Sopvoma language

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Mao
Sopvoma, Emela, Mao' La
Pronunciationmau
Native toIndia
RegionNagaland, Manipur
EthnicityMao Naga, Poumai Naga
Native speakers
240,205 (2011 census)[1]
Official status
Recognised minority
language in
India
Language codes
ISO 639-3Either:
nbi – Mao
pmx – Poumei Naga
Glottolognaga1397
ELPMao Naga

Mao, also known as Sopvoma, is a Sino-Tibetan language of the Angami–Pochuri linguistic sub-branch.[2] It is spoken primarily in Senapati district, northwestern Manipur and in Nagaland, India. It is similar to Tenyidie.[3][4]

Phonology

Consonants

Labial Dental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive voiceless p t̪ t k
aspirated pʰ (t̪ʰ) tʰ kʰ
voiced b d̪ (ɡ)
Affricate voiceless p͡f t͡s t͡ʃ
aspirated (p͡fʰ) t͡ʃʰ
voiced b͡v d͡z d͡ʒ
Fricative voiceless f s ʃ h
voiced v z ʒ
Nasal m n ŋ
Trill voiced r
voiceless ʰr̥
Lateral l
Approximant (w) j
  • /t͡ʃʰ/ and /w/ only rarely occur, and with /t͡ʃʰ/ only occurring in word-initial position.
  • The pre-aspirated voiceless /ʰr̥/, may have a word-initial allophone of [ʂ], [ʂ] rarely occurs phonemically.
  • [ɡ] only occurs marginally from loanwords.
  • /t̪, p͡f/ in word-initial position may be heard as [t̪ʰ, p͡fʰ] in free variation, rarely as phonemic.
  • /h/ may have an allophone of [x] word-initially, word medially in free variation. [x] rarely occurs as a phoneme.
  • /m/ before a central vowel /ɨ/ can have an allophone of a labiodental [ɱ].
  • /n/ before high vowel sounds can have an allophone of a palatalized [nʲ].

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i ɨ u
Mid e (ə) o
Open a
  • [ə] only occurs inter-morphemically.
  • /ɨ/ can be heard as rounded [ʉ] in free variation.
  • In word-initial position, /i, u/ can be lowered to [ɪ, ʊ].
  • /e, o/ can be lowered to [ɛ, ɔ] in word-final position.[5]

References

  1. "Statement 1: Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues – 2011". censusindia.gov.in. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  2. "Mao (Naga) language and alphabet". omniglot.com. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  3. "Mao (Naga) language and alphabet". omniglot.com. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  4. "Evaluation of the morphological rules for the Tenyidie language: a low-resource language".
  5. Giridhar, P. P. (1994). Mao Naga Grammar. Mysore: Central Institute of Indian Languages.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)

Further reading

  • Veikho, Sahiinii Lemaina (2021). Grammar of Poumai Naga (Poula): A Trans-Himalayan Language of North-East India. Brill's Tibetan Studies Library. Vol. 25. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-43798-2.