Saihriem language

Last updated

Saihriem
Faihriem, Sairiam, Sairiem, Sairhem, Saihriam, Syriem, Sairang
Saihriem/Syriem/Sairang
Native to India
Region Cachar District of Assam
Ethnicity Faihriem
Native speakers
500–700 (2011) [1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3 None (mis)
Glottolog syri1242

The Saihriem (Faihriem, Syriem) language is spoken by a mixture of the Saihriem/Faihriem people- a sub tribe of Hmar group of tribes of the Chin-Kuki-Mizo and other ethnically closely related people such as the Aimol, Kuki, Vaiphei, in four neighbouring villages (Noxatilla, Bagbahar, Balisor, Nagathol & Saihriemkhuo villages) around Dwarbond in Bojalenga Block of Cachar District, Assam.

Contents

It is critically endangered, with the people who still speak the language numbering a few hundreds only. It was recorded wrongly as Sairang in the Census of India, 1901 and there were mere 71 speakers of the language at that time. It belongs to the Kuki-Chin branch of the Tibeto-Burman family of languages. [1]

Basic vocabulary

Saihriem languageEnglish
Engame i hming?What is your name?
Ke hming chu Lala a eh.My name is Lala.
Ka lawm ie.Thank You
I dam naw?How are you?
Ka dam ie.I am fine.
TuiWater
BoruokAir
RileiSoil
Ngafish
Ar (sa)chicken(meat)
Vawksapork
Sehrâtsabeef
Kêlsamutton
Dailawlentils
ZingkarMorning
KhawlawiEvening
SawngkawlShirt
Tatuompants
Hmarchachilli
SamataraiOrange
ThinghnatuiTea
Lungsiet taka tui mi pek ta.Please give me water.
Lungsiet taka bu mi pek ta.Please give me food (rice).
Lungsiet taka an mi pek ta.Please give me curry (side dish) vegetable / meat.
Engame ka pek sik che?What will I give you?
Engam?What?
Engtika?When?
Engasik?Why?
Khawtiengam?Where?
Engtinam?How?
Imuttui.Sleep well. (The equivalent of "Good Night".)
Engtinam Aizawl se ka ti?How do I go to Aizawl?
Ma hi engza man ame?What is the price of this?
Dam taka se rawh ou.Safe journey

Numbers

0Biel
1Inkhat
2Phahni
3Inthum
4Inli
5Ringa
6Kiruk
7Sari
8Kiriet
9Kuo
10Sawm
20Sawmhni
30Sawmthum
40Sawmli
50Sawmnga
60Sawmruk
70Somsari
80Sawmriet
90Sawmkuo
100Zakhat
200Zahni
300Zathum
400Zali
500Zanga
600Zaruk
700Zasari
800Zariet
900Zakuo
1000Sângkhat
10000Sîngkhat
100000Nuoikhat
1000000Maktaduoi
10000000Vaibelsie
100000000Vaibelsietak
1000000000Tlukledingawn

Names of weeks

Sl. No.EnglishSaihriem
1SundayPathienni
2MondayThawṭanni
3TuesdayThawleni
4WednesdayNilâini
5ThursdayNingani
6FridayZirtawpni
7SaturdayInrinni

Related Research Articles

Hmar is an Kuki ethnic group living in Northeast Indian state of Manipur, Mizoram, Assam and western Myanmar (Burma) and eastern Bangladesh. They use Meitei language as their second language (L2) in Manipur. They speak Mizo language as their L1 in Mizoram.

Gangte is an ethnic group mainly living in the Indian state of Manipur. They belong to the Zo people and are parts of the Kuki or under Mizo tribe and are recognised a tribe of Manipur, India. They are also indigenous inhabitants of Mizoram, Assam and Myanmar, and a recognised tribe under the Indian Constitution. With a population of approximately 40,000 worldwide, they primarily live in Manipur's southern Churachandpur district and neighbouring states of Meghalaya, Mizoram and Assam. (L2) according to the Ethnologue.

The Koireng people are one of the indigenous peoples inhabiting Manipur in North-East India. They have a shared common ancestry, history, cultural traits, folklore and dialects with their kindred people like Aimol and Kom. They use Meitei language as their second language (L2) according to the Ethnologue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mizo people</span> Ethnic group native to northeastern India

The Mizo people are a Tibeto-Burmese ethnic group native to the Indian state of Mizoram and neighbouring regions of Northeast India. They are related to the Zomi people and Chin people. The term Mizo covers several related ethnic groups or clans inside the Mizo group. The term Kuki, derived from Bengali, was used as a general classification in government records for the Zo ethnic groups who resided in the Lushai hills region. However, with the establishment of the state of Mizoram, the term Mizo became more widely recognized and used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dima Hasao district</span> District of Assam in India

Dima Hasao district, is an administrative district in the state of Assam, India. As of 2011, it is the least populous district of Assam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kuki people</span> Ethnic group in India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar

The Kuki people are an ethnic group in the Northeastern Indian states of Manipur, Nagaland, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram, as well as neighbouring countries of Bangladesh and Myanmar. The Kuki constitute one of several hill tribes within India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. In Northeast India, they are present in all states except Arunachal Pradesh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zou people</span> Ethnic group living in Myanmar and Northeast India

The Zou people are an indigenous community living along the frontier of India and Burma, they are a sub-group of the Kuki people. In India, they live with and are similar in language and habits to the Thadou people and Paite and the Simte peoples. In Burma, the Zou are counted among the Chin people.They are a hill people, "Zou" may plainly means "Hills" denoting the Zous are "people of the hills" or "of the hills", and "Zou" has also a different meaning in Zou language that is "complete" or another word for it is "finish". But, the Zou people believed that they incepted the name 'Zou' from their forefather 'Zou' or 'Zo', believed to be the progenitor of the broad Chin-Kuki-Mizo people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zou language</span> Sino-Tibetan language of Burma and India

Zo is a Northern Kuki-Chin-Mizo language originating in western Burma and spoken also in Mizoram and Manipur in northeastern India.

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.

The Zo people are an ethnic group which inhabit areas of India, Myanmar and the Chittagong hill tracts of Bangladesh. The word Zohnatlâk/Zo is used to describe an ethnic group, which is also known as the Chin, the Mizo, the Kuki, or a number of other names based on geographic distribution, that speaks the Kuki-Chin languages. They are from same origin which is known as Sinlung. They spread throughout the northeastern states of India, northwestern Myanmar and the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. In northeastern India, they are present in Tripura, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, Meghalaya and Assam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biate people</span>

The Biates are an ethnic hill tribe of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura and Manipur. Their language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman family. Spread over many parts of North-East India, they have a unique identity with a rich and distinctive history, culture, dialect and religious heritages. They are one of the oldest hill tribes of North East India especially among the Chin-Kuki-Mizo people. The term Biate comes from the word Bia-te. The word ‘Bia’ or ‘Biak’ means ‘speak’ or ‘worship’. ‘Te’ is a suffix denoting plurality. Hence, the two words combine to form the word Biate, which means worshipper.

Sakachep also known as Khelma, is a Central Kuki-Chin-Mizo language of Northeast India. Dialects are Khelma, Thangachep, and Sakachep (Ethnologue). VanBik (2009) classifies Sakachep as closely related to Hmar.

Vaiphei is a Sino-Tibetan language belonging to the Kuki-Chin linguistic subbranch of the Tibeto-Burman group of languages. It is spoken mainly in the Indian state of Manipur and minutely in Mizoram, Assam, Meghalaya, and Tripura. The dialect spoken in Manipur exhibits a least partial mutual intelligibility with the other Mizo/Kukish dialects of the area including Thadou, Hmar, Paite, Simte, Kom and Gangte languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gangte language</span> Sino-Tibetan language of India

Gangte is a Sino-Tibetan language of Kuki-Chin linguistic sub branch of Northeastern India. Its speakers primarily live in Manipur and the adjacent areas of Meghalaya and Assam. The language appears to be homogeneous with no known dialectal variation and exhibits at least partial mutual intelligibility with the other Chin-Kuki-Mizo dialects of the area including Thadou, Hmar, Vaiphei, Simte, Kom and Paite languages. The speakers of this language use Meitei language as their second language (L2) according to the Ethnologue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thadou people</span> Ethnic group from South Asia

Thadou people and are an indigenous tribe of Kuki people inhabiting Northeast India, Burma, Bangladesh, Israel.

Simte is a Kuki-Chin language of India. It is spoken primarily by the Simte in Northeastern India, who are concentrated in Manipur and adjacent areas of Mizoram and Assam. The dialect spoken in Manipur exhibits partial mutual intelligibility with the other Kuki-Chin dialects of the area including Thadou, Hmar, Vaiphei, Paite, Kom and Gangte. It is written in Latin script.

Ranglong is an ethic people belonging to the old kuki chin, majority of Ranglong's live in the northeastern part of India, mainly in the border area's of Tripura, Assam and Mizoram. The Ranglong people live in a small and densely-packed area over three federal Indian states,(tripura, Assam and Mizoram)

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aimol language</span> Sino-Tibetan language spoken in India

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. The speakers of this language use Meitei language as their second language (L2) according to the Ethnologue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saihriem people</span>

The Faihriem, or Saihriem, are one of the clans of Hmar tribe located in the Indian states of Assam, Manipur and Mizoram who speak the Saihriem dialect.

The Hmar languages or Hmaric languages are a subbranch of the Kukish branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family which comprises Hmar proper (Khawsak), Biate, Hrangkhol, Sakachep, Zote, Darlong, Thiek, Saihriem (Faihriem) and others. The Hmar languages are often treated as dialects of a single language, since differences between them are reportedly minor. The speakers of the language are also known as Hmar.

References