The Mizo language, also known by its native appellations Mizo ṭawng or Duhlián ṭawng, is a fascinating member of the Tibeto-Burman linguistic family. Its primary domain is the northeastern Indian state of Mizoram, where it holds the esteemed position of official language and serves as the crucial lingua franca. It is the mother tongue of the indigenous Mizo people and also finds speakers among members of the Mizo diaspora. Beyond the borders of Mizoram, its linguistic footprint extends into other Indian states like Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, and Assam. Furthermore, it is spoken in the Sagaing Region and Chin State of neighboring Myanmar, as well as in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. The language is largely built upon the Lusei dialect, yet it has generously incorporated a wealth of vocabulary from its surrounding Mizo clans, including, but not limited to, the Hmar and Pawi communities.
Historically, the language was also referred to as Duhlian and Lushai. The latter, Lushai, was a term applied by the British during their colonial expansion, stemming from the Duhlian people being the first among the Mizo people they encountered. It’s a rather colonial habit, reducing vibrant linguistic diversity to the name of the first group encountered. As if a single encounter could encapsulate an entire people's tongue.
Classification
As a proud member of the Sino-Tibetan language family, Mizo’s lineage is complex and debated among scholars. The prevailing consensus among linguists places Mizo within the Central Kuki-Chin languages. The Mizo themselves refer to the Kuki-Chin languages collectively as Zohnahthlâk ṭawngho or Mizo ṭawngho. Within this central Kuki-Chin subgroup, VanBik’s research situates Mizo in the North Central group, alongside related languages like Laiholh and Maraic. However, other scholars, such as Schafer, have proposed alternative classifications, placing it within the Kukish section of Burmese. Paul K. Benedict, a prominent figure in Tibeto-Burman linguistics, categorized it under Central-Kuki, which itself falls under the broader Kuki-Chin-Naga branch. These differing classifications, while academic, highlight the intricate tapestry of linguistic relationships in the region.
Phonology
Vowels
Mizo’s vowel system is remarkably rich, featuring eight distinct tones and intonations for the vowels a, aw, e, i, and u. Four of these are reduced tones, while the other four are long tones. The vowel 'o' is a bit more reserved, exhibiting only three tones, all of which are reduced. These vowels can be charted as follows, illustrating their position in the mouth:
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i [i], [ɨ], [iː] | u [u], [ʊ], [ʊː] | |
| Mid | e [e], [ɛ], [ɛː] | aw [o], [ɔ], [ɔː] | |
| Open | a [ʌ], [a], [ɑ], [ɑː], [ä] |
Beyond these monophthongs, Mizo boasts a variety of diphthongs, combinations of two vowel sounds. These include those starting with 'a' like /aɪ̯/, /ɑːi/, or /ai/ (represented as 'ai'), and /aʊ̯/ or /ɑːʊ̯/ ('au'). Diphthongs starting with 'e' include /eɪ̯/, /ɛi/, or /ɛɪ̯/ ('ei'), and /ɛu/, /eʊ/, or /eʊ̯/ ('eu'). 'i' gives rise to /ɪə̯/, /ɪa/, /ja/, or /ɪa̭/ ('ia'), and /ɪʊ̯/ or /iw/ ('iu'). Finally, 'u' forms /u̯a/ or /ua̭/ ('ua') and /ɥi/ or /ʔwi/ ('ui').
The language also features triphthongs, the combination of three vowel sounds, adding another layer of phonetic complexity. These include iai, iau, uai, and uau.
Consonants
Mizo possesses a robust set of consonants, presented below with their orthographical form followed by their representation in the IPA:
| Labial | Dental | Alveolar | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive/Affricate | |||||
| Voiceless | p [p] | t [t] | ch [t͡s], tl [t͡l] | k [k] | h [ʔ]¹ |
| Aspirated | ph [pʰ] | th [tʰ] | chh [t͡sʰ], [tʃʰ]¹, thl [t͡lʰ] | kh [kʰ] | |
| Voiced | b [b] | d [d] | |||
| Flap | ṭ [t͡ɾ] | ||||
| Aspirated flap | ṭh [t͡ɾʰ] | ||||
| Fricative | |||||
| Voiceless | f [f] | s [s] | h [h] | ||
| Voiced | v [v] | z [z] | |||
| Sonorant | |||||
| Plain | m [m] | n [n] | r [r], l [l], ng [ŋ] | ||
| Aspirated | hm [ʰm] | hn [ʰn] | hr [ʰr], hl [ʰl], ngh [ʰŋ] | ||
| Glottalised¹ | rh [rʔ], lh [lʔ] |
¹ Note that glottal and glottalised consonants exclusively appear in the final position of a word.
Tone
Mizo is a tonal language, meaning that variations in pitch and pitch contour can fundamentally alter the meaning of a word. The language employs eight distinct tones and intonations, which can be illustrated using the consonant 'p' and the vowel 'a' (and its variations aw, e, i, u). These are represented by sequences like p-a-n-g:
- long high tone: páng
- long low tone: pàng
- peaking tone: pâng
- dipping tone: päng
- short rising tone: pǎng
- short falling tone: pȧng
- short mid tone: pang
- short low tone: pạng
The notation for these tones, particularly the short ones, can be somewhat inconsistent across publications, with various diacritics being employed. While the circumflex (^) clearly denotes long tones, differentiating the four short tones often leads to confusions or conflicting choices in diacritics. This complexity can pose challenges for designing user-friendly keyboard layouts, even with the use of dead keys. Some publishers opt for digrams, appending an apostrophe or a glottal letter to reduce the number of diacritics required.
| Vowel Notation | Short Tones | Long Tones |
|---|---|---|
| a | ǎ / ă, ả; ȧ / ã, ą, ạ | â, á, ä, à |
| o | ǒ / ŏ, ỏ; ȧ / ã, ą, ọ | (â), á, ä, à |
| aw | ǎw / ăw, ảw; ȧw / ãw, ąw, ạw | âw, áw, äw, àw |
| u | ǔ / ŭ, ủ; ů / ũ, ų, ụ | û, ú, ü, ù |
| e | ě / ĕ, ẻ; ė / ẽ, ę, ẹ | ê, é, ë, è |
| i | ǐ / ĭ, ỉ; ĩ, į, ị | î, í, ï, ì |
Grammar
Verbs
Tense in Mizo verbs is primarily conveyed through aspect and the addition of specific particles. For instance, 'ang' indicates a simple future tense, while 'tawh' signifies both simple past and past perfect. The particle 'mék' denotes progressive tenses, applicable to both present and past. For near future occurrences, 'dáwn' is used, and 'dáwn mék' points to an immediate future.
The formation of Mizo gerunds and past participles involves a modification of the word ending, a process known as tihdanglamna. These modified forms are referred to as "stem II" in English linguistics.
Examples of tihdanglamna:
| Verb | Modified (Stem II) Form | Meaning of Stem II |
|---|---|---|
| ziak (to write) | ziah | writing, written |
| tât (to whet) | tah | whetting, whetted |
| mà (to divorce) | mâk | divorcing, divorced |
Nouns
Mizo nouns are subject to declension, changing form to indicate grammatical case.
Mizo Noun Declension:
| Case | Example: nụlá (the girl) | Example: tǔi (water) | Example: Thangạ (proper noun) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative/Accusative | nụlá | tǔi | Thangạ |
| Genitive | nụla | tǔi | Thanga |
| Ergative | nụláịn | tuiịn | Thangạ'n |
| Instrumental | nụláin | tuiin | Thangạ-in / Thangạ hmangin |
Plurality in nouns is achieved by appending suffixes such as '-te', '-ho', '-teho', or '-hote'.
Pluralisation Examples:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| mipa (man) | mipa te, mipa ho (men) |
| naupang (child) | naupang te, naupang ho (children) |
Pronouns
Mizo pronouns manifest in two forms: a free form and a clitic form. Both forms are declined into cases.
Mizo Pronouns:
| Person/Number | Case | Clitic Form | Free Form |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | Nominative | ka | kei |
| Genitive | ka | keima | |
| Accusative | mi, min | keimah | |
| Ergative | keima'n | keima'n | |
| We | Nominative | kan | keimah |
| Genitive | kan | keima | |
| Accusative | min | keimah, keimah min | |
| Ergative | keimahnin | keima'n | |
| You (sg.) | Nominative | i | keini |
| Genitive | i | keini | |
| Accusative | che | keini min | |
| Ergative | nangma'n | keini'n | |
| You (pl.) | Nominative | in | keimahni |
| Genitive | in | keimahni | |
| Accusative | che u | keimahni min | |
| Ergative | nangmahnin | keimahni'n | |
| He/She/It | Nominative | a | anni |
| Genitive | a | anni | |
| Accusative | amah | anni | |
| Ergative | ama'n | anni'n | |
| They | Nominative | an | anmahni |
| Genitive | an | anmahni | |
| Accusative | anmahni | anmahni | |
| Ergative | anmahni'n | anmahni'n |
Negation
In declarative sentences, negation is achieved by appending the particle 'lo' (meaning 'not') at the end of the sentence.
| Sentence | Negation |
|---|---|
| Lala a lo kal | Lala a lo kal lo |
| (Lala is coming / Lala came) | (Lala did not come) |
| Pathumin paruk a sem thei | Pathumin paruk a sem thei lo |
| (Three divides six) | (Three does not divide six) |
Cardinal Numbers
The cardinal numbers in Mizo are as follows:
- khat: one
- hnih: two
- thum: three
- li: four
- ngá: five
- ruk: six
- sarih: seven
- riat: eight
- kua: nine
- sàwm: ten
- sàwmpakhat: eleven
- sàwmpakua: nineteen
- sawmhnih: twenty
- sawmthum: thirty
- sawmküa: ninety
- zà: one hundred
- zangá: five hundred
- säng(khat): one thousand
- sïng(khat): ten thousand
- nûaih(khat): one hundred thousand
- maktadûaih: one million
- vaibelchhia: ten million
- vaibelchhetak: one hundred million
- tlûklehdingäwn: one billion
Writing System
The Mizo alphabet is a derivative of the Roman alphabet, comprising 25 letters. The foundational written script for the Lushai dialect was established in 1874 by Thomas Herbert Lwein. Its current iteration was refined by the early Christian missionaries in Mizoram, J. H. Lorrain and F. W. Savidge, adopting principles from the Hunterian system of transliteration.
| Letter | Name (with audio links) | Letter | Name (with audio links) |
|---|---|---|---|
| a | listen | l | listen |
| aw | listen | m | listen |
| b | listen | n | listen |
| ch | listen | o | listen |
| d | listen | p | listen |
| e | listen | r | listen |
| f | listen | s | listen |
| g | listen | t | listen |
| ng | listen | ṭ | listen |
| h | listen | u | listen |
| i | listen | v | listen |
| j | listen | z | listen |
| k | listen |
Initially, a circumflex accent (^) was introduced above vowels to indicate long vowels (Â, Ê, Î, Ô, Û). However, this proved insufficient for fully capturing the nuances of Mizo tones. More recently, prominent newspapers in Mizoram, such as Vanglaini, and magazines like Kristian Ṭhalai, along with other publishers, have adopted a system using acute (Á, É, Í, Ó, Ú), grave (À, È, Ì, Ò, Ù), and umlaut (Ä, Ë, Ï, Ö, Ü) diacritics to represent long intonations and tones. While this system is more expressive, it still struggles to differentiate the various intonations possible with short tones.
Sample Texts
Here is Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights rendered in Mizo:
Mizo: Mi zawng zawng hi zalèna piang kan ni a, zahawmna leh dikna chanvoah intluk tláng vek kan ni. Chhia leh ṭha hriatna fím neia siam kan nih avangin kan mihring puite chungah inunauna thinlung kan pu tlat tur a ni.
English: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience. Therefore, they should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Literature
The Mizo language boasts a rich literary tradition, encompassing both written and oral traditions. Its literary landscape has undergone significant transformation throughout the 20th century. As of March 2013, the Mizoram Press Information Bureau documented approximately twenty Mizo daily newspapers circulating in Aizawl city alone, a testament to the vibrant written culture.