Rongmei
Songbu
Ruanglat, "Ruangmei"
Rongmei written in Meitei script
RegionAssam, Manipur and Nagaland
EthnicityRongmei Naga
Native speakers
(undated figure of 350,580[citation needed])
Language codes
ISO 639-3nbu
Glottologrong1266
ELPRongmei Naga

Rongmei is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Rongmei Naga community in Northeast India.[1] It has been called Songbu and is close to Zeme and Liangmai. The language has been nomenclatured as "Ruangmei" and studied as a First Language paper from class I to X of Board of Secondary Education, Manipur.[2] Ruangmei is studied as a Minor Indian Language (MIL) in Class XI & XII of Council of Higher Secondary Education Manipur (COHSEM).[3]

Geography

Rongmei is mostly spoken in the three states of Assam, Manipur and Nagaland.[4]

It is the most spoken language in Tamenglong district and Noney district; and the second most spoken language in Imphal West district and Bishnupur district of Manipur.[5]

Phonology

Consonants

Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive/
Affricate 		voiceless p t tʃ k
aspirated pʰ tʰ kʰ
voiced b d dʒ ɡ
Nasal m n ŋ
Fricative s h
Trill r
Approximant lateral l
central w j

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i u
Mid e ə o
Open a

A lower-mid elongated sound [ɐː] also occurs only in word-medial positions.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Naga, Rongmei". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Board of secondary education manipur- BSEM".
  3. ^ "Welcome to Council of Higher Secondary Education, Manipur".
  4. ^ "Distribution of 99 non schedule languages" (PDF). Census India. MHA, Govt of India. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  5. ^ "Census of language in India 2011". MHA, Govt of India.
  6. ^ Tiwari, Surendra K. (1971). A descriptive grammar of Kabui. Poona: Deccan College.


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