LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 15:9 September 2015
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
         N. Nadaraja Pillai, Ph.D.
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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Phonology of Syriem

Ashangbam Samani Devi, Ph.D. Scholar

Abstract

Syriem is a member of the Kuki-Chin subgroup of the Tibeto-Burman family spoken approximately by 700 speakers in five villages of Barak Valley (Southern Assam), viz. Balisor (Kuki Punji), Noksa (Nengpur), Bagbahar, Syriem Kho and Nagathol. Nothing substantial is known about the language/tribe either from the colonial writers or from any other anthropological sources. The present paper discusses the phonological structure of the language.

Keywords: Syriem language, Kuki-Chin, Assam

Introduction

Syriem (a.k.a) Fyriem is a Tibeto-Burman language of the Kuki-Chin sub group spoken in five villages of Barak valley (Southern Assam), namely, Balisor (Kuki Punji), Noksa (Nengpur), Bagbaar, Syriem Kho and Nagathol. The language is spoken roughly by 600-700 speakers. The speakers of Syriem are composed of various Kuki-Chin languages/dialects: Aimol, Changsen (Thadou), Chongloi (Thadou), Kholang, Rangkhol, Tollai, etc. who no longer speak their ancestor languages/dialect or have given up using their languages in favour of Syriem which is believed by the speakers to have evolved out of the mixture of many Kuki-Chin languages/dialects who have come to live together in their present day settlement over hundred years ago. The language is facing a severe threat from the dominant Bengali which is widely spoken all around the Barak Valley and in the adjoining regions.

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

Ashangbam Samani Devi, Ph.D. Scholar
Department of Linguistics
Rabindranath Tagore School of Languages and Cultural Studies
Assam University
Silchar-788011
Assam
India
samaniashang@gmail.com
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