Hill Miri dialect

Last updated

Nyishi (Kamle)
Sarak
Region Arunachal Pradesh
Ethnicity Nyishi (Kamle) people
Native speakers
10,000 (2008) [1]
Sino-Tibetan
Language codes
ISO 639-3 None (mis)
Individual code:
mrg  – (included under Plains Miri)
Glottolog hill1258
ELP Hill Miri
Lang Status 60-DE.svg
Hill Miri is classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
Portrait of a girl of the Nyishi people of Kamle 314a.jpg
Portrait of a girl of the Nyishi people of Kamle

Nyishi (Kamle) or Sarak is a Tani language of India. It is spoken in Arunachal Pradesh by an estimated 9,000 people of the Nyishi tribe. [2] It appears to be a dialect of the Nishi language. [3]

Contents

Though Hili Miri is listed under Mising [mrg] in Ethnologue , Burling and Sun–experts on the Aranuchal Pradesh and Tani languages–treat Hill Miri and Mising as separate and distinct languages belonging to different branches of the Tani subgroup. [1]

Description

Nyishi (muri-mugli) is a member of the Tani branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages and is considered a dialect of the Nishi language. It is spoken by 9,000 people in the northern regions of India by the Nyishi people of Kamle. [1] It is threatened because the younger generation is slowly breaking away from their people's traditions and language. [4] [5] Many audio books of gospel narratives in the Nyishi language of Kamle have been collected.

History of scholarship

George Abraham Grierson, in his survey of India regarding its linguistics, researched the Nyishi language and published a record over a century ago.[ citation needed ]

Phonology

Consonants

The following table includes an inventory of Nyishi (Kamle) consonants. [6]

Labial Alveolar Post-
alveolar 		Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ɲ [7] ŋ
Stop voiceless p t c [8] k
voiced b d ɟ [9] ɡ
Fricative s ʃ h
Approximant w l j
Trill? r

Vowels are front /i,e/, central /ɨ,ʉ,ə,a/, [10] and back /u,o/. Vowels occur long and short.

Grammar

The basic Nyishi (Kamle) grammar and basic word order are like those of related Sino-Tibetan languages, similar to that of Nishi.

Numerals

Nyishi (Kamle)
1aken
2eñi
3oum
4epi
5ango/angngo
6ake
7kenne
8pine
9kora
10íri

Pronouns

Personal

SingularPlural
1st personngongu-lu
2nd personnonu-lu
3rd personbu, búbu-lu, bú-lu

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Did you know Hill Miri is threatened?". Endangered Languages. Archived from the original on 18 April 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
  2. ↑ Moseley, Christopher (2007). Encyclopedia of the world's endangered languages. Routledge. p. 298. ISBN   978-0-7007-1197-0. Archived from the original on 3 August 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  3. ↑ Post, Mark W. (9 August 2013). Defoliating the Tani Stammbaum: An exercise in areal linguistics. 13th Himalayan Languages Symposium. Canberra, Australian National University. Archived from the original on 3 August 2024. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  4. ↑ "Aptani, Hill Miri, Nishi". Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011.
  5. ↑ Nabam Tadar Rikam (2005). Emerging religious Identities of Arunachal Pradesh. Mittal Publications. ISBN   978-81-8324-032-1. Archived from the original on 3 August 2024. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  6. ↑ Ju Namkung, ed. (1996). Phonological inventories of Tibeto-Burman languages (PDF). STEDT Monograph Series. Vol. 3. Center for Southeast Asia Studies, University of California. ISBN   0-944613-28-4. LCCN   96-71235.
  7. ↑ Value unclear, perhaps [nʲ]?
  8. ↑ Value unclear, perhaps [ t͡ʃ ]?
  9. ↑ Value unclear, perhaps [ d͡ʒ ]?
  10. ↑ Transcribed ⟨ɯ,y,ɤ,a⟩ in Namkung

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.