Miji languages

Not to be confused with Miju language.
Miji
Dhammai
Sajolang
Native to India
Region Arunachal Pradesh, India
Ethnicity Miji people
Native speakers
 6,500 (2001)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3 sjl
Glottolog miji1239[2]
saja1240  (Sajolang / Miji)[3]
bang1369  (Bangru / Ləvai)[4]

Miji (autonym: Dmay[5]), also Dhammai or Sajolang, is a cluster of possibly Sino-Tibetan languages in Arunachal Pradesh, northeastern India. "Dialects" include at least two distinct languages, which are not particularly close, given only half of the vocabulary in common between the dialects of East Kameng District and West Kameng District. Long assumed to be a Sino-Tibetan language, it may actually be a language isolate.[6]

Varieties

There are 3 varieties of Miji.[7]

Distribution

According to Ethnologue, Miji is spoken in the following areas of Arunachal Pradesh.

I.M. Simon (1979:iii) lists the following Miji villages from the Census of 1971.

Smaller hamlets include Dishin [Dícin], Devrik [Dívih], Diyung [Diyong], Nazang [Natsang], Nanthalang, and Otung [Uthung]. Some Mijis have also live in Aka villages such as Dijungania, Buragaon, Tulu, Sarkingonia, and Yayung.

Blench (2015),[5] citing Ramya (2012),[8] lists the Bangru (Northern Miji) villages Bala, Lee, Lower Lichila, Upper Lichila, Machane, Milli, Molo, Nade, Namju, Palo, Rerung, Sape, Sate, Wabia, and Walu’, as well as Sarli Town.

Phonology

Consonants

In all Miji languages the "p" "f" "t" and "k" sounds are always aspirated.[5]

Consonant phonemes
  Bilabial Labio-
dental		 Dental Alveolar Post-
alveolar
(Palato-
alveolar)		 Retroflex Palatal Palata-
lized velar		 Labia-
lized velar		 Glottal
Plosive pʰ b         tʰ d                 kʰ ɡ ʔ  
Affricate             ts   tʃ dʒ     tc              
Fricative     fʰ v θ ð s z ʃ ʒ       ʐ x       xʷ ɣʷ
Lateral fricative             ɬ ɮ                        
Nasal   m           ɮ       s   ɲ            
Trill               ɲ                        
Tap or flap                       ɽ                
Approximant       ʋ                   j       w    
Lateral approximant               ɬ       m                

Vowels

Monophthong phonemes
  Front Central Central
rhotacized		 Back
Close i     u
Close-mid e ə/ɨ[ə]   o
Open-mid ɛ     ʌ • ɔ
Open     ɡ  

Tones

The Miji languages have a relatively simple tonal system with only two tone: high and low. There is a third rising tone but it is so scarcely used that in some of the languages it is disregarded completely.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Miji at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. ↑ Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Miji". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
  3. ↑ Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Sajolang / Miji". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
  4. ↑ Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Bangru / Ləvai". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Blench, Roger. 2015. The Mijiic languages: distribution, dialects, wordlist and classification. m.s.
  6. ↑ Blench, Roger; Post, Mark (2011), (De)classifying Arunachal languages: Reconstructing the evidence (PDF)
  7. 1 2 Blench, Roger; Post, Mark (2011), (De)classifying Arunachal languages: Reconstructing the evidence (PDF)
  8. ↑ Ramya, T. 2012. Bangrus of Arunachal Pradesh: An Ethnographic Profile. International Journal of Social Science Tomorrow, 1(3):1-12.

Further reading


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