Puroik language

The Puroik language (also often called Sulung) is a language spoken by the Puroik people of Arunachal Pradesh, India, and Lhünzê County, Tibet, China. It is of uncertain affiliation.

Locations

Remsangpuia (2008:17) lists the following Puroik villages. The Puroik also live in Nyishi, Aka, and Miji areas.

• East Kameng District: Chayangtajo, Pipu, Pakke Kessang, Lada, Bameng, Seijosa, Seppa, Sawa, Khenewa, and Pipu-Dipu circles (about 70 villages)
• Kurung Kumey District: Koloriang, Sarli, Hurli, Nyopin, and Tali circles
• Papum Pare District
• West Kameng District

Classification

The Puroik language is traditionally assumed to be a Tibeto-Burman language of the Kho-Bwa group. However, the conventional classification of Kho-Bwa languages as Tibeto-Burman is being questioned, quite independently of the additional issue whether Puroik belongs to Kho-Bwa in the first place. In the context of Tibeto-Burman, Puroik is highly divergent, and it is not entirely certain it should be classified as Tibeto-Burman, either. There is a possibility that it is an Austroasiatic language in origin which was transformed under Tibeto-Burman cultural influence. Blench (2011) considers Puroik a language isolate.^[2] There is some mutual intelligibility with Bugun, and Burling (2003) grouped it with Bugun and Sherdukpen, and possibly with Lish and Sartang. Besides their own language, the Puroik also use Nishi, Hindi or Assamese. Literacy is very low, at about 2%. Those who are literate use either the Bengali script or Devanagari or the Latin alphabet to write Puroik.

References

• Deuri, R.K. 1982. The Sulungs. Shillong: Government of Arunachal Pradesh.
• Remsangphuia. 2008. Puroik phonology. Shillong: Don Bosco Technical School.