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Languages spoken in the Republic of India belong to several language families, the major ones being the Indo-Aryan languages spoken by 78.05% of Indians and the Dravidian languages spoken by 19.64% of Indians, both families together are sometimes known as Indic languages. Languages spoken by the remaining 2.31% of the population belong to the Austroasiatic, Sino–Tibetan, Tai–Kadai, and a few other minor language families and isolates. As per the People's Linguistic Survey of India, India has the second highest number of languages (780), after Papua New Guinea (840). Ethnologue lists a lower number of 456.
Manipur is a state in northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanmar, Sagaing Region to the east and Chin State to the south. The state covers an area of 22,327 km2 (8,621 sq mi). The official and most widely spoken language is Meitei language. Native to the Meitei people, it is also used as a lingua franca by smaller communities, who speak a variety of other Sino-Tibetan languages. Manipur has been at the crossroads of Asian economic and cultural exchange for more than 2,500 years. It connects the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia to Southeast Asia, East Asia, Siberia, regions in the Arctic, Micronesia and Polynesia enabling migration of people, cultures and religions.
Meitei, also known as Manipuri, is a Tibeto-Burman language of northeast India. It is the official language and the lingua franca of Manipur as well as one of the 22 official languages of the Indian Republic. Native to the Meitei people, it is spoken by around 1.8 million people, predominantly in the state of Manipur, but also by smaller communities in the rest of the country and in parts of neighbouring Myanmar and Bangladesh. It was used as a court language in the historic Manipur Kingdom.
Sylheti is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by an estimated 11 million people, primarily in the Sylhet Division of Bangladesh and in parts of Northeast India. Besides, there are substantial numbers of Sylheti speakers within diaspora communities in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and the Middle East.
The Meitei people, also known as the Manipuri people or Meetei, are the predominant ethnic group of Manipur in Northeast India. They speak Meitei language, one of the 22 official languages of the Indian Republic and the sole official language of Manipur. The Meiteis primarily settled in the Imphal Valley region in modern-day Manipur, though a sizable population has settled in the other Indian states of Assam, Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Mizoram. There is also a notable presence of Meitei in the neighboring countries of Myanmar and Bangladesh. The Meitei ethnic group represents about 53% of Manipur's population.
The Hmar language or Khawsak ṭawng belongs to the Kukish branch of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. The speakers of the language are also known as Hmar.
Cachardistrict is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. After independence, the undivided Cachar district was split into four districts in Assam: Dima Hasao district, and Cachar district alongside Hailakandi and Karimganj.
Dima Hasao district, is an administrative district in the state of Assam, India. As of 2011, it is the least populous district of Assam.
The Meitei Pangals, also known as the Pangals or the Meitei Muslims or the Manipuri Muslims, are a group of Muslims who speak Meitei language as their native tongue. They live mainly in Manipur. The term "Pangal" simply means "Muslim" in Meitei language. Various historical sources have different dates for when Islam first entered Manipur. However, the date all sources seem to confirm as definitive is 1606 AD. The origin of the Pangal community is equally varied.
Bishnupriya Manipuri, also known as Bishnupriya Meitei or simply as Bishnupriya, is an Indo-Aryan language belonging to the Bengali–Assamese linguistic sub-branch. It is a creole of Bengali language and Meitei language and it still retains its pre-Bengali features. It is spoken in parts of the Indian states of Assam, Tripura and Manipur as well as in the Sylhet Division of Bangladesh. It uses the Bengali-Assamese script as its writing system. Bishnupriya Manipuri, being a member of the Eastern Indo-Aryan languages, was evolved from Magadhi Prakrit. So, its origin is associated with Magadha realm. The Government of Tripura categorized Bishnnupriya Manipuri under the "Tribal Language Cell" of the State Council of Educational Research and Training. Its speakers are also given the "Other Backward Classes" status by the Assam Government and notably, there is no legal status of the Bishnupriyas in Manipur. In the 2020s, the Bishnupriya speaking people started demanding that the Assam Government should give them the status of “indigenous people” of Assam and treat the same like other indigenous communities of the state.
Anal or Anāl, also known as Pakan Naga, after the two principal villages where it is spoken in, is a Southern Naga language, part of the Sino-Tibetan language family, spoken by the Anal people in India and a dwindling number in Myanmar. It had 83,000 speakers in India according to the 2001 census, and 55,000 in Myanmar in 2010. It has two principal clans, Murchal and Moshum, and is closest to Lamkang. The language of wider communication is Meitei language. The name "Anal" was given by the Meitei people of Manipur valley. Anal is written in the Latin script, with a literacy rate of about 87%. The speakers of this language use Meitei language as their second language (L2) according to the Ethnologue.
Thadou or Thado Chin is a Sino-Tibetan language of the Northern Kuki-Chin-Mizo sub-branch. It is spoken by the Thadou people in Northeast India. The speakers of this language use Meitei language as their second language (L2) according to the Ethnologue.
South Asia is home to several hundred languages, spanning the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. It is home to the third most spoken language in the world, Hindi–Urdu; and the sixth most spoken language, Bengali. The languages in the region mostly comprise Indo-Iranic and Dravidian languages, and further members of other language families like Austroasiatic, Turkic, and Tibeto-Burman languages.
Meitei literature, also known as Manipuri literature, is literature written in the Meitei language of Manipur. An ancient institution of learning, the Luwang Nonghumsang, later known as the Pandit Loishang, collected sources of indigenous Meitei knowledge and philosophy until the 18th century. Writing by Meiteis is assumed to go back to the Kingdom of Kangleipak in the early 12th century. The Meitei script is a Brahmic abugida. It is known only from the Puya manuscripts discovered in the first half of the 20th century. Manuscripts of the 18th and 19th centuries were written using the Bengali alphabet. The existence of the Meitei script in the 15th-century hinges on the authenticity of an inscription dated to the reign of Senbi Kiyamba. The first printed Manipuri book, Manipurer Itihas, appeared in 1890 from the Baptist Mission Press, Calcutta. Though the kings of Manipur had established contact with the British from the middle of the eighteenth century onward the real impact of the contact came much later. Johnstone Middle English School, based on the western system of education, was started in 1885 at Imphal, and in 1891 Manipur lost its independence to the British. British domination facilitated the introduction of new systems in the civil, political and educational spheres, which hastened the process of modernization in Manipur, exposed as it was to new ideas and influences.
Cheitharol Kumbaba, also spelled Cheithalon Kumpapa, is the court chronicle of the kings of Manipur. The oldest extant version was copied in the early 19th century, under Jai Singh, the puppet king installed after the Burmese invasion, as "the former copy was no more available". It is the main source for the list of pre-modern kings of Manipur, tracing the genealogy of the ruling Ningthouja dynasty back to a ruler named Nongda Lairen Pakhangba, said to have ruled for more than a century, from 33–154 CE. It is to the Meiteis what the Buranji is to the Assamese and the Yazawin to the Burmese.
Inpui or Puiron is a Naga language spoken in different villages of Senapati district, Tamenglong district, Noney District, and Imphal district in Manipur, and in some areas in Nagaland, India. Speakers of Inpui and Rongmei are subsumed under single ethnic group Kabui. But the two major ethnic groups have different languages and identity. Even though they are considered to be cognate ethnic group. The speakers of this language use Meitei language as their second language (L2) according to the Ethnologue.
Aimol, also known as Aimual, is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Aimol people of Manipur, India. It is considered endangered and has less than 9,000 speakers worldwide as per 2011 census.
Tarao, or Taraotrong, is an unclassified Tibeto-Burman language of India. It is marginally (70%) intelligible with Chothe. The speakers of this language use Meitei language as their second language (L2) according to the Ethnologue.
Barak Valley division, is an administrative division of Assam under the jurisdiction of a Commissioner, who is stationed at Silchar the largest city of the division. It consists of the following districts: Cachar, North Cachar Hills, Karimganj, and Hailakandi.
References
- ↑ Chiru at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ↑ Awan, Mechek Sampar and Mary Kim. 2018. "Nature and Extent of Endangerment in Chiru". Paper presented at the 6th International Conference on Endangered and Lesser-Known Languages, Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysuru.
- ↑ Awan, Mechek Sampar. 2014. Segmental Phonology of Chiru. Language in India ISSN 1930-2940 Vol 14:10
Sino-Tibetan branches | |||||
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| Western Himalayas (Himachal, Uttarakhand, Nepal, Sikkim) |
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| Eastern Himalayas (Tibet, Bhutan, Arunachal) | |||||
| Myanmar and Indo-Burmese border |
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| East and Southeast Asia |
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| Dubious (possible isolates) (Arunachal) |
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| Proposed groupings | |||||
| Proto-languages | |||||
Italics indicates single languages that are also considered to be separate branches. | |||||
