Dialects: Jaintia (Synteng), Nongtung. Formerly considered a dialect of Khasi ,. Jaintia dialect has 12 spoken forms: Jowai, Shangpung, Batau, Raliang, Sutnga, Sumer, Nartiang, Barato, Rymbai, Lakadong, Mynso, and Nongtalang. All are intelligible, except for Nongtalang, which is akin to Central Khmer ,. Jowai is standard spoken form. Lexical similarity: 68% with standard Khasi.
Genealogy:
Demographics: 243,000 in India (2001 census). Population total all countries: 247,000.
Language Use: Also use Bengali [ben], English [eng], Hindi [hin], Mizo [lus].
Language Development: Literacy rate in L2: 62% for Synteng dialect in Meghalaya (2001 census). Radio programs.
Writing System: Latin
Nation of Origin: India
Other Comments: A Scheduled Tribe. Christian.