Miju language

Kaman (Geman, Geman Deng, Kùmán), or Miju (Miju Mishmi, Midzu), is a small language of India and China. Long assumed to be a Sino-Tibetan language, it may be a language isolate.[3]

Not to be confused with Miji language.

Kaman
Geman, Kman
Miju, Kùmán
Pronunciation[kɯ˧˩mɑn˧˥]
RegionArunachal Pradesh, India
EthnicityMiju Mishmi
Native speakers
18,000 (2006)[1]
possibly Sino-Tibetan (Midzuish), or a language isolate
  • Kaman
Language codes
ISO 639-3mxj
Glottologmiju1243
ELPMiju-Mishmi[2]

Locations

In China, the Miju are known as the Deng 僜人. The Deng number over 1,000 in Zayü County, Tibet, China, with 1,000 of the Deng having the autonym tɑ31 ruɑŋ53 (大让), and 130 having the autonym kɯ˧˩mɑn˧˥ (格曼) (Geman). They are also neighbors with the Idu or i53 du31 (义都) people.

In India, Miju is spoken in Hawai Circle and the Parsuram Kund area of Lohit District, Arunachal Pradesh (Boro 1978,[4] Dasgupta 1977[5]). Ethnologue reports that Miju is spoken in 25 villages located in high altitude areas to the east of upper Lohit and Dau valleys, which are located east of the Haguliang, Billong, and Tilai valleys.

Phonology

These are the sounds in the Miju/Kaman language.[6]

Consonants
Consonant phonemes
  Bilabial Labio-
dental		 Dental Alveolar Post-
alveolar
(Palato-
alveolar)		 Retroflex Palatal Palata-
lized velar		 Labia-
lized velar		 Glottal
Plosive p, pʰb       t, tʰd             k, kʰɡ ʔ 
Affricate          tsdz tʃ, tʃʰdʒ               
Fricative    fv θð sz ʃ              xʷɣʷ
Nasal  m        n     ɳ  ɲ         
Trill           r                  
Tap or flap                 ɽ            
Approximant w   ʋ              j         
Lateral approximant           l     ɭ            

Vowels
Monophthong phonemes
  Front Central Back
Close i ɨ u
Close-mid     o
Open-mid ɛ ə ʌ • ɔ
Open   a  

Tones

There are three main tones in the Miju language, rising (á), falling (à), and level (ā).[7]

References
  1. Kaman at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. Endangered Languages Project data for Miju-Mishmi.
  3. Blench, Roger; Post, Mark (2011), (De)classifying Arunachal languages: Reconstructing the evidence (PDF), archived from the original (PDF) on 26 May 2013
  4. Boro, A. 1978. Miju dictionary. Shillong: Research Department, Arunachal Pradesh Administration.
  5. Dasgupta, K. 1977. A phrase book in Miju. Shillong: Director of Information and Public Relations, Arunachal Pradesh.
  6. Blench, Roger (2015), Kman ethno-ophresiology; characterising taste, smell and texture in a language of Arunachal Pradesh
  7. Blench, Roger; Kri, Sokhep; Ngadong, Kruleso; Masong, Barum (2015), Kman Reading and writing Kman
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