Paite language
| Paite | |
|---|---|
| Paite pau / Paite | |
| Pronunciation | Pai-te pao |
| Native to | Burma, India |
| Ethnicity | Paite |
Native speakers | 150,000 (2011 census)[1] |
|
Sino-Tibetan
| |
|
Roman alphabet/Latin alphabet, PauChinHau script, Burmese script and Thai script(which is rarely used and not known by most Paite people ) | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 |
pck |
| Glottolog |
pait1244[2] |
Paite is a language spoken by the Paite people. There are different Paite dialects. The language exhibits mutual intelligibility with the other dialects of the region including Thadou, Hmar, Vaiphei, Simte, Kom, Gangte and other languages.[3]The name Paite literally means 'Go-people' and can be translated as 'Leavers' , 'Marchers' or 'simply the people who went.'
Even though the Paite language is a tonal language, the usage of tones can be neglected and Paite speakers will understand even if you use a flat tone in every word.
Modern Paite language has a richer vocabulary than the old Paite/Tedim language which was used to write poems and hymns.
Alphabet and Numbers
The alphabet is based on the Roman alphabet and has 15 Consonants and 7 vowels.
| Letter | a | aw | b | ch | d | e | f | g | ng | h | i | j | k |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Letter | l | m | n | o | p | r | s | t | u | v | z | ||
| Consonants | b | ch | d | f | g | ng | h | i | j | k | l | m | n | p | r | s | t | v | z |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vowels | a | aw | e | i | o | ou | u |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A is pronounced as u in under, E as e in end, I as e in electric, O as a short aw and U as oo in Moon.
Diphthongs
| High-front-oriented | ei | ai | ui | oi |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High-back-oriented | au | iu | eu | ou |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low-central-oriented | ia | ua |
|---|---|---|
'iai'(yai) and 'uau'(wao) are the Triphthongs of Paite language.
Numbers
| Paite | English | Meitei |
|---|---|---|
| Bial | Zero | Phun |
| Khat | One | Ama |
| Ni | Two | Ani |
| Thum | Three | Ahum |
| Li | Four | Mari |
| Nga | Five | Manga |
| Guk | Six | Taruk |
| Sagih | Seven | Taret |
| Giat | Eight | Nipal |
| Kua | Nine | Mapal |
| Sawm | Ten | Tara |
| Sawmlehkhat | Eleven | TaraMathoi |
| Sawmlehkua | Nineteen | TaraMapal |
| Sawmhni | Twenty | Khun |
| Sawmthum | Thirty | KhumThra |
| Sawmkua | Ninety | MariPhuTara |
| Za | Hundred | ChaAma |
| Zanga | Five hundred | ChaManga |
| Saang(khat) | One thousand | Lishing |
| Siing(khat) | Ten thousand | |
| Nuai(khat) | Hundred thousand/One lakh in Indian English | |
| Maktaduai | Million | |
| Vaibelsia | Ten million | |
| Vaibelsetak | Hundred million | |
| Tuklehdingawn | Billion | |
| Tuklehdingawn sawm | Ten billion | |
| Tuklehdingawn za | Hundred billion |
THAI-PAITE/TEDIM SCRIPT
This Paite script is taken from the Thai alphabet to write the Paite/Tedim language but didn't gain popularity so it was forgotten .It was created in 2002 and has 31 consonants and 21 vowels .
Consonants:
| Romanisation | Consonant | Name |
|---|---|---|
| K | ก | Ka |
| Kh | ฆ | Kha |
| G | ค | Ga |
| Gh | ฅ | Gha(used for borrowed words) |
| Ng | ง | Nga |
| Ch | จ | Cha |
| Chh | ฉ | Chha |
| Z | ช | Za/Ja |
| Zh | ซ | Zha/Jha (used in borrowed words) |
| Ny | ณ | Nya (Used in borrowed words) |
| T | ท | Ta(sometimes spelled as dta) |
| Th | ฌ | Tha |
| D | ด | Da |
| Dh | ต | Dha (used in borrowed words ) |
| N | น | Na |
| P | ป | Pa |
| Ph | พ | Pha |
| B | บ | Ba |
| Bh | บ่ | Bha (used in borrowed words) |
| M | ม | Ma |
| Y | ย | Ya |
| R | ร | Ra |
| L | ล | La |
| W | ว | Wa |
| S | ศ | Sa (for writing verbs ) |
| S | ษ | Sa (words except for verbs and nouns) |
| S | ส | Sa (for writing nouns) |
| H | ฮ | Ha |
| F | ฟ | Fa |
| V | ผ | Va |
| Silent/? | อ | Gingneilou (vowel bearer) |
Vowels (Lai-aw ใล-อ็)
| Romanisation | Vowel |
|---|---|
| A | อั |
| Aw | อ็ |
| E | เอ |
| I | อิ |
| O | โอ |
| Ou | อ็ว |
| U | อุ |
| Aa | อะ |
| Ae/ee | แอ |
| Yi/ii | อี |
| Uu | อู |
| Ei | เอย |
| Ai | ไอ |
| Ui | อุย |
| Oi | โอย |
| Au | เอา |
| I/yu | อิยุ |
| Eu | เอว |
| Ia/ya | อิยั |
| Ua/wa | อุวั |
| Aai | ใอ |
There are two major dialects of Paite in Manipur, namely Lousau, Lamjang and Dapjar.[4]
Geographical distribution
Paite is spoken in the following locations (Ethnologue).
- Manipur: CCpur Bazar(Lamka Bazar), Khuga valley(Lamka phaizang), Churachandpur district
- Mizoram: 20 villages of Champhai subdivision, Aizawl district
- Tripura
- Assam
Dialects
Ethnologue lists the following dialects of Paite.
- Bukpi (Bukpui)
- Dapzal (Dapzar)
- Dim
- Dimpi
- Lamzang
- Lousau
- Saizang
- Sihzang
- Telzang (Teizang)
- Tuichiap
References
- ↑ Paite at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
- ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian, eds. (2016). "Paite Chin". Glottolog 2.7. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
- ↑ Singh, Chungkham Yashawanta (1995). "The linguistic situation in Manipur" (PDF). Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area. 18 (1): 129–134. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
- ↑ Singh, Naorem Saratchandra Singh (2006). A Grammar of Paite. Mittal Publications. p. xviii. ISBN 978-8183240680. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
- Singh, Naorem Saratchandra. 2006. A grammar of Paite. New Delhi: Mittal Publications.
Further reading
- Muivah, Esther T. 1993. English-Paite dictionary. Lamka, Manipur: Paite Tribe Council.
- Tualkhothang, Naulak. 2003. English-Paite dictionary. Lamka, Manipur: The Tualkhothang Naulak Memorial Trust.
- Tawmbing, Chinzam. 2014. English-Paite dictionary. Lamka, Manipur: Hornbill Publication.
- Paite Tribe Council. 2013. Paite customary law & practices / Paite pupa ngeina dan leh a kizatnate. Lamka, Manipur: Paite Tribe Council.
- Thuamkhopau, T. 2009. Paite paunaak leh pau upate. Manipur: Tribal Research Institute.