Clusterspl pʰl

FrontCenterBack
Closei, iːɨ, ɨːu, uː
Mide, eːə, əːɔ, ɔː
Opena, aː

Diphthongs:

Morphology

Similar to other Kukish languages, many Asho verbs have two distinct stems. This stem alternation is a Proto-Kukish feature, which has been retained to different degrees in different Kukish languages.