Miju language

Not to be confused with Miji language.
Kaman
Geman
Miju
Pronunciation [kɯ˧˩mɑn˧˥]
Region Arunachal Pradesh, India
Ethnicity Miju Mishmi
Native speakers
 18,000 (2006)[1]
possibly Sino-Tibetan (Midzuish), or a language isolate
  • Kaman
Language codes
ISO 639-3 mxj
Glottolog miju1243[2]

Kaman (Geman, Geman Deng), or Miju (Miju Mishmi, Midzu), is a small language of India and slightly into China. Long assumed to be a Sino-Tibetan language, it may actually be a language isolate.[3]

In China, the Miju are known as the Deng 僜人. The Deng number over 1,000 in Zayü County, Tibet, China, with 1,000 of the Deng having the autonym tɑ31 ruɑŋ53 (大让), and 130 having the autonym kɯ31 mɑn35 (格曼) (Gemanyu Yanjiu). They are also neighbors with the Idu or i53 du31 (义都) people.

In India, Miju is spoken in Hawai Circle and the Parsuram Kund area of Lohit District, Arunachal Pradesh (Boro 1978, Dasgupta 1977).

Phonology

These are the sounds in the Miju/Kaman language.[4]

Consonants

Consonant phonemes
  Bilabial Labio-
dental		 Dental Alveolar Post-
alveolar
(Palato-
alveolar)		 Retroflex Palatal Palata-
lized velar		 Labia-
lized velar		 Glottal
Plosive p, pʰ b         t, tʰ d                 k, kʰ ɡ ʔ  
Affricate             ts dz tʃ, tʃʰ dʒ                    
Fricative     f v θ ð s z ʃ                   xʷ ɣʷ
Nasal   m           n       s   ɲ            
Trill               ɲ                        
Tap or flap                       ɽ                
Approximant w     ʋ                   j            
Lateral approximant               l       m                

Vowels

Monophthong phonemes
  Front Central Back
Close i ɨ u
Close-mid     o
Open-mid ɛ ə ʌ • ɔ
Open   ɡ  

Tones

There are three main tones in the Miju language, rising (á), falling (à), and level (ā).[5]

References

  1. ↑ Kaman at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. ↑ Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Miju-Mishmi". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
  3. ↑ Blench, Roger; Post, Mark (2011), (De)classifying Arunachal languages: Reconstructing the evidence (PDF)
  4. ↑ Blench, Roger (2015), Kman ethno-ophresiology; characterising taste, smell and texture in a language of Arunachal Pradesh
  5. ↑ Blench, Roger; Kri, Sokhep; Ngadong, Kruleso; Masong, Barum (2015), Kman Reading and writing Kman
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