Zou language

Last updated
Zo, Kuki
Zou, Kuki
Shukla Zoulai.svg
'Zo Lai' in Zolai alphabet
Native toManipur, India
RegionTonzang: Chin State, Chin Hills;
In India: Mizoram and Manipur, Chandel, Singngat subdivision and Sungnu area; Churachandpur districts; Assam.
Ethnicity Zou Kuki
Native speakers
88,000 (2012) [1]
Latin, Zoulai alphabet [3]
Language codes
ISO 639-3 zom
Glottolog zouu1235
ELP Zome
A Zou speaker, recorded in Myanmar.

Zo (also spelled Zou and also known as Zokam) is a Northern Kuki-Chin-Mizo language [2] originating in western Burma (now Myanmar ) and spoken also in Mizoram in northeastern India.

Contents

The name Zou is sometimes used as a cover term for the languages of all Mizo people (Zo people) i.e.  Kukish and Chin peoples, especially the Zomi people.

The term 'Zo' has been employed in many books to denote the word 'Zo', for simple reason of phonetic usage.

The Zo themselves employ the various terms Zo, Zou, and Jo to mean their wine manufacturing tribe. [1]

Phonology

The set of 23 Zou consonantal phonemes can be established on the basis of the following minimal pairs or overlapping words. Besides these 23 Phonemes, 1 consonant is a borrowed phoneme (i.e. /r/), which is found only in loan words, in very rare cases (e.g. /r/ in /rəŋ/ "color"). Along with these consonants, Zou has 7 vowels: i, e, a, ɔ, o, u, ə. [4]

Consonant Phonemes
Labial Dental/
Alveolar
Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive voiceless p t c k ʔ
aspirated
voiced b d ɟ g
Affricate
Fricative voiceless v s h
voiced z
Nasal m n ŋ
Lateral l
Semivowel w j
Vowels
Front Central Back
Close i u
Close-mid e ə o
Open-mid ɔ
Open a

Orthography

Vowels

Consonants

Types of Zo verbs

The Zo verbs can be classified into three types: Stem (1), Stem (2), Stem (3) as given below: [7]

Types of Zo Verbs
Stem 1Stem 2Stem 3Stem 4
piê-givepie?pe-pieh
puo-carrypuo?po-pua-

Sample text

The following is a sample text in Zou.

ZouEnglish
Maw na sung ma naw in, amaw sa pi ma in leimi in i piang a, a khawh ma ma - gam lua a i lua suhsuh ih mawnate ma ei bawl in eima pumpi ei man muda maithei, Ih mawnate -eeng taang gol lua a hi man in khat veivei eima mawnate eimon maisah zolo maithei va-ia kim lai, tuate lip khap sih saang a pamai eisa, ei khua tua ngeet-nguut ngeng ngong man a ih dial dual liang luang mawna nei van nuai ei mai sah thop valong, abieh huai tapo ma Jehova ki chi Pasian khat a na om ngang tangh hi.As we are born in sin, we cannot even love ourselves and there is no knowledge about what is forgiveness, because of the enormous sins inherited in us. Even though we are in this situation, in spite of our enormous sins the one who has mercy, sympathises us and forgives us our sins is the God called Jehovah.

There are four major dialects of Zou in Myanmar and India: Haidawi, Khuongnung, Thangkhal, and Khodai.

Numbers

Zomi numbers are counted as follows: [8]

NumeralZouEnglishHindi
0be̋mzeroशून्यśūnya
1khàtoneएकek
2nì:twoदोdo
3thumthreeतीनtīn
4li:fourचारcār
5nga:fiveपाँचpā̃c
6gùhsixछहchah
7sagísevenसातsāt
8giéteightआठāṭh
9kuónineनौnau
10sàwm, sômtenदसdas
11sàwm leh khàtelevenग्यारहgyārah
12sàwm leh nìtwelveबारहbārah
13sàwm leh thumthirteenतेरहterah
14sàwm leh li:fourteenचौदहcaudah
15sàwm leh nga:fifteenपंद्रहpandrah
16sàwm leh gùhsixteenसोलहsolah
17sàwm leh sagíseventeenसत्रहsatrah
18sàwm leh giéteighteenअठारहaṭhārah
19sàwm leh kuónineteenउन्नीसunnīs
20sàwmnìtwentyबीसbīs
30sàwmthumthirtyतीसtīs
40sàwmli:fortyचालीसcālīs
50sàwmnga:fiftyपचासpacās
60sàwmgùhsixtyसाठsāṭh
70sàwmsagíseventyसत्तरsattar
80sàwmgiéteightyअस्सीassī
90sàwmkuòninetyनव्वेnavve
100hundredसौsau
1,000sa̋ng, tȕlone thousandहज़ारhazār
10,000si̋ng, tȕlsàwm, sa̋ngsàwmten thousandदस हज़ारdas hazār
100,000nuòi, tȕlzà, sa̋ngzàone hundred thousand, one lakhलाखlākh
1,000,000nuòisàwm, sa̋ngtȕl, tȕltȕlone millionदस लाखdas lākh
10,000,000thȅn, vâibêlsié, kráwlten million, one croreकरोड़karoṛ
100,000,000thȅnzà, kráwl sàwmone billion, ten croreअरबarab

Writing systems

Zou is often written in a Latin script developed by Christian missionary J.H. Cope. In 1952, M. Siahzathang of Churachandpur created an alternative script known as Zolai or Zoulai, an alphabetic system with some alphasyllabic characteristics. The user community for the script is growing- Zou cultural, political, and literary organizations began to adopt the script beginning in the 1970s, and more recently, the Manipur State Government has shown support for both Siahzathang and the script. [9] [10]

Linguistic relations

As can be seen from the name Zo ("of the hills") and Mizoram ("people of the hill country"), Zo among the Northern Kuki-Chin-Mizo languagess is closely related to the Central languages such as the Duhlian (Lusei/Lushai) or Mizo language (endonym in Duhlian or Lushai is Mizo ṭawng), the lingua franca language of Mizoram.

Zou as spoken in Myanmar is similar to the Paite language of the Paite, though Zou lacks the word-final glottal stops present in Paite. [11] [12]

Geographical extent

At its largest extent, the geographic area covered by the language group is a territory of approximately 60,000 square miles (160,000 km2) in size, in Burma, India and Bangladesh. [13] However political boundaries and political debates have distorted the extent of the area in some sources. [14]

In Burma

It is used in Chin State, Tiddim, and the Chin Hills. Use of Burmese has increased in the Zo speaking Chin State since the 1950s. [15] Ethnologue reports that Zou is spoken in the following townships of Myanmar.

In India

In Bangladesh

In Bangladesh it is used by the Bawm people(Mizo people). [17] [18]

Related Research Articles

The Hmar language belongs to the Mizo language branch of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. The speakers of this language use Mizo language as their second language (L2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chin people</span> Ethnic group native to Myanmar

The Chin people are an ethnic group native to the Chin State and Rakhine State of Myanmar. Strictly speaking, the term "Chin" only refers to the 53 sub-tribes of the Chin ethnic group, divided and recognized by the Burmese government. They speak the Kuki-Chin-Mizo languages, which are often mutually unintelligible but are closely related.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Churachandpur district</span> District in Manipur, India

Churachandpur District, is one of the 16 districts of the Indian state of Manipur populated mainly by Kuki-Zo people. The name honours former Maharaja Sir Churachand Singh of Manipur. The district headquarters is located in the Churachandpur town, which is also locally known by the name Lamka.

The Paite people are an ethnic group in Northeast India, mainly living in Manipur and Mizoram. The Paites are recognized as a scheduled tribe in these two states. They are not regarded as part of the Kuki group, but may be considered part of the wider "Lushai" or Zomi group. "Guite" is a major clan of the Paite people.

<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 the 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">Mizo language</span> Tibeto-Burman language spoken primarily in northeastern India

The Mizo language is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken mainly in the Indian state of Mizoram, where it is the official language and lingua franca. It is the mother tongue of the Mizo people and some members of the Mizo diaspora. Other than Mizoram, it is also spoken in Manipur, Tripura, and Assam states of India, Sagaing Region and Chin State in Myanmar, and Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. It is mainly based on the Lusei dialect but it has also derived many words from its surrounding Mizo clans.

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

The Zou people Is a Kuki ethnic group, that is an indigenous community living along the frontier of India and Burma, they are a sub-group of the Kuki people/Zo 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.

Thadou or Thado Chin is a Sino-Tibetan language of the Northern Kuki-Chin-Mizo sub-branch. It is spoken by the Boipu/Boinu/Boipi or boi(servant) people collectively in Northeast India And bordering Myanmar(Myanmar Origin). The speakers of this language use Burmeese language as their second language (L2) according to the Ethnologue.

According to J. Shakespear, 'Lamleia, the progenitor of Guite was born from an incestuous intercourse between Dongel and his elder sister. Making Thado his older brother. Guite is the progenitor clan of Zomi people. According to Zam, Lamleia Guite is the Older Brother of Thadou progenitor of the Thadou people. Mostly the Guite clan speak Paite language. Some known as Zomi and few also as Kuki in India and as Chin in Myanmar (Burma). Depending on local pronunciation, the clan was also called differently such as Nguite, Vuite, and was also recorded even as Gwete, Gwite, Nwite,Paihte by the Lushei. In accord with the claim of their solar origin, the Guite clan has been called nampi, meaning noble or major or even dominant people, of the region in local dialect in the past.

The Lai people mainly inhabit the southern parts of Chin Hills in Myanmar's Chin State, in the townships of Falam, Thantlang and Hakha. They are also found in the Lawngtlai district of Mizoram, India, where they have been granted the Lai Autonomous District Council. Outside this area they are scattered in Mizoram and in Manipur. Their languages "Laizo Lai" and "Hakha Lai" are classified as Central Kuki-Chin languages.

The Kuki-Chin languages are a branch of 50 or so Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in northeastern India, western Myanmar and southeastern Bangladesh. Speakers of these languages are Mizo in Mizoram, Kuki people or southern Naga people in Nagaland, and Chin people in Myanmar.

The Kuki–Paite Conflict, also called Kuki–Zomi Conflict, was an ethnic conflict during 1997–1998 between tribal communities in Churachandpur district in Manipur, India. The cause of the conflict may be regarded as the desire for leadership within the tribes, pitting one group that subscribed to the Kuki label against another group that subscribed to the Zomi label, the latter being led by the Paites. The conflict started in June 1997 and lasted for over year, during which 352 people died, thousands of homes were destroyed and over 13,000 people were displaced. The Government of India sent in the Indian Army to attempt to stop the violence, but peace was restored in September–October 1998 only with the initiative of the Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zomi Revolutionary Army</span> Nationalist insurgent group

The Zomi Revolutionary Army is an armed Zomi nationalist insurgent group formed in 1997, following an increase in ethnic tensions between the Kuki people and the Paites tribe in Churachandpur district of Manipur, India. Its parent organisation, the Zomi Revolutionary Organisation, was founded in April 1993.

The Zo people is a term to denote all the speakers of the Kuki-Chin languages who inhabit areas of India, Myanmar and the Chittagong hill tracts of Bangladesh. The Mizo, Chin, and Kuki-Zomi people are the main ethnic groups.

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 Myanmar minutely in Mizoram, Assam, Meghalaya, and Tripura. The dialect spoken in Myanmar exhibits a least partial mutual intelligibility with the other Mizo/Kukish dialects of the area including Thadou, Hmar, Paite, Simte, Kom and Gangte languages.

The Zomi people are one of the main groups of the Zo (Kuki-Chin-Mizo-Zomi) tribes. They live in mostly the India–Myanmar border, as well as in Bangladesh. The Zomis were divided into two by the Indian government as Kuki and the Myanmar government as Chin. The Zomi tribes that are called Kuki are the Paite, Vaiphei, Zou, Gangte and Simte and the Zomi tribe that is called Chin is the Tiddim/Tedim. They call themselves Zomi and they speak their own language. The Zomi language is basically the language of the Tedim/Tiddim and is related to the Paite language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zomi Congress for Democracy</span> Political party in Myanmar

The Zomi Congress for Democracy, formerly Zomi National Congress, is a political party in Myanmar. Originally formed in Manipur, India, most of its current support comes from Chin State, where the party was originally headquartered. The party is most popular in the Tonzang and Tedim Townships, where their headquarters and strongholds are. The party has 15,000 members in Chin State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leen Nupa</span>

Leen Nupa, also spelled Len Nupa, is a valley in Tedim, Chin state, Myanmar. It is also known as Buan Nel.

Northern Kuki-Chin is a branch of Kuki-Chin languages. It is called Northeastern Kuki-Chin by Peterson (2017) to distinguish it from the Northwestern Kuki-Chin languages. VanBik (2009:31) also calls the branch Northern Chin or Zo.

Mizo Culture is the culture of the Mizo people. Mizo culture is rooted in the arts and ways of life of Mizos in India, Bangladesh and Myanmar

References

  1. 1 2 Zo, Kuki at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed Access logo transparent.svg
  2. 1 2 Haokip, Pauthang (2011). Socio-linguistic Situation in North-east India. Concept Publishing Company. p. 55. ISBN   978-8180697609.
  3. "Zoulai". Omniglot.com. Archived from the original on 2021-12-28. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  4. Singh, Yashawanta; Himmat, Lukram (February 2013). "Zou Phonology" (PDF). Language in India. 13 (2): 683–701. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-11-23. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  5. "Zou language, script, and pronunciation". Omniglot. Archived from the original on 2019-07-06. Retrieved 2019-07-06.
  6. "Zou language, script, and pronunciation". Omniglot. Archived from the original on 2019-07-06. Retrieved 2019-07-06.
  7. Philip Thanglienmang Tungdim (2012). "A Descriptive Grammar of the Zo Language". Academia. Archived from the original on 25 March 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  8. Thangliènmâng Tungdim, Philip (2011). Zo-English-Hindi Kizìlna Lȁibú [Self-tutor book of Zo-English-Hindi]. New Delhi: Zou Cultural-cum-Literature Society India. ISBN   978-81-920282-0-0. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  9. Pandey, Anshuman (29 September 2010). "Introducing the Zou Script" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 July 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  10. Ian James; Mattias Persson (March 2012). "Script for Zou". skyknowledge.com. Archived from the original on 14 August 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  11. Bareh, Hamlet (2001). "Zou". Encyclopaedia of North-East India: Manipu. Mittal. pp. 260ff. ISBN   978-81-7099-790-0 . Retrieved 22 November 2010.
  12. Their language is called Zou which is similar to the language spoken by the Paite. Unlike the Zou, the Paite possess the terminal glottal stop 'h'. For example, a word for 'good' is hoih in Paite while it changes into hoi in the Zou language. Sannemla (Zou folksongs) are also popular among the Paite, although they are rendered in their individual dialect bearing the characteristic phonetic differences.Singh, Kumar Suresh; Horam, M. & Rizvi, S. H. M. (1998). People of India: Manipur. Anthropological Survey of India by Seagull Books. p. 253. ISBN   978-81-7154-769-2.
  13. Encyclopaedia of South-Asian tribes - Volume 8 - Page 3436 Satinder Kumar - 2000 "According to the 1981 census, 12,515 persons speak the Zou language"
  14. Gopalakrishnan, Ramamoorthy (1996). Socio-political framework in North-East India. New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House. p. 150. OCLC   34850808. But against the background of all such conflict the Zomi National Congress went a step further in its argument for a Zomi identity by claiming Thado language as Zomi language. In the Kuki-Chin group of tribes, numerical strength has played ...
  15. Nang Khen Khup (2007). Evaluating the Impact of Family Devotions Upon Selected Families from the Zomi Christian Community of Tulsa (Thesis). Oral Roberts University. p. 7. OCLC   645086982. The Zomi language is descended from the Tibeto-Burman language domain. Though each tribal group speaks its own dialect, Burmese is widely used in Zoland (Chinland) due to Burmanization of military regime for over five decades
  16. Shyamkishor, Ayangbam. "In Search of Common Identity: A Study of Chin-Kuki-Mizo Community in India" (PDF). International Journal of South Asian Studies: A Biannual Journal of South Asian Studies. 3 (1): 131140. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-21. Retrieved 2014-02-03.
  17. Loncheu, Nathan (2013). Dena, Lal (ed.). Bawmzos: A Study Of The Chin-Kuki-Zo Tribes Of Chittagong. New Delhi: Akansha Publishing House. ISBN   978-81-8370-346-8.
  18. Reichle, Verena (1981). Bawm language and lore: Tibeto-Burman area. Europäische Hochschulschriften series 21, Linguistik: volume 14. Bern, Switzerland: P. Lang. ISBN   978-3-261-04935-3.

Further reading