Hill Miri dialect explained

Hill Miri dialect should not be confused with Plains Miri language.

Nyishi (Kamle)
Nativename:Sarak
Region:Arunachal Pradesh
Ethnicity:Nyishi (Kamle) people
Speakers:10,000
Date:2008
Familycolor:Sino-Tibetan
Fam2:Tani
Fam3:West Tani
Fam4:Nyishi
Iso3:none
Lc1:mrg
Ld1:(included under Plains Miri)
Glotto:none

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.[1] It appears to be a dialect of the Nishi language.[2]

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.[3]

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.[3] 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.

Phonology

Consonants

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

LabialAlveolarPost-
alveolar
VelarGlottal
pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/[7] pronounced as /link/
Stoppronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/[8] pronounced as /link/
pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/[9] pronounced as /link/
Fricativepronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/
Approximantpronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/
Trill?pronounced as /link/

Vowels are front pronounced as //i, e//, central pronounced as //ɨ, ʉ, ə, a//,[10] and back pronounced as //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)
1 aken
2 eñi
3 oum
4 epi
5 ango/angngo
6 ake
7 kenne
8 pine
9 kora
10 íri

Pronouns

Personal

Singular Plural
1st personngo ngu-lu
2nd personno nu-lu
3rd personbu, bú bu-lu, bú-lu

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Moseley, Christopher. Encyclopedia of the world's endangered languages. 1 April 2012. 2007. Routledge. 978-0-7007-1197-0. 298. 3 August 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240803174013/https://books.google.com/books?id=dQt6XWloU10C&pg=PA298. live.
  2. Post . Mark W. . Aug 9, 2013 . Defoliating the Tani Stammbaum: An exercise in areal linguistics . 13th Himalayan Languages Symposium . Canberra, Australian National University . 2 November 2017 . 3 August 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240803174014/https://www.academia.edu/4167715 . live .
  3. Web site: Did you know Hill Miri is threatened? . 2022-12-25 . Endangered Languages . en . 18 April 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150418223414/http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/10414 . live .
  4. Web site: Aptani, Hill Miri, Nishi. https://web.archive.org/web/20111006210743/http://www.livingtongues.org/hotspots/hotspot.GSA.Apatani.HillMiri.Nishi.html . 2011-10-06 . Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages .
  5. Book: Nabam Tadar Rikam . Emerging religious Identities of Arunachal Pradesh . Mittal Publications . 2005 . 978-81-8324-032-1 . 2 August 2024 . 3 August 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240803174012/https://books.google.com/books?id=jP1tAAAAMAAJ . live .
  6. Book: Ju Namkung . Phonological inventories of Tibeto-Burman languages . Center for Southeast Asia Studies, University of California . 1996 . 0-944613-28-4 . 96-71235 . STEDT Monograph Series . 3.
  7. Value unclear, perhaps pronounced as /[nʲ]/?
  8. Value unclear, perhaps pronounced as /link/?
  9. Value unclear, perhaps pronounced as /link/?
  10. Transcribed (IPA|ɯ, y, ɤ, a) in Namkung