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Hill Miri dialect

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Not to be confused with Plains Miri language.
Nyishi (Kamle)
Sarak
RegionArunachal Pradesh
EthnicityNyishi (Kamle) people
Native speakers
10,000 (2008)[1]
Sino-Tibetan
Language codes
ISO 639-3None (mis)
Individual code:
mrg – (included under Plains Miri)
GlottologNone
ELPHill Miri
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]

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

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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

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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

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Consonants

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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

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

Numerals

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

Pronouns

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Personal

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Singular Plural
1st person ngo ngu-lu
2nd person no nu-lu
3rd person bu, bú bu-lu, bú-lu

References

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  1. ^ a b c "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

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