Hill Miri dialect
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.[3] It appears to be a dialect of the Nishi language.[4]
Nyishi (Kamle) | |
---|---|
Sarak | |
Region | Arunachal Pradesh |
Ethnicity | Nyishi (Kamle) people |
Native speakers | (undated figure of 10,100)[1] |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | None (mis )Individual code: mrg – (included under Plains Miri) |
Glottolog | None |
ELP | Hill Miri [2] |
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.[5] It is threatened because the younger generation is slowly breaking away from their people's traditions and language.[6][7] Many audio books of gospel narratives in the Nyishi language of Kamle have been collected FROM THE iNDIA .
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.[8]
Labial | Alveolar | Post- alveolar |
Velar | Glottal | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | n | ɲ[9] | ŋ | ||
Stop | voiceless | p | t | c[10] | k | |
voiced | b | d | ɟ[11] | ɡ | ||
Fricative | s | ʃ | h | |||
Approximant | w | l | j | |||
Trill? | r |
Vowels are front /i, e/, central /ɨ, ʉ, ə, a/,[12] 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) | |
---|---|
1 | aken |
2 | eñi |
3 | oum |
4 | epi |
5 | ango/angngo |
6 | ake |
7 | kenne |
8 | pine |
9 | kora |
10 | íri |
Personal
Singular | Plural | |
1st person | ngo | ngu-lu |
2nd person | no | nu-lu |
3rd person | bu, bú | bu-lu, bú-lu |
References
- Mising at Ethnologue (15th ed., 2005)
- Endangered Languages Project data for Hill Miri.
- Moseley, Christopher (2007). Encyclopedia of the world's endangered languages. Routledge. p. 298. ISBN 978-0-7007-1197-0. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
- Post, Mark W. (2013). Defoliating the Tani Stammbaum: An exercise in areal linguistics. Paper presented at the 13th Himalayan Languages Symposium. Canberra, Australian National University, Aug 9.
- Audio
- Nabam Tadar Rikam, "Emerging religious Identities of Arunachal Pradesh", Mittal Publications, 2005
- Ju Namkung, "Phonological inventories of Tibeto-burman languages", Center for Southeast Asia Studies, University of California, 1996
- Value unclear, perhaps [nʲ]?
- Value unclear, perhaps [t͡ʃ]?
- Value unclear, perhaps [d͡ʒ]?
- Transcribed ⟨ɯ, y, ɤ, a⟩ in Namkung
Further reading
- Ivan Martin Simon, "Hill Miri language guide", Govt. of Arunachal Pradesh, 1976
- Matthew S. Dryer, "Word order in Tibeto-burman languages" Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area, 2008
- Shri Aduk Tayeng, "Nishi Phrase book", Arunachal Pradesh, 1990
- P. T. Abraham, "A Grammar of Nyishi Language", 2005
- S. N. Goswami, "Nishing ( Bangni) Language Guide", 1995