Rongmei language

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]

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

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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