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Not to be confused with Plains Miri language.
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

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

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

Consonants

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

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 person ngo ngu-lu
2nd person no nu-lu
3rd person bu, bú bu-lu, bú-lu

References

  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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