Meitei language

Meitei (/ˈmeɪteɪ/; ꯃꯩꯇꯩꯂꯣꯟ; মৈতৈলোন্, romanised: "Meiteilon"),[8] officially known as Manipuri (/ˌmænɪˈpʊəri/, /mʌ-/; ꯃꯅꯤꯄꯨꯔꯤ; মণিপুরী),[9] is a Tibeto-Burman language of northeast India. It is the official language and the lingua franca of Manipur as well as one of the 22 official languages of the Indian Republic, included in the 8th Schedule to the Indian Constitution.[10] Native to the Meitei people, it is spoken by around 1.8 million people, predominantly in the state of Manipur, but also by smaller communities in the rest of the country and in parts of neighbouring Myanmar and Bangladesh. It was used as a court language in the historic Manipur Kingdom.

"Manipuri language" redirects here. For the Meitei-Bengali creole language, see Bishnupriya Manipuri language.
This article is about the sole official language of Manipur. For other speech forms, see languages of Manipur.
This article is about the overall description of Meitei language in all its geographical extent. For its description based in Bangladesh, see Meitei language in Bangladesh.
Unless otherwise specified, Meitei in this article is written in Meitei Mayek/Eastern Nagari/Naoriya Phullo script order. If the Eastern Nagari and Naoriya Phullo characters are mutually intelligible or virtually identical to a great extent, the former is used.

Meitei
Manipuri (Meiteilon, Meetei, Meeteilon)
ꯃꯩꯇꯩꯂꯣꯟ • মৈতৈলোন • Meiteilon
"Meitei Lon" written in Meitei script
Native toManipur, Assam and Tripura
RegionIndia, Bangladesh and Myanmar
EthnicityMeitei people
Native speakers
1.8 million (2003–2011)[1]
Early forms
DialectsStandard Meitei, Chakpa (also called Loi) and Meitei Pangal (Muslim dialect)[2]
Official status
Official language in
 India (as scheduled language)
Recognised minority
language in
Regulated byDirectorate of Language Planning and Implementation (DLPI),
Government of Manipur
Development body
Language codes
ISO 639-2mni
ISO 639-3Either:
mni – Manipuri
omp – Old Manipuri
Glottologmani1292  Manipuri
meit1246  Meitei (standard dialect)
loii1241  Loi (Chakpa dialect)
pang1284  Pangal (Muslim dialect)
  Regions where Meitei is native, majority, official and educational language
  Regions where Meitei is indigenous and educational language but not official
  Regions where Meitei is not indigenous and official but educational
  Regions where Meitei is considered indigenous but not official and educational
  Regions with significant Meitei speaking minorities
Language event(s)
Meitei language movements for
Scheduled language statusMeitei scheduled language movement (successful)
Indian classical language statusMeitei classical language movement (ongoing in Manipur)
Associate official language statusMeitei associate official language movement (ongoing in Assam)
Linguistic purismMeitei linguistic purism movement (ongoing in Manipur)
Part of a series on
Constitutionally recognised languages of India
Category
22 Official Languages of the Indian Republic
Related

Meitei language is the most widely spoken Tibeto-Burman language of India and the most spoken indigenous language of northeast India after Assamese and Bengali.[11][12] There are 1.76 million Meitei speakers in India according to the 2011 census. The majority of these, or 1.52 million, are found in the state of Manipur, where they represent just over half of its population. There are smaller communities in neighbouring Indian states, such as Assam (168,000), Tripura (24,000), Nagaland (9,500), and elsewhere in the country (37,500).[13] Additionally, there are around 200,000 L2 speakers. The language is also spoken by smaller groups in neighbouring Myanmar[14] and Bangladesh.[1] Meitei is not endangered: its status has been assessed as safe in Ethnologue (where it is assigned to EGIDS level 2 "provincial language"),[1] but is considered vulnerable in UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.[15]

In the Indian subcontinent, a command over Meitei language, alongside Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Oriya, Persian, or Arabic, is highly appreciated and respected for learning dances (most significantly Indian Classical Dances) as dancers could have the tools of these languages to go into the primary material texts.[16]

History

"The beginning of this old Manipuri literature (as in the case of Newari) may go back to 1500 years, or even 2000 years, from now."[17][18][19]

—Suniti Kumar Chatterji, Padma Vibhushan awardee Indian scholar

A Meitei language stone inscription in Meitei script about a royal decree of a Meitei king found in the sacred site of God Panam Ningthou in Andro, Imphal East, Manipur

Meitei language has been in existence since 2000 years back till present times, preserving a classical cultural heritage of literature.[20][21]

1st half : 1st century-5th century CE

The Ougri (ꯑꯧꯒ꯭ꯔꯤ) is an ancient Meitei ritualistic musical composition which dated back to the 1st century CE. It was used mostly in the religious ceremonies of the early Meitei society and the coronation ceremonies of rulers in Ancient Kangleipak (early Manipur).[22][23] Many scholars are of the opinion that this ritual song existed even before the beginning of the Common Era.[24]

In the 3rd century CE, Poireiton Khunthok (ꯄꯣꯏꯔꯩꯇꯣꯟ ꯈꯨꯟꯊꯣꯛ), an ancient Meitei literary narrative work, about a legendary establishment of a colony in the Imphal Valley, under the leadership of Poireiton, was composed. The "Report on the Archaeological studies in Manipur Bulletin No. 1" affirmed the antiquity of this literary work.[25][26]

2nd half : 6th century-10th century CE

The Khencho (ꯈꯦꯟꯆꯣ) is another ancient Meitei poetry work, which was composed at least before the beginning of 7th century CE.[27] It is noted to be "quite obscure and entirely unintelligible" to the present-day generations of people but still it is an integral part of the Lai Haraoba festival.[28]

According to the "Report on the Archaeological Studies in Manipur, Bulletin No-1", a Meitei language copper plate inscription was found to be dated back to the 7th-8th century CE. It is one of the most well preserved ancient Meitei language epigraphic records.[29] It was inscribed during the reign of Meitei King Khongtekcha (763-773 CE). It was discovered by scholar W. Yumjao from Phayeng village in the east of Imphal in the year 1935 CE.[30][31][32]

In c. 763 CE, Akoijam Tombi (also called Akoijam Tomboy[33]) composed the Panthoibi Khonggul (Ancient Meitei: ꯄꯥꯟꯊꯣꯏꯄꯤ ꯈꯣꯡꯀꯨꯜ, Panthoipi Khongkul), also termed as the Panthoibi Khongul, an ancient Meitei language narrative text of the romantic adventures of deified Meitei princess Panthoibi.[33][34][35]

Second Millennium CE

In 1100 CE, the Loyumba Shinyen (Ancient Meitei: ꯂꯣꯌꯨꯝꯄ ꯁꯤꯟꯌꯦꯟ, Loyumpa Sinyen), a written constitution was finalised and enacted by Meitei King Loiyumba (Loyumba) (1074 CE-1112 CE), as a formal edict of the "proto-constitution" which was first drafted in 429 CE by his ancestor ruler, Meitei King Naophangba.[36][37]

Geographical distribution

Bangladesh
Main article: Meitei language in Bangladesh
Areas where there is significant population of Meitei speakers (Manipuris) in Bangladesh

The population of Meitei speakers (Manipuris) are found in four districts, namely Sylhet District, Moulvibazar District, Sunamganj District and Habiganj District of the Sylhet Division of Bangladesh. In early times, there were Meitei speaking population in Dhaka, Mymensingh and Comilla also.[38]

Sylhet district

There are thirteen villages in Sylhet District, which are Amborkhana (Nongthombam Leikai in Meitei language), Nayabazar, Shibgonj, Goaipara, Kewapara, Sagordighirpar (Pukhri Mapan in Meitei language), Baghbari, Laladighipar (Sapam Leikai in Meitei language), Lamabazar (Leichom Leikai in Meitei language), Doxingach, Rajbari (Konung Leikai in Meitei language), Brojonath Tila (Meitei people refer to it as Brajanath Leikai but earlier it was known as Narasingh Tila) and Noyabazar (Sylhet P.S.) among others.[38]

Mouluvibazar district

Moulvibazar District has twenty-eight Meitei populated settlements, which are Photiguli, Goalbari, Naldhari, Boroiloli (Kulaura P.S.), Ramnagar, Khaspur, Balishira (Shrimongol P.S.), Gouranagar, Puthadhor, Chotodhamai, Patharia, Gourangabil (Borolekha P.S.), Madhobpur, Chaiciri (Nongthombam Leikai in Meitei language), Homerjan, Majhergaon, Shangaon (Hamom Khul in Meitei language), Haqtiarkhola, Shripiire, Bhandarigaon, Chitlia, Noyapattan, Ganganagar, Bhanubil, Katabil Tateygaon (Mange Makhong Khul in Meitei language), Mongolpur (Haobam Leikai in Meitei language), Konagoan (Kamalgonj P.S.), among others.[38]

Habiganj district

Habigonj District (Chunarghat P.S.) had four Meitei settlement areas, which are Gaborkhula, Abadgaon, Shibnagar and Dudhpatil.[38]

Sunamganj district

Sunamgonj District (Chatak P.S.) has three Meitei populated settlements, which are Nayanpur, Lakhat and Ratanpur.[38]

Assam
Further information: Barak Valley § Languages, and Meitei associate official language movement
Districts of Barak Valley - Meitei speaking population settlement areas of Assam

Meitei language is the third most widely spoken language, after Bengali and Hindi, in the Barak Valley region of Assam state of India.[39]

Manipur

The Indian state of Manipur has the largest Meitei speaking population among all its geographical distribution. Native to as well as predominantly spoken in the state, Meitei language is the official language of the Government of Manipur as well as the lingua franca of the different communities living in Manipur.[40]

Nagaland

According to Ethnologue, Meitei language is also spoken in Dimapur, Kohima, Peren and Phek of Nagaland.[2]

Myanmar

Myanmar has significant Meitei speaking population in Kachin state, Yangon Region, Sagaing Region, Shan state, Ayeyarwady Region, among others.[41]

As a second or foreign language

According to the Ethnologue, in India, Meitei language is used as a second language (L2) by the various Naga ethnic groups and Kuki-Chin ethnic groups, including Aimol, Anal, Chiru, Chothe, Gangte, Hmar, Inpui, Kharam, Koireng, Kom, Lamkang, Mao, Maram, Monsang, Moyon, Purum, Tarao, Thadou (Chin people), Thangal Naga peoples.[2]

The Ethnologue also reports that Meitei language in Bangladesh is used as a second language (L2) by the Bishnupriya people.[2]

Name

According to the Ethnologue, the alternative names of Meitei language are Kathe, Kathi, Manipuri, Meetei, Meeteilon, Meiteilon, Meiteiron, Meithe, Meithei, Menipuri, Mitei, Mithe, Ponna.[2]

The name Meitei or its alternate spelling Meithei is preferred by many native speakers of Meitei over Manipuri.[42] The term is derived from the Meitei word for the language Meitheirón (Meithei + -lon 'language', pronounced /mə́i.təi.lón/).[42][43] Meithei may be a compound from mí 'man' + they 'separate'.[42] This term is used by most Western linguistic scholarship.[42] Meitei scholars use the term Meit(h)ei when writing in English and the term Meitheirón when writing in Meitei.[42] Chelliah (2015: 89) notes that the Meitei spelling has replaced the earlier Meithei spelling.[44]

The language (and people) is also referred to by the loconym Manipuri.[42] The term is derived from the name of the state of Manipur.[42] Manipuri is the official name of the language for the Indian government and is used by government institutions and non-Meitei authors.[42] The term Manipuri is also used to refer to the different languages of Manipur and to the people.[42] Additionally, Manipuri, being a loconym, can refer to anything pertaining to the Manipur state.

Speakers of Meitei language are known as "Kathe" by the Burmese people, "Moglie" or "Mekhlee" by the people of Cachar, Assam (Kacharis and Assamese) and "Cassay" by the Shan people and the other peoples living in the east of the Ningthee River (or Khyendwen River). "Ponna" is the Burmese term used to refer to the Meiteis living inside Burma.[45]

Dialects

The Meitei language exhibits a degree of regional variation; however, in recent years the broadening of communication, as well as intermarriage, has caused the dialectal differences to become relatively insignificant. The only exceptions to this occurrence are the speech differences of the dialects found in Tripura, Bangladesh and Myanmar.[46] The exact number of dialects of Meitei is unknown.[47]

The three main dialects of Meitei are: Meitei proper, Loi and Pangal. Differences between these dialects are primarily characterised by the extensions of new sounds and tonal shifts. Meitei proper is considered to be the standard variety—and is viewed as more dynamic than the other two dialects.[48] The brief table below compares some words in these three dialects:[49]

Standard MeiteiLoiPangalEnglish translation
chaabachaapachaabato eat
kappakapmakappato weep
saabibasaapipasaabibato make
thambathampathambato put
chuppibachuppipachuppibato kiss

Devi (2002)[50] compares the Imphal, Andro, Koutruk, and Kakching dialects of Meitei.

Status
Further information: Meitei language movement § Scheduled language movement, Meitei classical language movement, and Meitei associate official language movement
See also: Languages with official status in India
The Emblem of Manipur uses Meitei language, written in Meitei script.

Official language status

Meitei is the sole official language of the Government of Manipur. It is used for all official purposes, except for some interstate cases. Meitei is included among the languages that are part of the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India, thus granting it the status of a "scheduled language".[51][40]

Amendment to the script policy

In 2021, there were changes to the Manipur Official Language Act by the Government of Manipur as follows:

"Manipuri Language" means Meeteilon written in Meetei Mayek and spoken by the majority of Manipur population: Provided that the concurrent use of Bengali Script and Meetei Mayek shall be allowed in addition to English language, for a period upto 10(ten) years from the date of commencement of this Act.

— The Manipur Official Language (Amendment) Act, 2021 (Amendment to the Section 2 of the "Manipur Official Language Act, 1979", for clause "f")[52]

Court language status
Further information: Manipur State Constitution Act 1947

Meitei language was the court language of the historic Manipur Kingdom (Meeteileipak),[53][54] and was declared as such in the kingdom's 1947 Constitution, before it merged into the Indian Republic.[55]

Recognition by the Sahitya Akademi
Further information: Sahitya Akademi Award for Meitei, Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize for Meitei, and Yuva Puraskar for Meitei

With nearly two dozen dailies and a good deal of periodicals,[lower-alpha 2] and more than 1000 ancient and medieval texts, written in Meitei Mayek (Manipuri script),[56] Meitei language was recognised by the National Sahitya Akademi of New Delhi, as one of the major advanced Indian literary languages in 1972, long before it was recognised as a constitutionally scheduled language in 1992. The National Sahitya Academy bestow multiple annual awards for the promotion, recognition of the language and its literature.[57][58]

Scheduled language status
Further information: Meitei scheduled language movement and Seventy-first Amendment of the Constitution of India

BE it enacted by Parliament in the Forty-third Year of the Republic of India as follows:-
1. Short title.-This Act may be called the Constitution (Seventy-first Amendment) Act, 1992.
2. Amendment of Eighth Schedule. In the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution,-
(a) existing entry 7 shall be re-numbered as entry 8, and before entry 8 as so re-numbered, the entry "7. Konkani." shall be inserted;
(b) existing entry 8 shall be re-numbered as entry 10, and before entry 10 as so re-numbered, the entry "9. Manipuri." shall be inserted;

(c) existing entries 9 to 15 shall be re-numbered as entries 12 to 18 respectively, and before entry 12 as so re-numbered, the entry "11. Nepali." shall be inserted.

— THE CONSTITUTION (SEVENTY-FIRST AMENDMENT) ACT, 1992, 31st August, 1992[59][lower-alpha 3]

The Meitei language has been recognised (under the name Manipuri) by the Indian Union and was included in the list of scheduled languages (included in the 8th schedule by the 71st amendment of the constitution in 1992).[60][61] The day of the inclusion of Meitei language in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India and making it one of the official languages of the Indian Republic is annually commemorated as Meitei Language Day (also called Manipuri Language Day) on 20 August.[62][63]

Language movements

In the modern era, several Meitei language movements have been in existence, including the linguistic purism movement, scheduled language movement, classical language movement, associate official language movement. There is a proposal for the language to be granted the elite status of "Classical Languages of India".[64][65][66] Besides, it is also proposed to be recognised as an "associate official language" of the Government of Assam. According to Leishemba Sanajaoba, the present titular king of Manipur and a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha from Manipur state, by recognising Meitei as an associate official language of Assam, the identity, history, culture and tradition of Manipuris residing in Assam could be able to get protected and preserved.[67][68][69]

In the Prime Minister's Office
Further information: Prime Minister's Office (India) and Prime Minister of India

Meitei language is selected as one of the 11 Indian languages, out of the 22 official languages of the Indian Republic, to be made available in the official website of the Indian Prime Minister's Office.[70]

In the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting

Meitei language is selected as one of the 14 Indian languages, out of the 22 official languages of the Indian Republic, to be made available in the Press Information Bureau (PIB) by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India (GOI). The Meitei language versions of the press releases are presently available in Bengali script, but there is plan of changing the script into Meitei script (Manipuri script) in due course of time.[71][72]

In the Staff Selection Commission

Meitei language is one of the 13 Indian languages, out of the 22 official languages of the Indian Republic, selected by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) of the Government of India, to be made available in the conduction of the Multi-Tasking (Non-Technical) Staff examination across the country. The Staff Selection Commission is one of the biggest job recruiting agencies belonging to the Indian Government. It mainly recruits people to "Group B" (Non-Gazetted Posts) and "Group C" (Non-Technical Posts) in diverse governmental ministries and departments.[73][74]

In the Central Armed Police Forces

Meitei language is selected by the Union Government of India as one of the 13 Indian languages, out of the 22 official languages of the Indian Republic, to be used in the recruitment examination of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF). The decision, for all these 13 languages, was taken by an official agreement between the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Staff Selection Commission,[75][76] and it will be converted into action from 1 January 2024 (2024-01-01).[77][78]

In the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology

Meitei language is selected as one of the 5 Indian languages, for publishing information on the Indian heritage by the Indian Government's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology sponsored "Northeast Heritage" Web, besides Hindi and English.[79][80]

In the National Education Policy
Further information: Meitei language in education

Meitei language is one of the 28 languages selected across the world, besides French, Sanskrit, Tamil, etc. to be used in teaching and learning in grades (1-5) by the "Unified District Information System for Education Plus" (UDISE+), as per the reports of the Press Information Bureau (PIB). It is a part of the National Education Policy 2020 started by the Union Cabinet of India.[81][82]

Education
Further information: Meitei language in the National Education Policy; Meitei language festival; and Department of Manipuri, Manipur University

Besides being a medium of instructions in the educational institutions in Manipur, Meitei language is taught as a subject up to the post-graduate level (Ph.D.) in major universities of India, including but not limited to Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi University, Gauhati University, and University of North Bengal.[83][84]

CBSE

Meitei language (under the subject name "Manipuri") is one of the 40 languages (including indigenous/local and foreign/international) offered for academics in the curriculum for the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), controlled and managed by the Ministry of Education of the Government of India.[85][86][87]

IGNOU

Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), the largest university in the world, offers education in Meitei language as one of the 14 major "Modern Indian Languages" (MILs) for undergraduate students.[88]

Assam
Further information: Department of Manipuri, Assam University

Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA) offers Meitei language subject under the name "Manipuri".[89][90] Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (AHSEC) of Assam offers Meitei language subjects, under the names "Manipuri" and "Advance Manipuri".[91][92][93][94]

Meitei language subject is offered by the Government of Assam in the lower primary schools of Assam, since 1956. Meitei language subject is offered for the education in the Bachelor's degree in the Gauhati University.[95]

Since 2020, Assam Government is annually granting ₹5 lakh as financial assistance to the Assam Manipuri Sahitya Parishad. Moreover, the Assam government financed ₹6 crore (equivalent to ₹7.1 crore or US$880,000 in 2023) and created a corpus for the development of the Meitei language.[95]

The "Department of Manipuri" (estd. in July 1997) of Assam University in Silchar offers education of Master's degree, Master of Philosophy degree and Doctor of Philosophy degree in Meitei language, under the title "Manipuri".[96][97][98]

Tripura

The Government of Tripura offers Meitei language as "first language" subject at primary level in 24 notified schools throughout the state. It was introduced since 1998.[99]

In December 2021, Tripura University proposed to the Ministry of Human Resource Development and the University Grants Council (UGC), about the introduction of diploma courses in Meitei language, along with other international languages like Japanese, Korean and Nepali simultaneously.[100]

Phonology

The exact classification of the Meitei language within Sino-Tibetan remains unclear. It has lexical resemblances to Kuki and Tangkhul.[101]

Tone

The Meitei language is a tonal language. There is a controversy over whether there are two or three tones.[102]

Segments

Meitei distinguishes the following phonemes:[103]

Consonants

Labial Dental/Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ŋ
Stop voiceless unaspirated p t tʃ k ʔ
aspirated pʰ tʰ kʰ
voiced unaspirated b d dʒ ɡ
breathy-voiced bʱ dʱ ɡʱ
Fricative s h
Flap ɾ
Lateral l
Approximant w j

Vowels

Front Central Back
High i u
Mid e ɐ o
Low a

Note: the central vowel /ɐ/ is transcribed as <ə> in recent linguistic work on Meitei. However, phonetically it is never [ə], but more usually [ɐ]. It is assimilated to a following approximant: /ɐw/ = /ow/, /ɐj/ = [ej].

Phonological processes

A velar deletion is noted to occur on the suffix -lək when following a syllable ending with a /k/ phoneme.[102]

Meitei has a dissimilatory process similar to Grassmann's law found in Ancient Greek and Sanskrit, though occurring on the second aspirate.[104] Here, an aspirated consonant is deaspirated if preceded by an aspirated consonant (including /h/, /s/) in the previous syllable. The deaspirated consonants are then voiced between sonorants.

/tʰin-/

pierce

+

 

/-kʰət/

upward

→

 

/tʰinɡət/

pierce upwards

/tʰin-/ + /-kʰət/ → /tʰinɡət/

pierce {} upward {} {pierce upwards}

/səŋ/

cow

+

 

/kʰom/

udder

→

 

/səŋɡom/

milk

/səŋ/ + /kʰom/ → /səŋɡom/

cow {} udder {} milk

/hi-/

trim

+

 

/-tʰok/

outward

→

 

/hidok/

trim outwards

/hi-/ + /-tʰok/ → /hidok/

trim {} outward {} {trim outwards}

Writing systems

Meitei script
Further information: Meitei script, Meetei Mayek (Unicode block), Meetei Mayek Extensions (Unicode block), Wikipedia:Meitei script display help, Meitei keyboard, and Meitei inscriptions
Depiction of the 18th century historic burning of the texts written in Meitei script so as to replace it with Bengali script for writing Meitei language afterwards, ordered by Hinduised Meitei King Pamheiba (popularly called, Garib Niwaj) under the influence of Bengali Hindu missionary Shantidas Gosai

The Meitei script (ꯃꯩꯇꯩ ꯃꯌꯦꯛ, romanized: Meitei Mayek), also known as the Meetei script (ꯃꯤꯇꯩ ꯃꯌꯦꯛ, romanized: Meetei Mayek),[105] used for writing in Meitei language, is one of the official scripts of the Indian Republic. Also known as the Kanglei script (ꯀꯪꯂꯩ ꯃꯌꯦꯛ/ꯀꯪꯂꯩ ꯏꯌꯦꯛ, romanized: Kanglei Mayek/Kanglei Iyek)[106][107] and the Kok Sam Lai script (ꯀꯣꯛ ꯁꯝ ꯂꯥꯏ ꯃꯌꯦꯛ, romanized: Kok Sam Lai Mayek),[lower-alpha 4][108][109] its earliest known epigraphic evidence of existence dates back to the 6th century CE coins issued by Meitei kings, engraving the Meitei letters,[110] as verified by the National Sahitya Akademi.[111] It was used until the 18th century, when it was replaced by the Bengali script, and reused again massively in the 20th century.[112] Starting from 2021, Meitei script (officially known as Meetei Mayek[lower-alpha 5]) was officially used by the Government of Manipur, along with the Bengali script, to write the Meitei language, as per "The Manipur Official Language (Amendment) Act, 2021".[113]

Naoriya Phulo script
Main article: Naoriya Phulo script

Latin script

Elementary Manipuri (Roman Script) is one of the subjects offered to the students by The Board of Secondary Education Manipur.[114][115] It is a subject categorised under the "Subjects In Lieu Of First Language", for being used in lieu of "Manipuri".[116] It is a commonly opted subject to the students of the hill people of Manipur.[117]

The Meitei language editions of the Bible in Roman script is very commonly used by the Christians of Manipur.[118]

There exists an informal, but fairly consistent practical spelling of Meitei in Latin script. This spelling is used in the transcription of personal names and place names, and it is extensively used on the internet (Facebook, blogspots, etc.). It is also found in academic publications, for the spelling of Meitei book titles and the like (examples can be seen in the References, below). This spelling, on the whole, offers a transparent, unambiguous representation of the Meitei sound system, although the tones are usually not marked. It is practical in the sense that it does not use extra-alphabetical symbols, and can, therefore, be produced easily on any standard keyboard. The only point of ambiguity is found in the spelling of the vowels /ɐ/ and /a/, which are usually both written "a", except when they occur before an approximant (see table below). The vowel /a/ is sometimes written as "aa" to distinguish it from /ɐ/.

IPAPractical
/m/m
/n/n
/ŋ/ng
/b/b
/d/d
/dʒ/j
/ɡ/g
/bʱ/bh
/dʱ/dh
/dʒʱ/jh
/ɡʱ/gh
/p/p
/t/t
/tʃ/c or ch
/k/k
/ʔ/’
/pʰ/ph (rarely f)
/tʰ/th
/kʰ/kh
/s/s or sh
/h/h
/ɾ/r
/l/l
/w/w
/j/y
/ɐ/a
/ɐj/ei
/ɐw/ou
/a/a or aa or ā
/aj/ai
/aw/ao
/e/e
/i/i (rarely ee)
/o/o
/oj/oi
/u/u (rarely oo)
/uj/ui

Bengali script
The term "Manipuri Lon" and its endonym "Meitei Lon", literally meaning "Manipuri language" and "Meitei language" respectively, written in the Eastern Nagari script (Bengali script)

Meitei in Bangladesh and India currently uses the Bengali script, alongside the Meitei script.[1]

Grammar

Sentences in the Meitei language use the format subject–object–verb word order (SOV). For example, in the sentence Ei chak chai (ꯑꯩ ꯆꯥꯛ ꯆꯥꯢ), which translates to I eat rice, the gloss is "ei" (I), "chak" (rice), "chai" (eat).

Nouns

Nouns and pronouns are marked for number in Meitei. The plural is indicated by the suffixes -khoi (for personal pronouns and human proper nouns) and -sing (for all other nouns). Verbs associated with the pluralised nouns are unaffected. Examples are demonstrated below:[119]

Noun (Meitei)Noun (English)Example (Meitei)Example (English)
angaangbabyangaang kappiBaby cries.
angaangsingbabiesangaangsing kappiBabies cry.

When adjectives are used to be more clear, Meitei utilises separate words and does not add a suffix to the noun. Examples are show in the chart below:[119]

Adjective (Meitei)Adjective (English)Example (Meitei)Example (English)
amaonemi ama laak’iA person comes.
kharasomemi khara laak’iSome persons come.
mayaammanymi mayaam laak’iMany persons come.

Compound verbs

Compound verbs are created by combining root verbs each ending with aspect markers. While the variety of suffixes is high, all compound verbs utilise one of two:[120]

SuffixEnglish translation
-thokout/ come out
-ningTo wish/ want/ desire

Aspect markers appear as suffixes that clarify verb tense and appear at the end of the compound verb. Overall, the formula to construct a compound verb becomes [root verb] + [suffix] + [aspect marker]:[120]

LanguageRoot verbSuffixAspect markerCombined form
Meiteitum-thok-letumthokle
Englishsleepout/ come outperfect aspecthas started sleeping
Meiteitum-ning-letumningle
Englishsleepwantperfect aspecthas felt sleepy

Compound verbs can also be formed utilising both compound suffixes as well, allowing utterances such as pithokningle meaning "want to give out".

Number words
Further information: Meitei numerals
NumeralWordEtymologyMeitei Script
1a-ma ~ a-maa"1"ꯑꯃꯥ
2a-niProto-Tibeto-Burman *niꯑꯅꯤ
3a-húmPTB *sumꯑꯍꯨꯝ
4ma-riPTB *liꯃꯔꯤ
5ma-ngaaPTB *ŋaꯃꯉꯥ
6ta-rukPTB *lukꯇꯔꯨꯛ
7ta-retPTB *letꯇꯔꯦꯠ
8ni-paan"2-less"ꯅꯤꯄꯥꯟ
9maa-pan"1-less"ꯃꯥꯄꯟ
10ta-raa"10"ꯇꯔꯥ
11taraa-maa-thoi"ten + 1-more"ꯇꯔꯥꯃꯥꯊꯣꯏ
12taraa-ni-thoi"ten + 2-more"ꯇꯔꯥꯅꯤꯊꯣꯏ
13taraa-húm-doi"ten + 3-more"ꯇꯔꯥꯍꯨꯝꯗꯣꯏ
14taraa-mari"ten +4"ꯇꯔꯥꯃꯔꯤ
15taraa-mangaa"ten +5"ꯇꯔꯥꯃꯉꯥ
16taraa-taruk"ten +6"ꯇꯔꯥꯇꯔꯨꯛ
17taraa-taret"ten +7"ꯇꯔꯥꯇꯔꯦꯠ
18taraa-nipaan"ten +8"ꯇꯔꯥꯅꯤꯄꯥꯟ
19taraa-maapan"ten +9"ꯇꯔꯥꯃꯥꯄꯟ
20kun ~ kul"score"ꯀꯨꯟ ~ ꯀꯨꯜ
30*kun-taraa > kun-thraa"score ten"ꯀꯨꯟꯊ꯭ꯔꯥ
40ni-phú"two score"ꯅꯤꯐꯨ
50yaang-khéi"half hundred"ꯌꯥꯡꯈꯩ
60hum-phú"three score"ꯍꯨꯝꯐꯨ
70hum-phú-taraa"three score ten"ꯍꯨꯝꯐꯨꯇꯔꯥ
80mari-phú"four score"ꯃꯔꯤꯐꯨ
90mari-phú-taraa"four score ten"ꯃꯔꯤꯐꯨꯇꯔꯥ
100chaama"one hundred"ꯆꯥꯃ
200cha-ni"two hundreds"ꯆꯥꯅꯤ
300cha-hum"three hundreds"ꯆꯥꯍꯨꯝ
400cha-mri"four hundreds"ꯆꯥꯃ꯭ꯔꯤ
500cha-mangaa"five hundreds"ꯆꯥꯃꯉꯥ
1,000lisíng ama"one thousand"ꯂꯤꯁꯤꯡ
10,000lisīng-taraa"ten thousands"ꯂꯤꯁꯤꯡꯇꯔꯥ
1,00,000licha"one hundred-thousand"ꯂꯤꯆꯥ
10,00,000licha-taraa"ten hundred-thousands"ꯂꯤꯆꯥꯇꯔꯥ
1,00,00,000leepun"one ten-million"ꯂꯤꯄꯨꯟ
10,00,00,000leepun-taraa"ten ten-millions"ꯂꯤꯄꯨꯟꯇꯔꯥ
1,00,00,00,000leepot"one billion"ꯂꯤꯄꯣꯠ
10,00,00,00,000leepot-taraa"ten billions"ꯂꯤꯄꯣꯠꯇꯔꯥ
1,00,00,00,00,000leekei"one hundred-billion"ꯂꯤꯀꯩ
10,00,00,00,00,000leekei-taraa"ten hundred-billions"ꯂꯤꯀꯩꯇꯔꯥ
1,00,00,00,00,00,000pu-ama"one ten-trillion"ꯄꯨ ꯑꯃꯥ

Literature
Main articles: Ancient Meitei literature, Meitei literature, Meitei poetry day, List of epics in Meitei language, and Meitei language festival
The Numit Kappa, a Classical Meitei epic text written during the 1st century, based on ancient Meitei mythology and religion (Sanamahism)

The Khamba Thoibi Sheireng, also spelled as the Khamba Thoibi Seireng (ꯈꯝꯕ ꯊꯣꯏꯕꯤ ꯁꯩꯔꯦꯡ, lit. Poem on Khamba Thoibi[121]), which is regarded as the national epic of the Manipuris,[122][123][124] is a classical Meitei language epic poem based on the ancient romantic adventure tale of Khamba and Thoibi of Moirang kingdom[lower-alpha 6] of Ancient Kangleipak (early Manipur). It is the masterpiece of Hijam Anganghal, the "Bard of Samurou", and is regarded as the greatest of all the epic poems in Meitei literature, having a length of 39,000 verses.[125][124][126]

Linguistic tradition
Main articles: Meitei proverbs, Meitei folklore, Meitei folktales, and Meitei mythology

The culture involved with the Meitei language is rooted deeply with pride and tradition based on having respect to the community elders. Young children who do not know about the tales that have been passed on from generation to generation are very rare. Regarding the history behind the ancient use of proverbs that defines the way conversation is held with the Meitei language, it is a way of expressing and telling stories and even using modern slang with old proverbs to communicate between one another.[127]

Literary Awards
Further information: Sahitya Akademi Award for Meitei, Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize for Meitei, and Yuva Puraskar for Meitei

Media
Main articles: List of Meitei-language newspapers, List of Meitei-language television channels, List of Meitei-language films, and Meitei cinema
An illustration of the Maniwood clapperboard

After the birth of Meitei cinema in 1972 as Matamgi Manipur (ꯃꯇꯝꯒꯤ ꯃꯅꯤꯄꯨꯔ), Maniwood, the Meitei language film industry, began to bring fame and prestige to India at the international level and to Manipur at the nation level. Notable internationally acclaimed and renowned films include 1981 film Imagi Ningthem (first Indian film to win a grand prix award of the Golden Montgolfiere at the Festival des 3 Continents, Nantes),[128] 1990 film Ishanou (screened at the Un Certain Regard section of the 1991 Cannes International Film Festival),[129] the 1984 film "Pebet" (Best Short Fiction Film in the International Short Film Festival, Kolkata 1985), the 2008 film "Nungee Mit" (Best Short Film in 2nd Cine ASA International Film Festival 2009, Guwahati), the 2009 film "Ilisha Amagi Mahao" (Best Director Award in the Cine ASA International Film Festival 2009, Guwahati), 2014 film "Phum Shang" (Best Medium Length Film at 18th International Environmental Film & Video Festival, Goias, Brazil 2016), 2016 film "Ima Sabitri" (Best Documentary Film Award at the 15th Mumbai International Film Festival), 2017 film "Theatre of the Earth" (Winner of Satyajit Ray Bronze Award for the 3rd Best Documentary at the 2nd South Asian Short Film Festival), 2018 film "Fireflies" (Best Documentary Short at Arthouse Asia International Film Festival 2018), "Naapal" (Best Short Film Award at the 1st Guwahati International Documentary, Short and Animation Film Festival), 2019 film "Highways of Life" (Best Film Award at the 8th Liberation DocFest, Bangladesh 2020), "I Rise" (Best Documentary Award at the Mumbai Short International Film Festival 2020), Motsillaba Mingsel (The Tainted Mirror) (Best Director and Best Child Artist awards at the Cochin International Shortfilm Awards 2021, Best Short Film Award at The Himalayan Film Festival 2021), 2020 film "Nawa Seidum" (Outstanding Achievement Award at the Tagore International Film Festival 2020, Best Narrative Film in Moment International 2020), "Samnaba - Merge" (Best Cinematography Award at The Himalayan Film Festival 2021), 2021 film "Class@6pm" (Best Asian Short Film Award at the Golden Leaf International Film Festival 2021), "Monsoon of Life" (Best Film at Unibrow Film Festival 2021 at the MOKKHO International Film Festival 2022), "Beyond Blast" (Best Director of Photography in the Goa International Film Festival 2021 and Best Documentary Feature Film in the Port Blair International Film Festival 2021), 2022 film "Erolnungdagi" (2nd Best Film Award at the 14th International Guwahati Film Festival 2022), "Re-Inkarnation" (DocEdge New Zealand Award in the Dhaka Doc Lab 2022), etc.

Annual events

Various annual events are organised to promote, protect and develop Meitei language, in the sovereign states of India and Bangladesh in particular as well as in other parts of the world in general.

Meitei language day
Main article: Meitei language day

The Meitei language day (ꯃꯩꯇꯩꯂꯣꯟꯒꯤ ꯅꯨꯃꯤꯠ, romanized: Meiteilon-gi Numit), formally known as the Manipuri language day (ꯃꯅꯤꯄꯨꯔꯤ ꯂꯣꯟꯒꯤ ꯅꯨꯃꯤꯠ, romanized: Manipuri Lon-gi Numit), is annually observed on 20 August, in memory of the historic day on which the language was included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India and made one of the official languages of the Indian Republic on 20 August 1992.[130][131][132][133][134]

Meitei poetry day
Main article: Meitei poetry day

The Meitei poetry day (ꯃꯩꯇꯩꯂꯣꯟ ꯁꯩꯔꯦꯡꯒꯤ ꯅꯨꯃꯤꯠ, romanized: Meiteilon Sheirenggi Numit), formally termed as the Manipuri poetry day (ꯃꯅꯤꯄꯨꯔꯤ ꯁꯩꯔꯦꯡꯒꯤ ꯅꯨꯃꯤꯠ, romanized: Manipuri Sheirenggi Numit), is an annual literary event that promotes the Meitei language poetries and honours the contributions of the poets as well as the diverse and distinctive uncommon literary traditions of Meitei language,[135][136] organised in Manipur as well as in other Meitei speakers populated areas (Northeast India and West Bengal[lower-alpha 7] inside India), aiming to popularise and expose Meitei literature (Manipuri literature) to the greater world.[139]

Meitei language festival
Main article: Meitei language festival

The Meitei language festival (ꯃꯩꯇꯩꯂꯣꯟꯒꯤ ꯀꯨꯝꯃꯩ, romanized: Meiteilon-gi Kummei), formally known as the Manipuri language festival (ꯃꯅꯤꯄꯨꯔꯤ ꯂꯣꯟꯒꯤ ꯀꯨꯝꯃꯩ, romanized: Manipuri Lon-gi Kummei) or the Manipuri Bhasha Utsav (মণিপুরী ভাষা উৎসব), is an annual cultural event that aims to the protection and the development of Meitei language, indigenous Meitei script[lower-alpha 8] and Meitei culture[lower-alpha 9] in the Republic of Bangladesh.[142] The event is organised by the "Bangladesh Manipuri Sahitya Sangsad" since the year 2008.[143][144]

Software
Further information: Meitei input methods

In 2021, Rudali Huidrom, a Manipuri researcher of the EBMT/NLP laboratory, Waseda University, Japan, created a text corpus named "EM Corpus" (shortened form of "Emalon Manipuri Corpus"). It is the first comparable text to text corpus built for Meitei language (mni) and English language (eng) pair from sentences. The writing system used for Meitei language in this corpus is Bengali script. It was crawled and collected from thesangaiexpress.com - the news website of "The Sangai Express",[145] a daily newspaper of Manipur from August 2020 to 2021. In version 1, she created the monolingual data, having 1,034,715 Meitei language sentences and 846,796 English language sentences. In version 2, she created the monolingual data, having 1,880,035 Meitei language sentences and 1,450,053 English language sentences.[146][147]

EM-ALBERT is the first ALBERT model available for Meitei language. EM-FT is also FastText word embedding available for Meitei language. These resources were created by Rudali Huidrom and are now available at free of cost at the European Language Resources Association catalogue (ELRA catalogue) under CC-BY-NC-4.0 license.[146][147]

A screen shot of Google Translate translating a sentence from English language into Meitei language

On 11 May 2022, Google Translate added Meitei-language (under the name "Meiteilon (Manipuri)") during its addition of 24 new languages to the translation tool. The writing system used for Meitei language in this tool is Meitei script.[148][149][150]

Influence on other speech forms

Words of Meitei origin occur in other languages, dialects and lects.

In Bishnupriya lect
See also: Bengali–Assamese languages

Bishnupriya, also termed as "Bishnupriya Manipuri" or "Bishnupriya Meitei",[151] a creole[152] of Bengali language and Meitei language, besides still retaining its pre-Bengali features,[153][154][155] uses around 4000 borrowed root words from Meitei language.[156]

In Tangkhul
See also: Tangkhul language and Tangkhulic languages

"Tangkhul" (ꯇꯥꯡꯈꯨꯜ) is a speech form as well as an ethnicity. The term "Tangkhul" got its name from the Meitei language terms, "Tang" (ꯇꯥꯡ) meaning "scarce" and "Khul" (ꯈꯨꯜ) meaning "village" respectively.[157] According to another theory, the term "Tangkhul" is derived from "Thankhul", meaning "Than village" in Meitei language.[158][159][160]

In Lamkang/Lamgang
See also: Lamkang language and Lamkang people

"Lamkang" (ꯂꯝꯀꯥꯡ) or "Lamgang" (ꯂꯝꯒꯥꯡ) is a speech form as well as an ethnic group. The term is derived from the Meitei language words, "Lam" (ꯂꯝ[161]) meaning "land" and "Kang" (ꯀꯡ[162]) meaning "dry". The overall meaning of "Lamkang" is rendered as "people who settled on the dry hilly areas" by the Meitei people. In old Meitei records, the Lamkang people were termed as the "Hiroi Lamkang". The prefixed term "Hiroi" is derived from the Meitei language word for boat ("hi") and work group ("loi").[163][164]

In Anal/Anan
See also: Anāl language and Anāl people

"Anāl" (ꯑꯅꯥꯜ) is a speech form as well as an ethnic group. The term "Anāl" (ꯑꯅꯥꯜ) is derived from the Meitei language term "Anan" (ꯑꯅꯥꯟ) meaning "cleanliness". The Anāl people are named so by the Meitei people because of their cleanliness in comparison to other tribes.[165][166][167][168]

Sample text

The following is a sample text in Modern Meitei of the Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (by the United Nations)[169][lower-alpha 10]:

ꯃꯤꯑꯣꯏꯕ ꯈꯨꯗꯤꯡꯃꯛ ꯄꯣꯛꯄ ꯃꯇꯝꯗ ꯅꯤꯡꯇꯝꯃꯤ, ꯑꯃꯗꯤ ꯏꯖꯖꯠ ꯑꯃꯁꯨꯡ ꯍꯛ ꯃꯥꯟꯅꯅ ꯂꯧꯖꯩ ꯫ ꯃꯈꯣꯏ ꯄꯨꯝꯅꯃꯛ ꯋꯥꯈꯜ ꯂꯧꯁꯤꯡ ꯁꯦꯡꯏ, ꯑꯐ ꯐꯠꯇ ꯈꯪꯏ, ꯑꯗꯨꯅ ꯑꯃꯅ ꯑꯃꯒ ꯂꯣꯏꯅꯕ ꯃꯇꯝꯗ ꯃꯆꯤꯟ ꯃꯅꯥꯎꯒꯨꯝꯅ ꯂꯣꯏꯅꯒꯗꯕꯅꯤ ꯫

— Modern Meitei in Meitei script

মিওইবা খুদিংমক পোকপা মতমদা নিংতম্মী, অমদি ইজ্জৎ অমসুং হক মান্ননা লৌজৈ । মখোই পুম্নমক ৱাখল লৌশিং শেঙই, অফ ফত্তা খঙই, অদুনা অমনা অমগা লোইনবদা মচীন মনাওগুম্না লোইনগদবনি ।

— Modern Meitei in Bengali script

Mioiba khudingmak pokpa matamda ningtammi amadi ijjat amasung hak mānnana leijei, makhoi pumnamak wākhal loushing shengi, apha phatta khangi, aduna amana amaga loinabada machin manāogumna loinagadabani.

— Modern Meitei in Roman transliteration, faithful to script

míːójbə kʰud̯íŋmək pókpə mət̯ə̀md̯ə níːŋt̯ə̀mmi, əməd̯i iːdʒət əməʃùng hə́k màːnənə lɐ̀jdʒɐ̀j. məkʰój púmnəmək wakʰə̀l lə̀wʃiŋ ʃèŋi, əpʱə̀ pʱə́ːt̯ə kʰə́ŋi, əd̯unə əmənə əməgə lòjnəbəd̯ə mət͡ʃìn mənáwgùmnə lójnəgəd̯əbəni'.

— Modern Meitei in IPA

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are all pure in mind, knowing right from wrong, and should be treated like brothers and sisters when they treat each other.

— Gloss, word-for-word

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

— Translation, grammatical

See also

Footnotes
  1. The terms, "Meitei", "Meetei" and "Manipuri" are synonymous. While "Meitei" is more popular than "Meetei", "Meetei" is the officially mentioned synonym of the term "Manipuri".
  2. During that time, i.e. 1970s
  3. Konkani and Nepali languages were recognised as scheduled languages at the same time when Meitei language was recognised.
  4. named after the first three letters "Kok" (K), "Sam" (S) and "Lai" (L) of the Meitei writing system.
  5. The terms, "Meitei", "Meetei" and "Manipuri" are synonymous. While "Meitei" is more popular than "Meetei", "Meetei" is the officially mentioned synonym of the term "Manipuri".
  6. Moirang was an independent kingdom in early times, though later became a province of a unified kingdom, called Manipur Kingdom.
  7. The event is annually observed in Kolkata, the capital city of West Bengal, by an organization named "Manipuri in Kolkata" (MIK).[137][138]
  8. The event promotes indigenous Meitei writing system to be used for Meitei language, other than the already predominantly used Bengali script.[140]
  9. The event also focusses on the cultural programs, besides the mother tongue, Meitei language.[141]
  10. The Meitei-language translation of the passage of the Article 1 has two foreign words present, "ꯏꯖꯖꯠ" ("iːdʒət") and "ꯍꯛ" ("hə́k"), meaning "dignity" and "rights" respectively, as given in the source website. The original Meitei-language terms for "dignity" and "rights" are "ꯏꯀꯥꯏ ꯈꯨꯝꯅꯕ" ("í.kai kʰum.nə.bə") and "ꯐꯪꯐꯝ ꯊꯣꯛꯄ" ("pʰəŋ.pʰəm tʰok.pə") respectively.

References
  1. Manipuri at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) closed access
    Old Manipuri at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) closed access
  2. "Meitei | Ethnologue". Ethnologue. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  3. "Gazette Title: The Manipur Official Language (Amendment) Act, 2021". manipurgovtpress.nic.in.
  4. "GAZETTE TITLE: The Manipur Official Language (Amendment) Act, 2021". manipurgovtpress.nic.in.
  5. "নাওরিয়া ফুলো : ঋষি অমা - এলাংম দীনমনী" (PDF). hueiyenlanpao.com (in Manipuri). India.
  6. "লাইনীংহন নাওরিয়া ফুলো অমসুং মহাক্কী থবকশিং - ইঙো লোইতোংবা মোহেন" (PDF). hueiyenlanpao.com (in Manipuri). India.
  7. Ghosh, Kunal (1 January 2008). Separatism in North-East India: Role of Religion, Language and Script. Suruchi Prakashan. pp. 133, 148. ISBN 978-81-89622-33-6.
  8. "Meithei". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. Retrieved 14 October 2022. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  9. "Manipuri". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. Retrieved 14 October 2022. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  10. "Languages Included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution | Department of Official Language | Ministry of Home Affairs | GoI". rajbhasha.gov.in. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  11. "Language – India, States and Union Territories" (PDF). Census of India 2011. Office of the Registrar General. pp. 13–14. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 November 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  12. "C-16 Population By Mother Tongue". census.gov.in. Archived from the original on 12 January 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  13. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. "C-16: Population by mother tongue, India – 2011". Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  14. Sunil, Oinam (14 July 2015). "Manipuris in Mandalay see ray of hope in Modi". The Times of India.
  15. Moseley, C., ed. (2010). Atlas of the world's languages in danger (3rd ed). Paris: UNESCO Publishing. pp. 44–45 and elsewhere.
  16. Munsi, Urmimala Sarkar; Burridge, Stephanie (2012). Traversing Tradition: Celebrating Dance in India. en: Routledge, Taylor & Francis. p. 35. ISBN 978-1-136-70378-2. ... This means a command of Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Oriya, Meitei, Persian, or Arabic. ...
  17. Indian Literature - Volume 14 - Page 20 (Volume 14 - Page 20 ed.). Sahitya Akademi. 1971. p. 20. The beginning of this old Manipuri literature (as in the case of Newari) may go back to 1500 years, or even 2000 years, from now.
  18. Siṃha, Niṃthaukhoṃjama Khelacandra (1975). Manipuri Language: Status and Importance (in English and Manipuri). N. Tombi Raj Singh. p. 34. The beginning of this old Manipuri literature (as in the case of Newari) may go back to 1500 years, or even 2000 years, from now...{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  19. Sanajaoba, Naorem (1988). Manipur, Past and Present: The Heritage and Ordeals of a Civilization. Mittal Publications. p. 290. ISBN 978-81-7099-853-2.
  20. Singh, Ch Manihar (1996). A History of Manipuri Literature. Sahitya Akademi. p. 8. ISBN 978-81-260-0086-9.
  21. Sanajaoba, Naorem (1988). Manipur, Past and Present: The Heritage and Ordeals of a Civilization. Mittal Publications. p. 290. ISBN 978-81-7099-853-2.
  22. Ayyappappanikkar (1997). Medieval Indian Literature: Surveys and selections. Sahitya Akademi. p. 326. ISBN 978-81-260-0365-5.
  23. Singh, Ch Manihar (1996). "The Early Period (Ritual Songs) : Ougri". A History of Manipuri Literature (in English and Manipuri). India: Sahitya Akademi. pp. 13, 14. ISBN 978-81-260-0086-9. Again from amongst the songs mentioned above, 'Ougri' and 'Khencho', in view of their more archaic diction and much advanced historical allusions, may be considered earlier than the rest. ... 'Ougri' is referred to as sung at the coronation of Nongdā Lāiren Pākhangbā, which took place in 33 A.D. ...{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  24. Ayyappappanikkar (1997). Medieval Indian Literature: Surveys and selections. Sahitya Akademi. p. 329. ISBN 978-81-260-0365-5.
  25. Singh, Khelchandra Ningthoukhongjam. "Poireiton Khunthokpa". History Of Old Manipuri Literature (in English and Manipuri). Manipur University Library, Imphal. India: Digital Library of India. pp. 121, 122. The Poireiton Khunthokpa, is the most conspicuous one of all pre-Garibniwaz manuscripts. From a linguistic point of view, it seems to be much earlier than any of the books yet come under our view. Circumstantial and other incidental evidences would confirm that the book might have been of the time of the third century A. D. It describes the colonization of the valley by a band of prople from the land of Death under Poireiton. They first established their colony near the Langol Hill; probably the vast area between the Koubru Hill and the Langol Hill was their kingdom. --Report on the Archaeological studies in Manipur Bulletin No. 1-by W. Yumjao Singh, pp 18-19.
  26. Bhaṭṭācāryya, Haridāsa (1953). The Cultural Heritage of India: Languages and literatures. University of Michigan. India: Ramakrishna Mission, Institute of Culture. p. 663. ... The beginnings of this Old Manipuri literature may go back to 1,500 years or even 2,000 years from now. ... Poireiton Khunthok, a prose work describing the settlement of some Meithei tribes, is the oldest work in Manipuri going back to the third century A.D. ...{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  27. Ayyappappanikkar (1997). Medieval Indian Literature: Surveys and selections. Sahitya Akademi. p. 330. ISBN 978-81-260-0365-5.
  28. Singh, Ch Manihar (1996). "The Early Period (Ritual Songs)". A History of Manipuri Literature (in English and Manipuri). India: Sahitya Akademi. pp. 14, 15. ISBN 978-81-260-0086-9. ... 'Khencho' is quite obscure and entirely unintelligible to the present generation though it forms an inseparable element of the daily proceedings of the festival. ...{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  29. "মণিপুরি ভাষা ও লিপি – এল বীরমঙ্গল সিংহ | আপনপাঠ ওয়েবজিন" (in Bengali). 16 September 2021.
  30. Devi, Yumlembam Gopi. Glimpses of Manipuri Culture. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-359-72919-7.
  31. Paniker, K. Ayyappa (1997). Medieval Indian Literature: Surveys and selections (Assamese-Dogri). Sahitya Akademi. p. 325. ISBN 978-81-260-0365-5.
  32. Sen, Sipra (1992). Tribes and Castes of Manipur: Description and Select Bibliography. Mittal Publications. p. 28. ISBN 978-81-7099-310-0.
  33. Devi, Dr Yumlembam Gopi. Glimpses of Manipuri Culture. p. 119. ISBN 978-0-359-72919-7. ... the text Panthoibi Khongul generally believed to have been written by Akoijam Tomboy during the reign of King Khongtekcha Yoiremba (763 A.D.) ...
  34. Mukherjee, Sujit (1998). A Dictionary of Indian Literature: Beginnings-1850. Orient Blackswan. p. 280. ISBN 978-81-250-1453-9. Panthoibi khongul ( ? C ; Manipuri ) : prose narrative , the original of which was believed to have been composed in ancient Meitei language in first half of 8th century AD ...{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  35. "The relationship between Thang-Ta & Meitei Pung maintained by our Ancient ..." (PDF). ccrtindia.gov.in. Ministry of Culture, Government of India. Centre for Cultural Resources and Training. p. 4.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  36. Sanajaoba, Naorem (1993). Manipur: Treatise & Documents. Mittal Publications. p. 2. ISBN 978-81-7099-399-5. Manipur, known as 'Meetei Leipak' or 'Kangleipak' in the two millennia old Meetei manuscripts had experienced some form of constitutional government under a proto-Constitution in 429 A.D. which was reduced to a final format in 1110 A.D. Constitution entitled 'Loiyamba Shinyen' during the regime of King Loyumba.
  37. Sanajaoba, Naorem (1991). Law and Society: Strategy for Public Choice, 2001. Mittal Publications. p. 304. ISBN 978-81-7099-271-4. The constitutionalism had developed with the adoption of a prototype of a constitution in 429 A.D. which was finally moulded into the written constitution in 1110 A.D., called 'Loyumba Shinyen' till it was substituted by Manipur State Constitution Act, 1947 which operated till Manipur's merger with India on October 15, 1949.
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  55. –Chishti, S. M. A. W. (2005). Political Development in Manipur, 1919-1949. p. 282. ISBN 978-81-7835-424-8.
    –Sharma, Suresh K. (2006). Documents on North-East India: Manipur. Mittal Publications. p. 168. ISBN 978-81-8324-092-5.
    –Tarapot, Phanjoubam (2003). Bleeding Manipur. Har-Anand Publications. p. 309. ISBN 978-81-241-0902-1.
    –Sanajaoba, Naorem (1993). Manipur: Treatise & Documents. Mittal Publications. p. 369. ISBN 978-81-7099-399-5.
    –Sanajaoba, Naorem (1993). Manipur: Treatise & Documents. Mittal Publications. p. 255. ISBN 978-81-7099-399-5.
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  70. "PMINDIA Multilingual Website now available in 13 languages Assamese and Manipuri versions of Prime Minister's Official Website launched". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
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  73. "Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh lauds SSC for deciding to conduct the Multi-Tasking (Non-Technical) Staff examination 2022 in 13 regional languages in addition to Hindi and English for the first time". www.pib.gov.in. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  74. "হিন্দি অমসুং ইংলিসকী মথক্তা অহানবা ওইনা লম-লমগী লোন ১৩দা মল্তি-তাস্কিং(নন-তেক্নিকেল) স্তাফ এজামিনেসন ২০২২ পাংথোক্নবা ৱারেপ লৌখিবগীদমক য়ুনিয়ন মিনিস্তর দোক্তর জিতেন্দ্র সিংহনা এস.এস.সি থাগৎখ্রে". pib.gov.in (in Manipuri). Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  75. "Manipuri among 13 regional languages approved for CAPF exam". Imphal Free Press. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
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  77. NEWS, NE NOW (16 April 2023). "Manipur CM lauds Centre for introducing Manipuri in CAPF exams". NORTHEAST NOW. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
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  81. "Education in Mother Tongue". www.pib.gov.in. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
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  88. ANI (16 February 2023). "Kashmiri language introduced by IGNOU at under graduate level". ThePrint. Retrieved 19 March 2023. In addition to these disciplines, the School has an elective basket of Modern Indian Languages on offer to undergraduates: Malayalam, Marathi, Odiya, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Assamese, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Kannada, Kashmiri, Manipuri and Nepali.
  89. "Assam HSLC Exam Routine 2023 Revised: SEBA To Conduct All Class 10 Language Papers Including English On April 1". India.com. 17 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023. In addition to Assamese, the other MIL subjects are Bengali, Bodo, Hindi, Manipuri, Hmar, Nepali, Mizo, Khasi, Garo, Karbi and Urdu.
  90. "Assam paper leak case: MIL exam of Class 10 boards rescheduled for April 1". Hindustan Times. 17 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023. The MIL paper includes languages such as English (IL), Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Hindi, Manipuri, Hmar, Nepali, Mizo, Khasi, Garo, Karbi and Urdu.
  91. "AHSEC complete syllabus for HS 2nd year". ahsec.assam.gov.in. 2.(i) Any one of the following Modern Indian Language (MIL) subjects: a) Assamese || b) Bodo || c) Hindi || d) Nepali || e) Urdu || f) Khasi|| g) Garo || h) Mizo || i) Manipuri || j) Hamar || k) Bengali ...... 11. (ii)Any one of the following advanced languages subjects: Advance Assamese || Advance Hindi || Advance Bodo || Advance Sanskrit || Advance Manipuri || ...
  92. Bureau, Pratidin. "AHSEC HS 2nd Year Examination Routine 2023 Released Today– Download now ahsec.assam.gov.in". Pratidin Time. Retrieved 19 March 2023. Modern Indian Languages: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Garo, Hmar, Hindi, Khasi, Manipuri, Mizo, Nepali & Urdu. ... Advance Languages include: Advance Assamese, Advance Bengali, Advance Bodo, Advance Hindi & Advance Manipuri.
  93. "Assam Board Exam 2023: Class 12 date sheet released". Firstpost. 14 December 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2023. The exam will be conducted for modern languages including Bodo, Garo, Assamese, Bengali, Manipuri, Mizo, Hmar, Hindi, Khasi, Nepali and Urdu. The advanced language includes Advance Assamese, Advance Bodo, Advance Bengali, Advance Hindi and Advance Manipuri.
  94. Desk, Sentinel Digital (5 June 2022). "AHSEC includes Karbi as Modern Indian Language in HS first year - Sentinelassam". www.sentinelassam.com. Retrieved 19 March 2023. The AHSEC already has Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Garo, Hmar, Hindi, Khasi, Manipuri, Mizo, Nepali and Urdu as MIL.
  95. Laithangbam, Iboyaima (27 September 2020). "Assam to look into demand to include Manipuri in list of associate languages". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 18 March 2023. The Assam government had recognised Manipuri in the lower primary schools in 1956. It is taught at the graduate level under the Gauhati university. ... Mr. Nandababu said the Assam government had recently started granting ₹5 lakh as annual financial assistance to the Assam Manipuri Sahitya Parishad. Besides it created a corpus by sanctioning ₹6 crore for the development of the Manipuri language.
  96. "Manipuri Department". Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  97. "5 literary bodies bat for Manipuri language in Assam". www.thesangaiexpress.com. Retrieved 18 March 2023. Moreover, Manipuri in MA and PhD courses are offered at Assam University, Silchar.
  98. "AAMSU demands Associate Official Language status to Manipuri language". www.time8.in. Several universities, notably Assam University and Silchar University, provide Manipuri language courses.
  99. "MANIPURI | DIRECTORATE OF KOKBOROK & OTHER MINORITY LANGUAGES". kokborokoml.tripura.gov.in. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  100. "Tripura University proposes introduction of diploma courses in Japanese, Korean, Nepali and Manipuri languages". India Today NE (in Hindi). 23 December 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
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  102. LaPolla, Randy J. (2000). "Book review: A grammar of Meitei, by S. L. Chelliah". Lingua. Elsevier. 110 (4): 299–304. doi:10.1016/s0024-3841(99)00037-6.
  103. Chelliah, S. L. (1997). Meitei Phonology. Mouton de Gruyter. pp. 17–21.
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  105. Khuman, Yanglem Loijing Khomba; Devi, Salam Dickeeta; Singh, Ch. Ponykumar; Devi, H. Mamata; Singh, N. Ajith (1 December 2022). "A benchmark dataset for printed Meitei/Meetei script character recognition". Data in Brief. 45: 108585. Bibcode:2022DIB....4508585K. doi:10.1016/j.dib.2022.108585. ISSN 2352-3409. PMC 9679442. PMID 36426059.
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  107. O'Keeffe, Anne; McCarthy, Michael (5 April 2010). The Routledge Handbook of Corpus Linguistics. Taylor and Francis. p. 146. ISBN 978-1-135-15363-2. Meetei Mayek (Meitei Mayek, ... Kanglei)
  108. "মণিপুরদা লোলয়ান চঙলকপা অমদি মীতৈ ইয়েক্না থোঙজিন্দা ৱারৌজনা লেপ্লরবদা !" (PDF). hueiyenlanpao.com (in Manipuri).
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  111. Datta, Amaresh (1987). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature. Sahitya Akademi. p. 142. ISBN 978-81-260-1803-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
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  114. "Manipur HSLC Date Sheet 2023: BSEM Class 10 time table released, exam begins March 16". The Times of India. 25 January 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
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  116. SNS (10 January 2019). "Manipur Board Class 12 (HSC) and Class 10 (HSLC) Timetable 2019 available online at manipureducation.gov.in | Check now". The Statesman. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  117. Editorial, Signpost (21 August 2022). "Preserving Manipuri Lol by Hill people". Signpost News. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  118. "The Birth of Jesus Manipuri Roman Mayek CB" (PDF). bibleforchildren.org.
  119. Singh, S. Indrakumar (November 2013). "Agreements in Manipuri" (PDF). Language in India. 13 (11): 216–231.
  120. Devi, M. Bidyarani (May 2014). "Compound Verbs in Manipuri" (PDF). Language in India. 14 (5): 66–70.
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  122. George, K. M. (1992). Modern Indian Literature, an Anthology: Surveys and poems. India: Sahitya Akademi. p. 258. ISBN 978-81-7201-324-0. H. Anganghal Singh's Khamba Thoibi Sheireng (Poem on Khamba Thoibi, 1940) is a national epic of the Manipuris based on the story of Khamba and Thoibi of Moirang. The poet composes the whole epic in the Pena Saisak style of folk ballads sung by minstrels or bards popular in Manipur.
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  125. Datta, Amaresh (1988). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: Devraj to Jyoti. India: Sahitya Akademi. p. 1573. ISBN 978-81-260-1194-0. His best work, Khamba Thoibi sheireng, in 39,000 lines on the story of 'Khamba and Thoibi' was started in 1939 and the composition was completed in 1940.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
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  135. "St Joseph University, Nagaland observes Manipuri Poetry Day 2022". Imphal Free Press. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
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  151. Sahoo, Ajaya K. (30 March 2021). Routledge Handbook of Asian Diaspora and Development. Taylor & Francis. p. 109. ISBN 978-1-000-36686-0. The Bishnupriya Meiteis from Bangladesh, Myanmar, Tripura and Assam used the Bengali script and speak their own language, which is influenced by Meiteilon (Mani- puri).
  152. Moseley, Christopher (1 January 2010). Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger. UNESCO. p. 139. ISBN 978-92-3-104096-2.
  153. Frawley, William (2003). International Encyclopedia of Linguistics: 4-Volume Set. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 481. ISBN 978-0-19-513977-8.
  154. Haokip, Pauthang (2011). Socio-linguistic Situation in North-East India. Concept Publishing Company. p. 8. ISBN 978-81-8069-760-9.
  155. Asher, R. E.; Moseley, Christopher (19 April 2018). Atlas of the World's Languages. Routledge. p. 97. ISBN 978-1-317-85108-0.
  156. Gelbukh, Alexander (18 April 2014). Computational Linguistics and Intelligent Text Processing: 15th International Conference, CICLing 2014, Kathmandu, Nepal, April 6-12, 2014, Proceedings, Part I. Springer. p. 207. ISBN 978-3-642-54906-9.
  157. Sanyu, Visier (1996). A History of Nagas and Nagaland: Dynamics of Oral Tradition in Village Formation. University of Michigan. Commonwealth Publishers. p. 25. ISBN 978-81-7169-369-6. ... a sparse nature of settlement that the Tangkhul tribe got its name. In Meitei language-literally, Tang means scarce and khul means village.
  158. Shimray, A. S. W. (2001). History of the Tangkhul Nagas. Akansha Publishing House. p. 43. ISBN 978-81-87606-04-8. ... the village which they lived was known by the name ' THANKHUL ' meaning Than - Village in Meitei language . Therefore , the name ' TANGKHUL ' is derived from Than - Khul ...
  159. Lisam, Khomdan Singh (2011). Encyclopaedia Of Manipur (3 Vol.). p. 516. ISBN 978-81-7835-864-2. The name Tangkhul was given to them by the Meiteis. There are many legends regarding the origin of the word Tangkhul.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  160. "History | Ukhrul District, Government of Manipur | India". National Informatics Centre (in English and Manipuri). Government of India. Retrieved 3 February 2023. The name Tangkhul was given to them by their neighbours, the Meiteis. The northern Tangkhuls were also called the Luhupas.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  161. Sharma, H. Surmangol (2006). "Learners' Manipuri-English dictionary (Meaning of "Lam")". dsal.uchicago.edu (in Manipuri and English). University of Chicago. p. 165. Retrieved 4 February 2023. lam ꯂꯝ /ləm/ n. land; state; country; nation.
  162. Sharma, H. Surmangol (2006). "Learners' Manipuri-English dictionary (Meaning of "Kang")". dsal.uchicago.edu (in Manipuri and English). University of Chicago. p. 33. Retrieved 4 February 2023. kang-₁ ꯀꯡ- /kəŋ/ v. to dry.
  163. Bareh, Hamlet (2001). "Lamgang". Encyclopaedia of North-East India. Mittal Publications. p. 161. ISBN 978-81-7099-790-0. ... the term Lamgang might have been given by the Meitei to mean the people who settled on the dry hilly areas (lam: land; kang: day). In the earlier records of the Meitei they are referred to as the Hiroi Lamkang. The prefix hiroi is derived from the Meitei word for boat (hi: work; loi: group).
  164. Sharma, H. Surmangol (2006). "Learners' Manipuri-English dictionary (Meaning of "Hiroi")". dsal.uchicago.edu (in Manipuri and English). University of Chicago. p. 207. Retrieved 4 February 2023. hiroi ꯍꯤꯔꯣꯏ /hi.rói/ n. oarsman. Morph: hi‑roi [boat‑to accompany].
  165. Bisht, Narendra S.; Bankoti, T. S. (2004). Encyclopaedic Ethnography of the Himalayan Tribes. Global Vision. p. 28. ISBN 978-81-87746-91-1. ... because of their cleanlines in comparison with other tribes, the Meitei called them Anan which gives away to Anal.
  166. Prakash, Col Ved (2007). Encyclopaedia of North-East India. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. p. 1515. ISBN 978-81-269-0706-9. ... because of their fondness for cleanliness, compared to others, the Meiteis called them 'Anan', which later transformed to 'Anal'. ... But the Anals often refer to themselves as 'Pakan' and the term 'Anal' seem to be of Meitei origin.
  167. Bisht, Narendra S.; Bankoti, T. S. (2004). Encyclopaedic Ethnography of the Himalayan Tribes. Global Vision. p. 29. ISBN 978-81-87746-91-1. the Anals often refer themselves as Pakan and the term Anals seems to be of Meitei origin.
  168. Sharma, H. Surmangol (2006). "Learners' Manipuri-English dictionary (Term for "clean")". dsal.uchicago.edu (in Manipuri and English). University of Chicago. p. 7. Retrieved 3 February 2023. anānba ꯑꯅꯥꯟꯕ /ə.nán.bə/ adj. 1) smooth. 2) clean. Morph: a‑nān‑ba [Att‑to be smooth/clean‑Nom].
  169. "Manipuri language and alphabets". omniglot.com. Retrieved 12 August 2022.

Further reading
  • 1. A Short History of Kangleipak (Manipur) Part-I, by Chingtamlen, 2005
  • 2. A Short History of Kangleipak (Manipur) Part-II, by Chingtamlen, 2007
  • 3. A Short History of Kangleipak (Manipur) Part-III, by Chingtamlen, 2008
  • 4. The Meetei and the Bishnupriya, by Chingtamlen, 2008

Culture
  • Brara, N. Vijaylakshmi. (1998). Politics, society, and cosmology in India's North East. Delphi: Oxford University Press.
  • Budha, W. (1992). Indigenous games of the Meiteis. Manipur: Wangkeimayum Publications.
  • Kshetrimayum, Otojit. (2014). Ritual, Politics and Power in North East India: Contexualising the Lai Haraoba of Manipur. Delhi: Ruby Press & Co.
  • Singh, M. Kirti. (1988). Religion and culture of Manipur. Delhi: Manas Publications.
  • Singh, M. Kirti. (1993). Folk culture of Manipur. Delhi: Manas Publications.
  • Singh, Saikhom Gopal. (2014). The Meeteis of Manipur: A Study in Human Geography. Delhi: Ruby Press & Co.

Language
  • Bhat, D. N. S.; & Ningomba, S. (1997). Manipuri grammar. Munich: Lincom Europa.
  • Chelliah, Shobhana L. (1990). Experiencer subjects in Manipuri. In V. M. Manindra & K. P. Mohanan (Eds.), Experiencer subjects in South Asian languages (pp. 195–211). Stanford: The Center for the Study of Language and Information.
  • Chelliah, Shobhana L. (1992). Tone in Manipuri. In K. L. Adams & T. J. Hudak (Eds.), Papers from the first annual meeting of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society 1991 (pp. 65–85). Tempe, AZ: Arizona State University.
  • Chelliah, Shobhana L. (1992). Bracketing paradoxes in Manipuri. In M. Aronoff (Ed.), Morphology now (pp. 33–47). Albany: State University of New York Press.
  • Chelliah, Shobhana L. (1994). Morphological change and fast speech phenomena in the Manipuri verb. In K. L. Adams & T. J. Hudak (Eds.), Papers from the second annual meeting of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society 1992 (pp. 121–134). Tempe, AZ: Arizona State University.
  • Chelliah, Shobhana L. (1997). A grammar of Meitei. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. ISBN 0-19-564331-3.
  • Chelliah, Shobhana L. (2002). Early Meitei manuscripts. In C. I. Beckwith (Ed.), Medieval Tibeto-Burman languages: PIATS 2000: Tibetan studies: Proceedings of the ninth seminar of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, Leiden 2000 (pp. 59–71). Leiden, Netherlands: Brill.
  • Chelliah, Shobhana L. (2002). A glossary of 39 basic words in archaic and modern Meitei. In C. I. Beckwith (Ed.), Medieval Tibeto-Burman languages: PIATS 2000: Tibetan studies: Proceedings of the ninth seminar of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, Leiden 2000 (pp. 189–190). Leiden, Netherlands: Brill.
  • Chelliah, Shobhana L. (2004). "Polysemy through metonymy: The case of Meitei pi 'grandmother'". Studies in Language. 28 (2): 363–386. doi:10.1075/sl.28.2.04che.
  • Chelliah, Shobhana L. (2015). "Is Manipur a linguistic area?". Journal of South Asian Languages and Linguistics. 2 (1): 87–109. doi:10.1515/jsall-2015-0004. S2CID 130962163.
  • Singh, Ningthoukhongjam Khelchandra. (1964). Manipuri to Manipuri & English dictionary.
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