Part 17

For the third person Mikir now uses the demonstrative la, but, as the possessive prefix shows, had formerly a. In this it agrees with Lai, Lushei, Chiru, Kolren among the Kuki family, and Tangkhul and Maring among the Naga-Kuki group. What the original Boro pronoun of the third person was is not now ascertainable; the demonstrative bi (Darrang), be (Lalung), bo (Dimasa) or ua (Garo) is now used instead. This seems to correspond with the Mikir pe-, pi-, pa- in the words mentioned on p. 80. In Angami the pronoun is similarly po, in Sema pa, and in Ao pa. In Meithei and many other Kuki-Chin languages another demonstrative, ma, is used; this may be connected with the Mikir mi, me, in mini, to-day, menàp, to-morrow (see p. 80). But, although ma is used as a separate pronoun for the third person in the majority of the Kuki-Chin group, the prefixed a- of relation, usual in Mikir, which (as explained on p. 76) is really the possessive pronoun of the third person, is widely employed throughout the family, as a prefix both to nouns and adjectives, in exactly the same way as in Mikir. This coincidence, again, is striking; the Boro languages seem to present nothing similar.

The plural pronouns in Mikir are formed by adding -tum to the singular. Exactly the same thing takes place in Tangkhul, a Naga-Kuki language: i, I, i-thum, we; na, thou, na-thum, ye; a, he, a-thum, they. The plural of nouns, however, in Tangkhul is formed by other affixes, generally words meaning "many" (cf. the Mikir òng).

Mikir has two forms for the pronoun of the first person plural, according as the speaker includes the person addressed or excludes him, i-tum or e-tum in the former and ne-tum in the latter case. The first, it will be seen, agrees with the general word for we in Tangkhul. In Angami also two forms are used, he-ko for we exclusive, and a-vo for we inclusive; the former seems to agree in form, though not in sense, with the Mikir e-tum. The affinity of Mikir with the Western Naga and Naga-Kuki languages seems to be exemplified here also. The Boro languages have not the double form for this person.

The reflexive pronoun or particle in Mikir, che (see p. 80), is represented in Thado Kuki by ki, which is perhaps the same word. Angami has the, Meithei na. Boro does not appear to possess any corresponding particle.

The interrogative particle -ma in Mikir (p. 80) is mo in most of the Kuki-Chin languages (in some -em, -am), while in Angami it is ma, and in Kachcha Naga me. The same particle (ma) is used in Garo and Boro for questions.

Two particles are used in Mikir as suffixes to magnify or diminish the root-word; the augmentative is -pi (as thèng, wood, firewood, thèngpi, a tree; làng, water, làngpi, the great water, the sea), the diminutive is -so (as hèm, a house, hèmso, a hut; làng-so, a brook). Boro has -ma for the augmentative, -sa for the diminutive (dui-ma, great river, dui-sa, brook); but Meithei and Thado have the same particles as Mikir, -pi and -cha (ch is equivalent to s).

The Mikir suffix -po, feminine -pi, corresponding to the Hindi -wala (see several examples on p. 12 ante), seems to be identical with the Meithei -ba (-pa) and -bi (-pi), though it has nothing like the extensive use in Mikir which -ba (-pa) has in Meithei.

The noteworthy separable prefix ar- in Mikir, which is probably connected with the Tibetan prefix r- (see ante, p. 129, note), appears to occur in the Kuki-Chin languages, but does not seem to have any representative in the Boro family. The examples in the Kuki-Chin volume of the Linguistic Survey are found in Rangkhol (p. 6, er-ming, "name"), Aimol (p. 215, ra-mai, "tail," Mikir arme), Kom (p. 245, ra-mhing, "name"; ra-nai, "earth, ground" [nai perhaps = Mikir le in lòng-le]), Kyaw or Chaw (p. 254), and Hiroi (p. 282). All these forms of speech belong to the Old Kuki group, which has already yielded several other analogies with Mikir.

The prefix ke- (ki-, ka-), which plays so important a part in Mikir (see pp. 77, 83, 84) in the formation of adjectives, participles, and verbal nouns, and answers to the Boro ga- and the Angami ke-, has for the most part disappeared from the Kuki dialects, perhaps because it conflicts with the prefixed pronominal stem of the first person, ka-. It survives, however, in the three Old Kuki languages, Kom, Anal, and Hiroi. In Tangkhul, of the Naga-Kuki group, it is used exactly as in Mikir, to form adjectives and verbal nouns, e.g.:--

Mikir. Tangkhul.

to come ke-vàng ka-va (to go) to eat ke-cho ka-shai to remain ke-bòm ka-pam (to sit) to beat ke-chòk ka-sho to die ke-thi ka-thi

The particles used in Mikir as suffixes to indicate tenses of the verb, with the exception of that for the completed past, tàng, which appears to be identical with the Thado and Lushei ta, do not seem to have any close analogues in the Kuki-Chin or Naga-Kuki groups; they are also quite different from those used in the Boro group. Causative verbs, however, are in many Kuki-Chin languages constructed with the verb pe or pèk, "to give," as in Mikir; and the suffix of the conjunctive participle in Mikir, -si, is perhaps the same as -chu in Khoirao. In Boro the prefix fi-, answering to the Mikir pi-, was formerly used to form causatives, as appears from verbal roots in current use; the construction now most common uses -nu, which has the same meaning ("to give") as a suffix.

The negative verb in Mikir is formed by suffixing the particle -e to the positive root, when the latter begins with a vowel. Similarly, in Boro a negative verb is formed by adding the particle -a. In the Kuki-Chin languages different suffixes are employed (lo, lai, loi, mak, ri), and in a few dialects prefixes. Here Mikir resembles Boro rather than the Kuki group. But the remarkable feature of Mikir in reduplicating initial consonants before the suffixed negative (see ante, p. 85) has no analogy in either family, unless the isolated example in Kolren (an Old Kuki dialect) quoted in the Linguistic Survey, vol. III., part iii., p. 19, supplies one. It is to be observed, however, that in the construction there cited (na-pe-pèk-mao-yai, "did not give"), the verb pèk has suffixed to it the negative particle mao, and that the reduplication alone appears to have no negative force. Other examples seem necessary before the rule of reduplication can be considered to be established. Possibly loi and lai in Kuki correspond to the separate Mikir negative ka-li (see ante, p. 86).

It remains to give some examples of correspondence in general vocabulary between Mikir and other Tibeto-Burman languages. It has been shown above from the analysis of the numerals that prefixes play a large part in all these languages. These prefixes, which to some extent are interchangeable, and also differ in the different members of the family, have to be eliminated in order to find the roots which are to be compared. Again, certain changes in vowels and consonants between different languages regularly occur. Our knowledge is not yet sufficient to enable a law of interchange to be formulated; but the following conclusions seem to be justified. In vowels, Mikir has a preference for long o where other languages have -a, especially in auslaut; [50] on the other hand long a in Mikir is sometimes thinned down to e; the word recho, answering to the Aryan raja, is an example of both processes. Long i in Mikir often corresponds to oi and ai, as well as to e and ei, in the cognates. As regards consonants, nasals at the end of syllables are often rejected; thus within Mikir itself we have o and òng, da and dàm, ne and nèng, la and làng. Some languages (as for instance Angami [51] Naga) tolerate no consonantal endings, not even a nasal. In Mikir itself final l has been vocalised into i or dropped; and in many Naga and Kuki-Chin dialects (as also in Burmese) final consonants have disappeared or have suffered great changes. As already noticed, the surd mutes k, p, t (sometimes aspirated) have taken the place of the original sonants g, b, d to a large extent in Mikir, though b and d (not g) still survive in a fair proportion of words. Boro generally retains the old sonants of Tibetan, and Meithei uses both classes according to the adjacent sounds. The palatals ch, j of Mikir tend to become sibilants, s, ts, z, in the cognate languages; j is also often softened to y in Kuki-Chin. L and r in anlaut frequently interchange in Meithei, the interchange depending on the adjacent vowels. These letters also interchange freely in other languages of the family. In Burmese r has everywhere been changed to y, except in Arakan. L and n also often interchange. Initial d in Mikir seems sometimes to correspond to l in other cognates; and it is possible that Mikir initial s may occasionally be represented by h in the latter, though this is not quite certain. Th and s often interchange in anlaut, some dialects of Kuki-Chin showing the intermediate stage of [theta], which in Burmese now everywhere replaces original s.

Lastly, it should be noticed that Tipura, an outlying member of the Boro group, often exhibits a sound system more closely corresponding to that of the Kuki-Chin languages (which are its neighbours) than Boro, Dimasa, or Garo.

The resemblances in vocabulary between Mikir and the Western Naga dialects are extensive, as will be seen from the list (due to Mr. A. W. Davis) at p. 201, vol. III., part ii., of the Linguistic Survey. These need not be repeated here. The following is a list of Boro (Darrang), Dimasa, Garo, and Tipura words which seem to correspond with Mikir. It will be seen, however, by reference to the columns headed Kuki-Chin and Naga (including Naga-Kuki), that in the case of nearly all these words the other two families, as well as Mikir, have the same roots. They therefore belong to the common stock of the Tibeto-Burman languages of Assam, and do not by themselves prove any close connection of Mikir with Boro.

NOUNS.

English. Mikir. Boro Kuki-Chin. Naga. family.

nose nokàn Garo, Meithei Tangkhul nukum, natol (n) natung nakung Thado nakui Angami a-niki Tipura, Lushei nhar E. Naga bukung nakong, natong eye mèk Boro megan Meithei } Ang. mhi, mhü Dimasa mu Thado } mit Tangk. mik Garo Lushei } Maram mek mik-ren Shö (Chin) E. Naga mik mik, mek mouth ing-ho Boro Lushei ka Ang. tha, khu-ga Khami kha me-tha Dimasa khau Shö kho Rengma Garo màng-khòng ho-tom, ku-sik tooth so Boro Andro sho Ang. ho, hu ha-thau Sengmai shoa Sema a-hu Dimasa id. Thado } ha Lushei } Shö haw ear no Garo Meithei } na Ang. nü na-chil, Lai } Lhota en-no na-kal Shö a-nho Maring ka-na face me-hàng Boro Meithei mae makhàng Lushei hmai Garo mikkang Tipura mukhàng belly pòk Dimasa ho Meithei puk Ang. va Garo ok, Andro puk Sema a-pfo pi-puk Shö puk Lhota o-pòk Tipura Lai paw bahak Thado wai father po Boro } fa Meithei } Ang. po Dimasa } Lushei } pa Sema pa Garo pa, ba Thado } Ao ta-ba Tipura ba Sengmai } Lhota o-po Khami } po Shö } son so-po Boro f'sa Meithei } chapa Lhota o-tsöe Dimasa Thado } Maring cha pasa, sa Khami chopo Hatigoria Garo sa, Shö cho chapa pi-sa Tipura basa daughter so-pi Dimasa Meithei pu-su cha-(anu)-pi Khami numpui-cho cat mèng, Garo Thado meng-cha mèng-kalu mèng-go Tipura Ranghkhol a-ming meng Shö min iron ingchin Boro shurr Andro sen, sel Ang. the-zhi Dimasa sher Lushei thir Yachumi Garo Thado } thi inchi sil, sar Shö } Thukumi ise Tipura sir Khami sing

ADJECTIVES.

English. Mikir. Boro family. Kuki-Chin. Naga.

big kethe Boro gadet Ang. kedi small kibi, bi-hèk Boro gahai Meithei a-pisek bitter keho Boro gakha Lushei kha Meithei kha-ba Thado a-kha cold ke-chung Boro gazang Lushei shik beautiful mesèn, me Boro mozang Lushei moi

VERBS.

go dàm Boro } Ang. ta Dimasa } thàng Sopvoma ta-o Tipura } Maring ta-so come vàng Boro } Ang. vor Dimasa } fai Kwoireng } pa-lo Tipura } Maram } eat cho Boro za Meithei cha-ba Ang. chi Dimasa ji Khami cha Kwoireng tyu-lo Garo cha, sa (Burmese Tangkhul ka-shai Tipura cha cha, tsa) beat chòk Dimasa shu Tangkhul ka-sho die thi Boro thoi Meithei si-ba Ang. sa Dimasa ti, thei Thado thi Sema ti Garo ti, si, Lushei ti Sopvoma thiye tai Khami dei Maram tei-lo Tipura thai Tangkhul ka-thi run kàt Boro khat Meithei chatpa Tangkhul ka-chat Dimasa khai (?) (to go) Garo kat Andro kat-e say pu Boro bung Ang. pu do, work klèm Boro khlàm think matha Boro mithi be necessary nàng Boro nàng Lushei ngai Garo nàng

The above list exhibits all the coincidences which could be found on a search through the vocabulary appended to Mr. Endle's Kachari grammar, and it will be seen that the agreement is not extensive.

The words in which Tibeto-Burman languages agree most widely with one another are perhaps those for water and village; for the former di, ti, tui, dzü, zu, ji, chi, and other similar forms, all apparently identical with the Tibetan chhu and the Turki su, run through the whole family: for the latter khul, khu, ku (Turki ku, kui) are similarly widespread. It is somewhat surprising to find in Mikir an exception to the general rule. Water is làng, and village is ròng. Searching through the tribal vocabularies, Tangkhul Naga (a Naga-Kuki form of speech) appears to have, in ta-ra, the corresponding word to làng (r = l, and ta a prefix). Nowhere else in the neighbourhood is there a trace of a similar word until we come to Burmese, where water is re (now pronounced ye). Similarly, it appears to be only in Burmese that we have a word for village, rwa, corresponding to the Mikir ròng. These coincidences, like others already mentioned, seem to point to the south for the affinities of the Mikir race. At the same time it is to be observed that Mikir appears once to have had, like the Kuki-Chin languages generally, the word ti for water. This survives in the word for egg, vo-ti, which must mean "fowl's water," and corresponds in sense to the Boro dau-dui, Chutiya du-ji, Garo do-chi, Shö (Chin) a-tui. In Angami and Lushei "fowl" is omitted, and the word for "egg" is merely dzü, tui, = water. [52]

It would be tedious to enumerate the coincidences in vocabulary which are found between Mikir and all the Kuki-Chin dialects. We have had reason to expect that these coincidences will be found to be most numerous with the Chin languages spoken in the Southern Hill tracts to the west of the Irawadi Valley; and the following list of similar words will show that this expectation is borne out by the facts. In most cases the forms in Lushei, a leading language of the Central Kuki-Chin group, are added; where they are wanting the Mikir word does not appear to have any corresponding form in that language. [53]

NOUNS.

English. Mikir. Chin (Shö).

male (of man) pinso pa-tho (Lushei pasal) female (of mankind) -pi suffixed -nü [54] suffixed (L. nu, and pui) body bàng a-pün (L. pàng) corpse aru ayo (L. ruang) face mehàng hmoi-san (L. hmai) nose no-kàn hnut-to (Meithei na-ton, L. hna) ear no a-hno eye mèk a-mi, mik (L. mit) [tear amèk-kri a-mi-khli] tongue de le (L. lei) mind, breast, heart ning a-mlüng (L. lung) [angry a-ning-kethi a-mlüng-thö (L. thi-n-lung-sha)] back nung a-hling (L. hnung) arm phàng bawn (L. bawn) foot, leg kèng khön or khö (L. ke, Burmese khyè) stomach pòk pük [stomach-ache pòk-keso pük-tho] hair of body ang-mi a-hmaw (L. hmul) bone re-pi yo'' (Lushei ruh, Angami ru) tail ar-me ho-me (L. mei) old man, chief sar, sarpo hsan, hsan-bo son oso, so-po hso (Burmese sa [[Greek: theta]a]) tiger te-ke a-kye (L. sa-kei, Burmese kya) cow chainòng hsaw-nü (L. se-bawng) pig phàk wök, wo (Burmese wak) squirrel karle a-hle (L. the-hlei) rat phiju pha-yü (L. sa-zu) bird vo wu (L. va) kite vo-mu a-hmu (L. mu) parrot vo-kèk a-kye (L. va-ki, Burmese kye) bat vo-arplàk phalauh crayfish, prawn chekung kye-khön (L. kai-kuang) scale of fish lip lit (L. hlip) louse rèk hèk (L. hrik) land-leech ingphàt a-wot (L. vang-vàt) sun ar-ni kho-ni (L. anni, ni) moon chi-klo khlo (L. thla) night a-jo yan (L. zan, jan) rain ar-ve yo-o (L. ruah, Burmese rwa) fire me me (L. mei) [a flint for me-chèt a-lòng me-kha-lün (L. mei-lung), striking fire i.e. fire-spark-stone] fire-spark-stone smoke mihi me-khü (L. mei-khu) steam hi a-hu (L. hu) stone ar-lòng a-lün (L. lung) rice sàng saung vegetables hàn awn (L. an) house hèm in (L. in, Burmese im) wood, tree thèng, thèngpi then'' (L. thing) leaf lo law (Meithei la, Thado na, L. hna) fruit a-the the (L. thei) seed a-the se cotton phelo phoi broom ar-phèk pha-phe iron ingchin n'thi (L. thir) arrow thai a-thaw (L. thal) bow thai-li a-li (L. thal-ngul) boat te-lòng hmlu or hmlü (L. long) earring no-thèngpi na-thong basket tòn tawng dream màng maung (L. mang) name mèn a-mín (L. hming) matter, affair hormu a-hmu (Burmese id.) heap bui a-pün (L. vung, bum) place dim awn-dün edge, border a-pre a-pe rope a-ri a-yöh (L. hrui) handle be bi'' (to take, seize), (L. bèng)

Verbs.