LANGUAGE IN INDIA

EXOTIC PHONEMES
A STUDY OF MANIPURI PHONEMES

H. Dolen Singh, Ph.D.
S. Imoba Singh, Ph.D.

Manipuri Language

Manipuri language has many characteristic features of being a Tibeto-Burman language. One of most striking feature of Tibeto-Burman language is tones for conveying phonemic distinction. Manipuri language has only two tones i.e. falling and level. On the other hand, Burmese language has four tones. Thus, different languages have different number of tones. Tone is a feature of suprasegmental phoneme. In regards with the tonal features of the languages, "The African languages would be regarded as register tone languages, and the Asian as contour system" (John Clark & Colin Yallop, 1990:291). And Manipuri language is included in the contour tone system. But the present article is fully devoted to segmental phonemes of Manipuri.

Phonemic Study

The first step in studying any spoken language is to determine the phonemes (H.A. Gleason 1968:14). When we speak, we produce a continuous stream of sounds. In studying speech we divide this stream into small pieces that we call segments. The word 'man' is pronounced with a first segment m, a second segment Q and a third segment n (Peter Roach 1991: 36). These segments represent different set of phonemes. The phoneme is the minimal feature of the expression system of a spoken language by which one thing that may be said is distinguished from any other thing, which might have been said (H.A. Gleason 1968:16).

A phoneme may be described roughly as a family of sounds consisting of an important sound of the language (generally the most frequently used member of that family) together with other related sounds which 'take its place' in particular sound sequences or under particular conditions of length or stress or intonation (Daniel Jones, 1997:49, twelfth printing).

Native and Non-native Phonemes of Manipuri Language

Diligent search through the vocabulary of Manipuri explicitly identifies the Manipuri phonemes and their role in the language. English sound system has 28 consonant phonetic symbols; however they have only 20 consonants phonemic symbols. There are only 24 consonant phonemes in Manipuri. There are only 15 consonants and 6 vowels in the indigenous sound system i.e. only 21 phonemes. Exotic phonemes are found only in consonant phonemes.

The exotic phonemes so far as used in the language is 9 in number. They are generally borrowed from the Indo-Aryan languages. The influence of Bengali is stronger than any other Indo-Aryan languages since the Manipuri speakers have been merged with the Bengali culture for the last three hundred years and more. As a result of sound change exotic phonemes are internalized as a native sound system.

There are only 24 consonant phonemes in modern Manipuri language. Among these only 15 indigenous consonant phonemes can occur in any position of a syllable i.e. initial, medial and final position. On the other hand, the exotic phonemes cannot occur in initial and final position of Manipuri indigenous words. However, as results of sound change, morphophonemic change or phonetic change, exotic phonemes are profoundly used in the medial position i.e. voiceless sound becomes voiced sound. There are many words commonly used in the language in which exotic phonemes occur in initial or final position. However, all such words are loan words. Most of them are borrowed from Indo-Aryan languages.

This paper presents a detailed analysis of exotic phonemes and their changes in morphonemic conditions.

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