Liangmai language
| Liangmai language | |
|---|---|
| Kwoireng | |
| Lianglad | |
| Native to | India |
| Region | Manipur, Nagaland |
| Ethnicity | Liangmai Naga |
Native speakers | 49,800 (2011)[1] |
Sino-Tibetan
| |
| Latin | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | njn |
| Glottolog | lian1251 |
| ELP | Liangmai Naga |
Liangmai language or Lianglad is one of the Naga languages spoken by the Liangmai Naga in Nagaland and Manipur. It is close to the other nearby languages: Maram, Poumai, Thangal (Khoirao), Rongmei, and Zeme. Together with the Zeme and Rongmei, the three are collectively known as the Zeliangrong. Liangmai has also been known as Kwoireng. Amongst the Zeliangrong, Liangmai has been called chara lad /tsəra lat/, the "language of god." Zeliangrong folklore says that all three descended from a common ancestor and that their original language was closest to Liangmai. This story is supported by the rituals, songs, and chants of the non-Christian Rongmei who used a language that is similar to Liangmai. Since their conversion to Christianity, this language is spoken only by Liangmai natives and Heraka worshippers.[2]
Distribution
[edit]In Manipur, Liangmai speakers are 1.5% of the population and is spoken mainly in Tamenglong, the Tamei and Tousem subdistricts of the Tamenglong district, the Senapati district, the Kangpokpi district and Kanglatongbi town in Imphal West. In Nagaland, speakers can be found in Kohima, Dimapur, and in the Jalukie and Tening subdistricts of Peren. In 2011, the census of India recorded 49,811 speakers of Liangmai.[3][4] Most speakers are multilingual, able to speak in Meitei, Hindi, English, Nagamese or other Naga languages.[5] UNESCO and the Endangered Language Project consider the language vulnerable with Liangmai largely confined to homelife though it is passed on intergenerationally.
References
[edit]- ↑ Liangmai language at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ↑ Daimai, Kailadbou (5 October 2023). "Perspectives on the Status of Liangmai: An Endangered Tibeto-Burman Language". Jadavpur Journal of Languages and Linguistics. 6 (1): 53–67 – via ResearchGate.
- ↑ "Liangmai Language Resource". UNT Digital Library. 10 July 2026. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
- ↑ "Liangmai | Centre for Endangered Languages". www.tezu.ernet.in. Retrieved 14 July 2026.
- ↑ "Liangmai Naga | Endangered Languages Project". www.endangeredlanguages.com. Retrieved 14 July 2026.
Further reading
[edit]- Widinibou (2011). A descriptive analysis of Liangmai (Doctor of Philosophy). Department of Linguistics, Assam University. hdl:10603/93318.
- Daimai, Guichamlung (2016). Phonology and Morphology of Liangmai (Doctor of Philosophy). Department of Linguistics, Assam University. hdl:10603/293376.
- Daimai, Kailadbou (2016). The morphology of tense and aspect in Liangmai (Doctor of Philosophy). Dept. of Linguistics, University of Delhi. hdl:10603/378964.
- Widinibou, Charengna; Saikia, Sagarika; Gautam K. Borah (ed). A Liangmai-English-Hindi Trilingual Dictionary. Centre for Endangered Languages, Tezpur University.
External links
[edit]- Liangmai Language Resource collection of Liangmai language documentation in the Computational Resource for South Asian Languages (CoRSAL) archive
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