Kaman (Geman, Geman Deng, Kùmán, Kman), or Miju (Miju Mishmi, Midzu), is a small language of India and China.
Long assumed to be a
Sino-Tibetan language
Sino-Tibetan, also cited as Trans-Himalayan in a few sources, is a family of more than 400 languages, second only to Indo-European in number of native speakers. The vast majority of these are the 1.3 billion native speakers of Chinese languages. ...
, it may be a
language isolate
Language isolates are languages that cannot be classified into larger language families. Korean and Basque are two of the most common examples. Other language isolates include Ainu in Asia, Sandawe in Africa, and Haida in North America. The nu ...
.
Locations
In China, the Miju are known as the Deng 僜人. The Deng number over 1,000 in
Zayü County
Zayul County
() KNAB, retrieved 5 July 2021.
Idu or ' (义都) people.
In India, Miju is spoken in Hawai Circle and the Parsuram Kund area of
Lohit District
Lohit () is an administrative district in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in India. The district headquarters is located at Tezu. As of 2011 it is the third most populous district of Arunachal Pradesh, after Papum Pare and Changlang.
Etymology ...
,
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares ...
(Boro 1978, Dasgupta 1977). ''Ethnologue'' reports that Miju is spoken in 25 villages located in high altitude areas to the east of upper Lohit and Dau valleys, which are located east of the Haguliang, Billong, and Tilai valleys.
Phonology
These are the sounds in the Miju/Kaman language.
Consonants
Vowels
/ɯ/ may also be heard as
Tones
There are three main tones in the Miju language, rising (á), falling (à), and level (ā).
*Blench, Roger. 2019 A_grammar_of_Kman_[=Miju _a_language_of_Arunachal_Pradesh.html" ;"title="Miju">A grammar of Kman [=Miju a language of Arunachal Pradesh">Miju">A grammar of Kman [=Miju a language of Arunachal Pradesh*Blench, Roger. 2017 A dictionary of Kman (Miju), a language of Arunachal Pradesh
*Blench, Roger. 2015 Reading and writing Kman / Kman tasay tapuri pit Tezu, Arunachal Pradesh: Kman Language Development Committee.
{{Arunachal languages
Miju languages
Mishmi languages
Languages of India
Tonal languages
Languages of Arunachal Pradesh
Language isolates of Asia