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| Chiru | |
|---|---|
| Rem | |
| Rem | |
| Native to | India |
| Region | Manipur |
| Ethnicity | Chiru people |
Native speakers | 8,599 (2011)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | cdf |
| Glottolog | chir1283 |
| ELP | Chiru |
Purum is aKuki-Chin language, belonging to theNorthwestern or "Old Kuki" subfamily.[2]spoken inManipur andAssam. The Chiru population numbers approximately 8,599. It is an endangered language spoken in only three districts of India:Kangpokpi,Noney districts of Manipur andCachar district of Assam. The speakers of this language useMeitei language as their second language (L2).[3]The Chiru language is neither used in schools nor in radio or mass media. Older people read and write in Meitei language. The younger generation of Chiru speakers prefers the Latin script.
The Chirus are one of the earliest inhabitants ofManipur andAssam.Cheitharol Kumbaba, the Royal Chronicle of Manipur mentioned that King Meidingu Chalamba defeated the Chirus in 1554. This proves that the Chirus had settled in Manipur long before this period. It was also mentioned in the Royal Chronicles of Manipur that an incidence of Meitei King's incursion on Nungsai Chiru Village occurred on 22nd day of Wakching (December–January) 1729 during the reign ofMaharaja Garibniwaz (Cheitharol Kumbaba: 1989:90). In spite of the considerably long period of their settlement in the two states (Manipur and Assam), the population of Chiru native speakers is shockingly very low. The growth rate of their population was extremely steady. This might be due to high mortality rate and low birth rate in the previous centuries.
The domain of language use for Chiru is very limited. The usage of Chiru by Chiru native speakers is specifically confined only at home domain and within the community among the native speakers. The language proficiency of Chiru native speakers ranges from bilingual to multilingual. The native speakers inManipur have high proficiency inMeitei language (Manipuri language) and those inAssam have high proficiency inHmar,Meitei language andSylheti Bengali. Chiru speakers in Manipur generally speakMeitei language,Hindi orEnglish while those of Assam speakHmar,Sylheti Bengali,Meitei language orHindi at the time of interaction with non-Chiru speakers. The Chiru native speakers in Manipur usually speak eitherMeitei language orHindi in the market place, office etc. Moreover, they also speak Paior Thwhen they interact with, and speakers respectively. On the other hand, Chiru speakers of Assam speakSylheti Bengali,Meitei language orHmar in the market places, offices or anywhere outside home domain. It is painful to mention that Chiru of Assam has not been recognized by the government of Assam. They are rather recognized as Hmar. Chiru is neither used in schools nor in radio or mass media. Even the children normally become bilingual at the minimum age of 5 since they acquire the second language in schools.[4]
Chiru is spoken in the following locations ofNortheast India (Ethnologue).[5]
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | Tenuis | p | t | c | k | ʔ |
| Aspirated | pʰ | tʰ | kʰ | |||
| Voiced | b | d | ||||
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | |||
| Fricative | Voiceless | s | h | |||
| Voiced | v | z | ||||
| Lateral | l | |||||
| Trill | r | |||||
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Close-mid | e | o | |
| Open-mid | ɛ | ə | ɔ |
| Open | a |
Chiru has tworegister tones: low and high.[12]
Sino-Tibetan branches | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WesternHimalayas (Himachal, Uttarakhand,Nepal,Sikkim) |
|  | |||
| EasternHimalayas (Tibet,Bhutan,Arunachal) | |||||
| Myanmar and Indo- Burmese border |
| ||||
| East andSoutheast Asia |
| ||||
| Dubious (possible isolates,Arunachal) |
| ||||
| Proposed groupings | |||||
| Proto-languages | |||||
Italics indicates single languages that are also considered to be separate branches. | |||||
| Mizoram |  Naga woman | |
|---|---|---|
| Nagaland | ||
| Meghalaya | ||
| Arunachal Pradesh | ||
| Manipur | ||
| Tripura | ||
| Assam | ||
| Sikkim | ||
| Kuki tribes including: | ||
| Naga tribes including: | ||
