Talk:Meitei language

The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the discussion was move. —-- Evertype·✆ 11:04, 29 October 2006 (UTC) (Not a moderator...)

[edit] Requested move

Meithei language → Meitei language — The language has had a number of spellings in English but "th" is not preferred by expert speakers and linguists consulted with. The article has been edited to "Meitei" throughout. -- Evertype·✆ 10:15, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Survey

Add  * '''Support'''  or  * '''Oppose'''  on a new line followed by a brief explanation, then sign your opinion using ~~~~.

• Support as nominator. -- Evertype·✆ 10:16, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Discussion

Add any additional comments:

From Chelliah (1997:2):

"Meithei is known by different names. The loconym Manipuri, a term derived on analogy with other place names in India such as Kanpur where -pur is of Sanskrit origin meaning ‘state, place’, is used by the Indian government and non-Meithei Indian scholars. Folk etymologies for Manipur originate from mythology: a snake god Vasuki is said to have thrown out a shining diamond (or mani, the Sanskrit word for jewel) from its head which filled the land with natural beauty or jewels. Government-run institutions in Manipur use this name; for example, Manipur Language Department and All India Radio News in Manipuri. On ideological grounds many Meithei speakers prefer to use the glossonym Meitheirón which contains lón ‘language’ (N. Promodini Devi 1989a). In the linguistic literature written by western scholars, the term Meithei (sometimes spelled Meitei) is used. Meithei scholars seem to make a distinction between whether they are writing in Meithei (when they tend to use the term Meitheirón) or in English (when they use Meithei). The term Meithei itself may be a compound of mí ‘man’ and they- ‘separate’ (Hodson 1908). Sohini Ray (p.c.) has pointed out to me that a current term in used by Meithei "revivalists", those who wish to assert Meithei religious, cultural and political autonomy from India, is Meetei. The origin of this term and its pronunciation are yet unclear to me. [...] I have adopted the practice of using the term Meithei to refer to the language of the Meithei since this is what speakers prefer. Also, this avoids confusing the Tibeto-Burman language spoken in Manipur with Bishnupirya Manipuri which is an Indo-Aryan language that was spoken in Manipur between the 13th and 19th century. In the early 1800s Bishnupriya speakers migrated from Manipur to neighboring Assam, Tripura and Sylhet...."

Yes, I have seen this in Chelliah 1997. I am in contact with her as we are working on encoding Meitei Mayek in the UCS. On 2006-10-11 she wrote to me in regard to the character name:

"The spelling of the language name has also become an issue since I published my grammar. Meitei or Meiteiron is preferred and Meithei is seen as a British misspelling. I'm switching to Meithei in keeping with my consultants' wishes."

So my proposal to move this article stands. -- Evertype·✆ 18:29, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Ok. Sounds good. I havent asked her about that, but if you have then that settles it as she would know. Thanks – ishwar  (speak) 22:29, 5 December 2006 (UTC)