LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 24:8 August 2024
ISSN 1930-2940

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         Pammi Pavan Kumar, Ph.D.
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Phonemes of Hmar

Nivedita Lahkar, M.A., Ph.D.

Abstract

A phoneme is the smallest unit of speech in a language that distinguishes one word from another. In Hmar, the /s/ in sun ‘lead’ and the /z/ in zun ‘urine’ represent two different phonemes. The present paper is an attempt to describe the phonemic inventory of Hmar language in terms of the number of vowels, consonants and diphthongs including their distribution and arrangement in the language. The study will also investigate whether Hmar exhibits the phonological features of other Tibeto-Burman languages or not.

Keywords: Hmar, Phoneme, Allophone and Diphthongs.

1. Introduction

Hmar is the name of a language, the group of people who speak the language. There are many tribal languages spoken in the state of Assam like Bodo, Dimasa, Karbi, Reang, Missing, Rongmei, Aimol, Chiru, Zeme, Kuki, and many others. One such language is Hmar; Hmar is one of the undescribed, undocumented endangered languages of Assam. Bradley (1997) in his article ‘Genetic classification of Kuki-Chin-Naga Languages’ classified Hmar under ‘Old Kuki of the Tibeto-Burman language family. Hmar has close affinities with other Kuki-Chin languages of the North East, viz. Aimol, Kuki/Thadou, Ranglong, Mizo, Rangkhol, Kharam, Chiru, etc. They have their rich culture but very few books and articles are written in their language. Hmars are scattered in different parts of North-eastern states. In Manipur they are located in the East Imphal District of Imphal Municipal Park. Hmar speakers are scattered over a vast area comprising Northern Mizorasm, some parts of N.C. Hills (Dima Hasao) and Fulertal, Cachar District of Assam.

The total population of Hmar in the Census of India is 98,988 (2011). Hmar language is an officially recognized language. Hmar is taught in schools and junior colleges in many North Eastern states. They use Roman Script for their orthography. The phonemic inventory of Hmar shows the distinctive sound occurring in Hmar speech.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Nivedita Lahkar, M.A., Ph.D.
Bezera Anchalik College
Bezera, Kamrup, Assam, 781121
nivedita.rm@gmail.com
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