Atong (India)

Atong (spelled natively as A·tong) is a Sino-Tibetan (or Tibeto-Burman) language spoken in Northeast India and adjacent areas of Bangladesh. It is closely related to the Garo, Koch, Rabha and Bodo languages. The language is primarily spoken in the South Garo Hills and West Khasi Hills districts of Meghalaya state, as well as in the southern Kamrup district of Assam.

The spelling "A·tong" is based on the native pronunciation of the language's name, which does not contain a glottal stop. Unlike many other Sino-Tibetan languages, Atong is non-tonal.

Atong is classified as a severely endangered language by Ethnologue and UNESCO. Its decline is largely due to the influence of Standard Garo, a prestige language in Meghalaya. As a result, many parents no longer teach Atong to their children, though there are still communities in the South Garo Hills and West Khasi Hills where the language is actively spoken and transmitted to the younger generation.

From Wikipedia · Atong language (Sino-Tibetan) · CC BY-SA 4.0