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Manipur Manipuri Language
Origin
Manipuri language is considered as the most predominant idiom and also the Lingua franca in the Himalayan South-eastern state of Manipur in the north-eastern India. It is even regarded as the official language in administrative offices and is spoken widely in many states of India like Tripura, Bangladesh, Burma and Assam. Furthermore the classification of this Tibeto Burman idiom is still unclear and therefore it shows some lexical similarity with Tangkhul and Kuki language. Additionally it has proved itself as a huge integrating factor among the Manipur ethnic groups who use this language to communicate among themselves. Also Manipuri is considered as a Meitei Ion idiom by the Indian Union and also has concluded itself in the group of scheduled languages. This language is also learned as a subject and is learned up to post graduate level. This Manipuri language is well known as Indo Aryan Language and is well conversed in many Indian states such as Bangladesh’s Sylhet region and Burma.
This language is also known as Imar thar by the speakers which mean the language of my mother. The Manipuri people call themselves and also their idiom as Manipuri with the addition of Bishnupriya so as to distinguish themselves with other races of ethnic Manipuri. Moreover this word Bishnupriya is derived from the word Bishnupur which was the old capital of Manipur. From individual to individual and as per their beliefs all have different sayings and depictions of this language. Some history writers and scholars support Mahabharata source of Bishnupriya by observing the grammar, morphology and vocabulary. Later on it is even found that this idiom has retained some features of Magadhi and is also closely related to Bengali, Oriya and Assamese languages. In addition this language has Indo Aryan and Tibeto Burman effect. It is also heavily influenced from Sanskrit idiom and therefore its relation can be traced out by some features of the pronouns.
Manipuri language falls under the language family of Indo European which further includes some groups such as Indo Aryan, Indo Iranian, Eastern and Assamese Bengali.
History
Manipuri language is spoken in many parts of India like Assam, Tripura, Burma and Bangladesh. Moreover this language is different from many Indo Aryan languages like Assamese, Bengali and Oriya. Initially and originally this language was developed and originated in Manipur region and is also related to Loktak lake surroundings. As per linguistic Survey of India this language came into existence in Manipur region in 19th century.
Geography
Manipuri language is spoken in many districts and regions of India. Moreover it is widely spoken in Tripura region, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Bangladesh. It is also conversed broadly in all other countries other than India such as Germany, Canada, Middle East and Austria.
Dialects
This language has two dialects which are known as Madai Gang and Rajar Gang. Moreover the dialects of Bishnupriya Manipuri language are not confined to the geographical areas. They exist in the same localities side by side. Furthermore these two dialects are confined to the territories of Manipur. In addition the Madai gang dialect has similar phonology in comparison with Meitei and Assamese language whereas Rajar Gang dialect consists of sound similar to Bengali language. Also in terms of vocabulary the Madai gang inhabits Meitei words and rajar Gang has Assamese and Bengali vocabulary.
Vocabulary
The vocabulary of this idiom is made from words of tadbhava. These words are inherited from Sanskrit words and include many changes in pronunciation and grammar. Also numbers of tatsama words are adopted from Sanskrit language with a little change in grammar and sound. In addition this Manipuri language adopts several words from other languages such as English, Meitei and Perso Arabic. Furthermore this language grasps a number of Meitei words which start from Vowel. It too had some connection with Assamese and Bengali languages. Many researches and scientific researches have been made to that this Manipuri language has adopted some similar lexicity in terms of morphology, phonology and vocabulary.
Script
In early years Devanagri script was used to write Manipuri language. Later on Assamese and Bengali script came into existence to write this language. Moreover this language is written from top to bottom and left to right
Phonology
This Manipuri language inhabits tonal language.
Numbers
The numbers written in Manipuri language are as follows: -
- ama
- ani
- ahum
- mari
- manga
- taruk
- taret
- nipan
- mapan
- tara
Writing
Till 18th century Manipuri language has its own script. In British rule reign, Eastern Nagri script also known as Assamese or Bengali script was used. Afterwards then Meitei Mayek script came into existence and this was used significantly. Moreover the foundation of this language alphabets were shrouded as many evidences and proofs of history were destroyed in the starting of 18th century. While some belief that these alphabets were in use for almost 4000 years whereas others think that they have built from Bengali alphabet since 17th century. From 1709 to 20th century, This Manipuri idiom was written with the alphabets of Bengali. Then onwards many scholars started campaigning to evolve back the alphabets of Manipuri. Then many conferences were held and a new version of Manipuri alphabets were used to represent sounds. It is also seen that this current script of Manipuri is the reconstruction of the ancient script of Manipuri. In the year of 1980s the alphabets of Manipuri were taught in schools. Furthermore the alphabets of Manipuri are syllabic in which all the consonants inhabit inherent vowels, whereas other vowels were jotted down as independent letters. In addition there are some texts from Limbu and Maring tribes which are used to jot down using Meitei Mayek.
Literature
Manipuri language is rich in literature and consists of many writings which are written in form of books, novels and poems related to this verbal communication.