Mizo language

This article is about the official language of Mizoram. For related languages spoken by Mizo peoples, see [[:Mizo people and Kuki-Chin-Mizo languages]].

The Mizo language, or Mizo ṭawng, is a Kuki-Chin-Mizo language belonging to the Tibeto-Burman branch of the Sino-Tibetan family, spoken natively by the Mizo people in the Mizoram state of India and Chin State and Sagaing Division in Myanmar. The language is also known as Duhlian and Lushai, a colonial term, as the Duhlian people were the first among the Mizos to be encountered by the British in the course of their colonial expansion.^[3] The Mizo language is mainly based on Lusei dialect but it has also derived many words from its surrounding Mizo sub-tribes and sub-clan. Now, Mizo language or Mizo ṭawng is the lingua franca of Mizoram and its surrounding areas and to a lesser extent of Myanmar and Bangladesh and in India in some parts of Assam, Tripura, Manipur, Meghalaya and Nagaland. Many poetic languages are derived from Pawi, Paite, and Hmar, and most known ancient poems considered to be Mizo are actually in Pawi.^{[3][clarification needed]} Mizo is the official language of Mizoram,^[4] along with English, and there have been efforts to have it included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India.^[5]

Mizo
Mizo ṭawng
Native to	India, Myanmar, Bangladesh
Region	Mizoram, Tripura, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Chin state, Sagaing Division, Nagaland, Chittagong hill tracts
Ethnicity	Mizo people
Native speakers	840,000 (2011)^[1]
Language family	Sino-Tibetan Kuki-Chin-Mizo Central Mizo
Writing system	Latin script^[1]^[2] (primary) Bengali-Assamese script^[1]
Official status
Official language in	India Mizoram
Language codes
ISO 639-2	lus
ISO 639-3	lus
Glottolog	lush1249

History

The Mizo language belongs to the Kuki-Chin-Mizo branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. The numerous clans of the Mizo had respective dialects, amongst which the Lusei dialect was the most common, and evolved with significant influenced from Hmar, Lai and Paite, etc. to become the Mizo language and the lingua franca of the Mizo peoples due to its extensive and exclusive use by the Christian missionaries and the later young generation.^{[citation needed]}

Cardinal numbers

They are as follows: ^[6] 1, pa -khat. 2, pa -hnih. 3, pa-thum, 4, pa -li. 5, pa-nga. 6, pa-ruk. 7, pa -sarih. 8, pa- riat. 9, pa -kua. 10, sawm.

Writing system

The Mizo alphabet is based on the Roman script and has 25 letters, namely:

Letter	a	aw	b	ch	d	e	f	g	ng	h	i	j	k
Name	listen	listen	listen	listen	listen	listen	listen	listen	listen	listen	listen	listen	listen

Letter	l	m	n	o	p	r	s	t	ṭ	u	v	z
Name	listen	listen	listen	listen	listen	listen	listen	listen	listen	listen	listen	listen

In its current form, it was devised by the first Christian missionaries of Mizoram, Rev. J.H.Lorrain and Rev. F.W.Savidge^[7] based on Hunterian system of transliteration.

A circumflex ^ was later added to the vowels to indicate long vowels, viz., â, ê, î, ô, û, which were insufficient to fully express Mizo tone. Recently,^[when?] a leading newspaper in Mizoram, Vanglaini, the magazine Kristian Ṭhalai, and other publishers began using á, à, ä, é, è, ë, í, ì, ï, ó, ò, ö, ú, ù, ü to indicate the long intonations and tones. However, this does not differentiate the different intonations that short tones can have.^[8][9]

Relation with other languages

The Mizo language is related to the other languages of the Sino-Tibetan family.^[10] The Kuki-Chin-Mizo languages (which native Mizo speakers call Zohnahthlâk ṭawngho/Mizo ṭawngho) have a substantial number of words in common.^[11]

Mizo and Sino-Tibetan languages

The following table illustrates the similarity between Mizo and other members of the Sino-Tibetan family.^[12] The words given are cognates, whose origins could be traced back to the proto-language Proto-Sino-Tibetan (given in the first column of the table).

Proto-Sino-Tibetan	Mizo/Duhlian/Lusei language	Khawsak-Hmar language	Zote-Hmar language	Standard Chinese character (Pīnyīn)	Early Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Written Tibetan	Written Burmese	Written Sgaw Karen	Bodo	Tripuri (Kokborok)	Meitei language	Trung	English meaning
*tujH	tui	tui	tui	水(shuǐ)	-	-	-	-	htee	døi	twi/tui	ishing		water
*sĭj(H) (? / ś-)	thi	thi/famchang	famchang/thi	死 (sǐ)	si'	sjid	shi-ba	se	thee	thøi	thwi/thui	shi	ɕi	die
*ghāH	khà	kha	khak	苦 (kǔ)	kʰɔ'	khag	kha	khâ	khá	khá	Kwkha/Kha	kha	Kha(salty)	bitter
*sĭŋ	thing	thing	thin	-	sin	sjin	shing	sac	tháe	-	Buphang/Waphang		-	wood/tree
*miǝ̆ŋ	hming	hming	hming	名 (míng)	mjiajŋ	mjing	ming	mung	mï	-	Bumung/mung	ming	muŋ	name
*paH	pa	pa	zuopa	爸 (bà)	-	-	-	-	pa	afah	Apha/Bupha	ipa	-	father
*ŋāH	(pa-)nga	panga	panga	五 (wǔ)	ŋɔ'	ngag	lnga	ŋ̩â	yëh	ba	Ba	manga	pəŋ-ŋà	five
*rŭk	(pa-)ruk	paruk	paruk	六 (liù)	luwk	ljəkw	drug	khrok	xu	doh	Dok	taruk	khlu	six
*nă-	nang	nang	nangma	汝 (rǔ)	ȵɨʌ	naʔ	-	-	na	nøng	nung/nwng	nang	nǎ	thou (you)
*nĭj	ni	ni/sun/nisa	nisa	日 (rì)	ȵiɪt	njiɡ	-	-	mu ni/mu	shan	Sal		nì	day/sun
*ma	em	mäw	am	吗 (ma)	-	-	-	-	ma	-	-	bara	-	?(final interrogative particle)
*nu-	nù	nuhmei	nuhmei	女 (nǚ)	-	-	-	-	-	-	Bwrwi/ti		-	female
*-	chaw ei	bu fak	bu bak	吃饭 (chi fan)	-	-	-	-	-	-	Cha	chak cha	-	eat rice
*druaŋ	lai	lailung, lai	malai, lai	中(zhōng) (middle)	ṭüŋ ṭǜŋ	truŋ truŋs	gźuŋ	ǝtwaŋh	khuh tha	-	Kwchar	matai/manak	a3-tuŋ1 (middle)	middle
*tī̆kʷ	tâwk	huntawk	hunchat	淑 (shú, shū, chù)	-	-	sdug (pretty, nice)	thǝuk (be worth, have certain value; be lucky)	-	-			-	enough, sufficient
*-	hmang zo	hmang zo/hmang ral	inthām/inral	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	Leng	-	-	use up, exhaust
*[ph]ra	ṭha	ṭha	ṭha	-	-	-	-	-	ghay	-	Kaham/Cha	pha	-	good
*chēŋ (green)	hring	hring	hring	青 (qīng)	chieŋ	shēŋ	-	-	-	-	Kwkhwrang/Kukhurang	-	-	green
*ch[ē]t	sât	sat/chan/tan	vat/tan/sat	切 (qiē, qiè)	chiet	shīt	zed	ćhać	-	-	tan-di/Hra-di('di' is suffix to denote 'to' here)		-	to cut

References for the above table:^[13][14]

Mizo and Burmese

The following few words suggest that Mizo and the Burmese are of the same family: kun ("to bend"), kam ("bank of a river"), kha ("bitter"), sam ("hair"), mei ("fire"), that ("to kill"), ni ("sun"), hnih ("two"), li ("four"), nga ("five") etc.

Phonology

Vowels

Monophthongs

The Mizo language has eight tones and intonations for each of the vowels a, aw, e, i and u, four of which are reduced tones and the other four long tones. The vowel o has only three tones, all of them of the reduced type; it has almost exactly the same sound as the diphthong /oʊ/ found in American English. However, the vowels can be represented as follows:^[15]

	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]

Diphthongs

Starting with a	Starting with e	Starting with i	Starting with u
ai (/aɪ̯/, /ɑːi/ or /ai/)	ei (/eɪ̯/, /ɛi/ or /ɛɪ̯/)	ia (/ɪə̯/ /ɪa/, /ja/ or /ɪa̭/)	ua (/u̯a/ or /ua̭/)
au (/aʊ̯/, /ɑːʊ̯/)	eu (/ɛu/, /eʊ/ or /eʊ̯/)	iu (/ɪʊ̯/ or /iw/)	ui (/ɥi/ or /ʔwi/)

Triphthongs

Mizo has the following triphthongs:

• iai, as in iai, piai
• iau as in riau ruau, tiau tuau etc.
• uai, as in uai, zuai, tuai, vuai
• uau, as in riau ruau, tiau tuau, suau suau

Consonants

Mizo has the following consonants, with the first symbol being its orthographical form and the second one its representation in the IPA:^[15]

		Labial	Dental	Alveolar		Velar	Glottal
				central	lateral
Plosive/ Affricate	voiceless	p [p]	t [t]	ch [t͡s]	tl [t͡l]	k [k]	h [ʔ]^1
	aspirated	ph [pʰ]	th [tʰ]	chh [t͡sʰ], [tʃʰ]	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]
	glottalized^1			rh [rʔ]	lh [lʔ]

1. The glottal and glottalised consonants appear only in final position.

Tone

As Mizo is a tonal language, differences in pitch and pitch contour can change the meanings of words. Tone systems have developed independently in many daughter languages, largely by simplifications in the set of possible syllable-final and syllable-initial consonants. Typically, a distinction between voiceless and voiced initial consonants is replaced by a distinction between high and low tone, and falling and rising tones developed from syllable-final h and glottal stop, which themselves often reflect earlier consonants.

The eight tones and intonations that the vowel a (and the vowels aw, e, i, u, and this constitutes all the tones in the Mizo language) can have are shown by the letter sequence p-a-n-g, as follows:^[16]

• long high tone: páng as in páng là (which has the same intonation as sáng in the sentence Thingküng sáng tak kan huanah a ding).
• long low tone: pàng as in Tui a kawt pàng pâng mai (which has the same intonation as vàng in the word vànglaini).
• peaking tone: pâng as in Tui a kawt pàng pâng mai (which has the same intonation as thlûk in I hla phuah thlûk chu a va mawi ve).
• dipping tone: päng as in Tuibur a hmuam päng mai (which has the same intonation as säm in Kan huan ka säm vêl mai mai).
• short rising tone: pǎng as in naupǎng (which has the same intonation as thǎng in Kan huanah thǎng ka kam).
• short falling tone: pȧng as in I va inkhuih pȧng ve? (which has the same intonation as pȧn in I lam ka rawn pȧn )
• short mid tone: pang as in A dik lo nghâl pang (which has the same tone as man in Sazu ka man )
• short low tone: pạng as in I pạng a sá a nih kha (which has the same tone as chạl in I chạlah thosí a fù ).

Notation of vowels with intonation

Short tones				Long tones
mid	rising	falling	low	peaking	high	dipping	low
a	(ǎ / ă) / ả	(ȧ / ã) / ą	ạ	â	á	ä	à
o	(ǒ / ŏ) / ỏ / (ó)		ọ / (ò)
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

Note that the exact orthography of tones with diacritics is still not standardised (notably for differentiating the four short tones with confusive or conflicting choices of diacritics) except for the differentiation of long versus short tones using the circumflex. As well, the need of at least 7 diacritics may cause complications to design easy keyboard layouts, even if they use dead keys, and even if not all basic Latin letters are needed for Mizo itself, so publications may represent the short tones using digrams (e.g. by appending some apostrophe or glottal letter) to reduce the number of diacritics needed to only 4 (those used now for the long tones) on only two dead keys.

Sample sentences

The following table illustrates the pronunciations of various consonants, vowels and diphthongs found in the Mizo language:

Sentence	Pronunciation
Zạwhtë ka hmù	zɒʔ˩.teː˧˩˦ kʌ˧ ʰmuː˩˩
Thlàpǔi a ëng	tlʰaː˩˩.pwi˧˥ ʔʌ˧ ʔɛːŋ˧˩˦
Tlángah kǎn láwn	tlaː˥˥.ŋʌʔ˧ kʌn˧˥ loːn˥˥
Phengphehlep chi hrang paruk ṭhu chungin ka en	pʰeːŋ.pʰɛ.lʰɛp tsi ʰraŋ pʌ.rʊk trʰʊ tsʊ.ŋin kʌ ɛn
Ṭahbelh chu chhunah kan hruai ve lo vang.	trʌʔ.bɛlʔ tsʊ tʃuː.nʌʔ kʌn ʰrwai veː loʊ vʌŋ(or lɔ.vʌŋ)
I va berh ve!	ʔɪ vʌ berʔ ve:
Khàuphár thạwvẹn vè êm êm rịngawt mai che u hian.	kʰauː˩˩.pʰaːr˥˥ tʰɔ˩.vɛn˩ veː˩˩ ʔɛːm˧˥˨ ʔɛːm˧˥˨ ri˩.ŋɔt˧ mai/mʌj tsɛ ʔʊ hjaːn
Nghakuai kan chiah	ʰŋa.kua̯ːi kan tsjaʔ
I zuan kai ngam ka ring.	ʔi zua̯ːn kaːi ŋam ka riŋ
Hläu miah lovin.	ʰlaṷ˧˩˦ mjʌʔ lɔ.vin
Kuai tliak	kwai tljaːk
I tán liau liau	i taːn˥˥ ljaʊ ljaʊ
I uar a ni lo maw?	ʔɪ ʔʊar ʔʌ nɪ loʊ ˈmɔː
Sakei	sʌ.ˈkeɪ
Paih darh suh	pʌɪʔ dʌrʔ sʊʔ

References and further reading for this section.^{[17][18][19][20]}

Grammar

Main article: Mizo grammar

Mizo contains many analyzable polysyllables, which are polysyllabic units in which the individual syllables have meaning by themselves. In a true monosyllabic language, polysyllables are mostly confined to compound words, such as "lighthouse". The first syllables of compounds tend over time to be de-stressed, and may eventually be reduced to prefixed consonants. The word nuntheihna ("survival") is composed of nung ("to live"), theih ("possible") and na (a nominalising suffix); likewise, theihna means "possibility". Virtually all polysyllabic morphemes in Mizo can be shown to have originated in this way. For example, the disyllabic form bakhwan ("butterfly"), which occurs in one dialect of the Trung (or Dulung) language of Yunnan, is actually a reduced form of the compound blak kwar, found in a closely related dialect. It is reported over 18 of the dialects share about 850 words with the same meaning. For example, ban ("arm"), ke ("leg"), thla ("wing", "month"), lu ("head") and kut ("hand").

Word order

The declarative word order in Mizo is Object-subject-verb (OSV). For example:

Lehkhabu

book

ka

I

ziak

write

Lehkhabu ka ziak

book I write

I write/am writing a book

However, even if one says Ka ziak lehkhabu, its meaning is not changed, nor does it become incorrect; the word order becomes Subject-verb-object. But this form is used only in particular situations.

Verbs

Conjugation

The verbs (called thiltih in Mizo)^[21] are not conjugated as in languages such as English and French by changing the desinence of words, but the tense (in a sentence) is clarified by the aspect and the addition of some particles, such as^[22]

• ang (for forming simple future),
• tawh (for forming simple past and past perfect),
• mék (for forming progressive tenses, present and past),
• dáwn (for forming simple future),
• dáwn mék (for forming near future),

etc.

Modification of verbs

Mizo verbs are often used in the Gerund, and most verbs change desinence in the Gerund; this modification is called tihdanglamna. This modified form is also used as the past participle. Some verbs which undergo modification are tabulated below:

Mizo verb	Tihdanglam (modified form)	English meaning
ziak	ziah	ziak – to write ziah – writing (g.), written
tât	tah	tât – to whet (such as a knife) tah – whetting (g.), whetted
mà	mâk	mà – to divorce (said of a man divorcing his wife) mâk – divorcing (g.), divorced

However, even if the spelling of a verb is not changed, its tone is sometimes changed. For example, the verbs tum (to aim), hum (to protect) etc. change tones; the tone is lowered in the modified form. There is a third class of verbs – those which neither change tone nor are inflected (modified). Examples include hneh (to conquer), hnek (to strike with one's fist).

Modification of words is not restricted to verbs; adjectives, adverbs etc. are also modified.

Nouns

Construction

There is no gender for nouns, and there are no articles. There are some specific suffixes for forming nouns from verbs and adjectives, the most common of which are -na and -zia. The suffix -na is used for forming nouns from both verbs and adjectives, whereas -zia is used specifically for nominalising adjectives. For example,

• tlù (v. to fall) – tlûkna (n. fall)
• hmù (v. to see) – hmuhna (n. sight, seeing, vision)
• suäl (adj. evil) – suàlna (n. sin)/suàlzia (n. evilness)

Declension of nouns

Mizo nouns undergo declension into cases. The main cases can be classified as follows:^[23]

Case	Desinence	Tone (in pronunciation)	Examples
Nominative Accusative Genitive	no change	- - -	1. tui 2. nula 3. hmangaihna
Ergative	suffix -in for non-proper nouns, 'n for proper nouns	short low pitch for -in	1. tuiin 2. nulain 3. hmangaihnain
Instrumental		short high pitch on -in
Locative	suffix -ah		1. tuiah 2. nulaah 3. hmangaihnaah

Pluralisation

Nouns are pluralized by suffixing -te, -ho, -teho or -hote, for example:

Noun	Plurals	Meaning
mipa	mipate mipaho	mipa – man mipate/mipaho – men
naupang	naupangte naupangho	naupang – child naupangte/-ho – children

Pronouns

Forms

All Mizo pronouns occur in two forms, namely in free form and clitic form:^[23]

Free form	Clitic form
kei(I)	ka (I)
keimah (I)^[24]
keini (we)	kan (we)
keimahni (we)^[24]
nang(you, singular)	i (you, singular)
nangmah (you)^[24]
nangni (you, plural)	in (you, plural)
nangmahni (you, plural)^[24]
ani (he, she, it)	a (he, she, it)
amah (he, she, it)^[24]
anni (they)	an (they)
anmahni (they)^[24]

The free form is mostly used for emphasis, and has to be used in conjunction with either the clitic form or an appropriate pronominal particle, as shown in the following examples:

1. Kei (=I free form) ka (=I clitic form)lo tel ve kher a ngai em?. This is a somewhat emphatic way of saying Ka lo tel ve kher a ngai em?
2. Nangni (=you pl., free form) in (you pl., clitic form) zo tawh em? This is a somewhat emphatic way of saying Nangni in zo tawh em?
3. Ani (he/she) a (s/he) kal ve chuan a ṭha lo vang.

The clitic form is also used as a genitive form of the pronoun.

Declension

Mizo pronouns, like Mizo nouns, are declined into cases as follows:

	Pronoun (Nominative case)	Genitive case	Accusative case	Ergative case
clitic form
	ka	ka	mi, min	keimahin=keima'n
	kan	kan	min	keimahni-in=keimahnin
	i	i	che	nangmahin=nangma'n
	in	in	che u	nangmahni-in=nangmahnin
	a	a	amah	amahin=ama'n
	an	an	anmahni	anmahni-in=anmahni'n
free form
	kei	keima	keimah, keimah min	keimahin=keima'n
	keimah	keima	keimah, keimah min	keimahin=keima'n
	keini	keini	keini, keini min	keini-in=keini'n
	keimahni	keimahni	keimahni, keimahni min	keimahni-in=keimahni'n
	anni	anni	anni	anni'n
	anmahni	anmahni	anmahni	anmahni-in=anmahni'n

Adjectives

Mizo adjectives (Mizo: hrilhfiahna) follow the nouns they describe, as follows:

1.

naupang

child

fel

good

naupang fel

child good

a good child

2.

lehkhabu

book

chhiartlâk

readable

lehkhabu chhiartlâk

book readable

a readable book

3.

hmasawnna

development

chhenfâkawm

sustainable

hmasawnna chhenfâkawm

development sustainable

sustainable development

Negation

For declarative sentences, negation is achieved by adding the particle lo (not) at the end of a sentence. For example,

Sentence	Negation
Lala a lo kal Lala is coming/Lala came	Lala a lo kal lo Lala did not come
Pathumin paruk a sem thei Three divides six	Pathumin paruk a sem thei lo Three does not divide six

Also, for words such as engmah (nothing), tumah (nobody) etc., unlike English we have to add the negation particle lo; for example

1.

Tumah

nobody

ka

I

hmu

see

lo

not

Tumah ka hmu lo

nobody I see not

2.

Engmah

nothing

ka

I

rawn keng

bring

lo

not

Engmah ka {rawn keng} lo

nothing I bring not

Thus we have to use double negation for such cases.

Unique parts of speech

All kinds of Parts of Speech like noun, pronoun, verbs, etc. can be found in Mizo language with some additional unique kinds – post-positions and double adverbs.

Sample texts

The following is a sample text in Mizo of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:^[25]

Mizo ṭawng	English
Mi zawng zawng hi zalèna piang kan ni a, zahawmna leh dikna chanvoah intluk tlâng vek kan ni. Chhia leh ṭha hriatna fîm neia siam kan nih avangin kan mihring puite chungah inunauna thinlung kan pu tlat tur a ni.	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.

Some Mizo words and phrases

Mizo	English	Mizo	English
Ka lawm e	Thank you	Ru	steal
I dam maw/I dam em?	How are you?	Hmin	Ripe
Tui	Water	Thar	New
Chaw	Food	Lian	Big
Sangha	Fish	Pe	Give
Rul	Snake	Sakei	Tiger
Khua	Village/town/city	Lal	Chief/Lord/King
Ni	Day/the sun	Sikeisen	Mars
Thla	Moon/month	Chawngmawii	Venus
Kum	Year/age	Hrangchhuana	Jupiter
Ṭha maw? (informal)	How are you?/What's up?	Tukṭhuan	Breakfast
Van	Sky	Chhum	Cloud
Boruak	Air	Khu	Smoke
Thlawh(theih)na	Aeroplane	Arsi	Star
Ṭumhmun	Airport	Mei	Fire
Zin	to travel	Ui	Dog
Lei	Earth	Hmul	Feather
Khawvel	World
Thla	the moon
Lu	Head
Mit	Eye
Kâ	Mouth
Khabe	Chin
Beng	Ear
Hnar	Nose
Mi	People
Zangnadawmna	Assurance
Sa	Meat
Engtin?/Engtiangin?	How?
Mangṭha	Good night
Dar engzât nge?	What time is it now?
Thingpui	Tea
Khaw'nge i kal dawn?	Where are you going?
Dam takin [(u) le]	Goodbye/Go in peace
Engtikah?	When?
Khawiah?	Where?
Eng(nge)?	What?
Amaherawhchu	However

Cardinal numbers

(Pa)khat	One
(Pa)hnih	Two
(Pa)thum	Three
(Pa)li	Four
(Pa)ngá	Five
(Pa)ruk	Six
(Pa)sarih	Seven
(Pa)riat	Eight
(Pa)kua	Nine
Sàwm	Ten
Sàwmpakhat	Eleven
Sàwmpakua	Nineteen
Sawmhnih	Twenty
Sawmthum	Thirty
Sawmküa	Ninety
Zà	Hundred
Zangá	Five hundred
Säng(khat)	One thousand
Sïng(khat)	Ten thousand
Nûai(khat)	Hundred thousand/One lakh in Indian English
Maktadûai	Million
Vaibelchhia	Ten million
Vaibelchhetak	Hundred million
Tlûklehdingäwn	Billion

Literature

Main article: Mizo literature

Books

Mizo has a thriving literature with Mizo departments in Mizoram University and Manipur University . The governing body is the Mizo Academy of Letters, which awards the annual literary prize MAL Book of the Year since 1989. The books awarded so far and their authors are tabulated below along with the years:^[11]

Year	Book	Author	Comments on the book
1989	Ka Lungkham	B. Lalthangliana
1990	Hmangaihzuali	C. Laizawna	Novel
1991	Zoram Khawvel-I	Lalthlamuong Keivom	Contemporary Mizo history
1992	Ṭhangthar Taitesena	Romawia
1993	Mizo Literature	B. Lalthangliana
1994	Kum za Kristian Zofate hmabâk	Bangalore Mizo Christian Fellowship
1995	Ram leh i tan chauh	H. Lallungmuana
1996	Bible leh Science	P.C. Biaksiama	Creationism
1997	Pasalṭha Khuangchera	Laltluangliana Khiangte	Drama
1998	Anita	C. Laizawna	Novel
1999	Tlawm ve lo Lalnu Ropuiliani	Lalsangzuali Sailo	Mizo history
2000	Chawngmawii leh Hrangchhuana	R. Rozika	Novel
2001	Ka khualzin kawng	Robuanga
2002	Runlum Nuthai	L.Z. Sailo	Eulogy
2003	Kan Bible hi	Zairema	Theology
2004	Zorinpari	H. Lalngurliana	Novel
2005	Damlai thlipui	Lalhriata	Novel
2006	Pasalṭhate ni hnuhnung	C. Lalnunchanga	Historical adventure novel
2007	Zofate zinkawngah zalenna mei a mit tur a ni lo	R. Zamawia	Factual description and idealisation of Mizo uprising
2008	Chun chawi loh	Lalhriata	Novel
2009	Rintei zùnléng	Lalrammawia Ngente	Novel
2010	Beiseina Mittui	Samson Thanruma	Novel
2011	Zodinpuii (posthumously awarded)	Lalchhantluanga	Novel
2012	Sihlipui	Romuanpuii Zadeng	Novel
2013	Thinglubul	Lalpekkima	Novel
2014	Ka Zalenna	B. Lalhriattira	Essay collection
2015	Kawlkil piah Lamtluang	C. Lalnunchanga	Fantasy Novel
2016	Aizawl Aizawler	Lalhruaitluanga Chawngte	Contemporary Social Essays^[26]
2017	Savun Kawrfual	Lalhmingchhuanga Zongte	Collection of Essays
2018	Hringnun Hrualhrui	Mafaa Hauhnar	Collection of Essays
2019	Falung	Lalengzauva	Novel

This award is only for books originally written in Mizo, not for translations, and it has been awarded every year since 1989. The award has been given to books on history and religion, but most of its winners are novels. Each year, the academy examines about 100 books (in 2011, 149 books were examined),^[27] out of which it selects the top 20, and then shortlisting it further to top 10, and then to top 5, then top 3, finally chooses the winner.

The academy also awards lifetime achievement in Mizo literature.

Some of the best-known Mizo writers include James Dokhuma, Ṭhuamtea Khawlhring, C. Laizawna, C. Lalnunchanga, Vanneihtluanga etc.

Newspaper

The Mizoram Press Information Bureau lists some twenty Mizo daily newspapers just in Aizawl city, as of March 2013.^[28] The following list gives some of the most well-known newspapers published in the Mizo language.

Name of newspaper	Publication frequency	Editor	Place
Chhawkhlei	Daily	Lalhmingliana	Champhai
Chhawrpial	Daily	C.Lalzamlova	Aizawl
Chhim Aw	Daily	Baitha	Saiha
Chhinlung	Daily	Vanhnuna	Lunglei
Dumde	Daily	F. Lalbiakmawia (Fam)	Champhai
Harhna	Daily	C.Vulluaia	Aizawl
Hnamdamna	Daily	Chawngchhuma	Lunglei
Hruaitu Arsi	Daily	Zosangliana	Aizawl
Khawpui Aw	Daily	Zaithankhuma	Aizawl
Laisuih	Daily	C.Lalhminghlua	Serchhip
Lengzem chanchinbu	Monthly	Vanneihtluanga	Aizawl
Lenkawl	Daily	Remmawia Kawlni	Serchhip
Lenrual	Daily	Lalhlupuia	Champhai
Pasaltha	Daily	Lalhmingmawia Pachuau	Champhai
Ramlai Arsi	Daily	Lalremruata Ralte	Serchhip
Rihlipui	Daily	DK Lalhruaitluanga	Champhai
Romei	Daily	Robert Lalchhuana	Aizawl
Thu Thar	Daily	A.Rodingliana	Aizawl
Turnipui	Daily	S.Lalhmachhuana	Kolasib
The Zozam Times	Daily	H.Laldinmawia	Aizawl
Vanglaini chanchinbu,^[29]	Daily	K. Sapdanga	Aizawl
Zalen	Daily	Vanlalrema Vantawl	Aizawl
Zawlbuk Aw	Daily	Hranghmingthanga	Thenzawl
Zoram Thlirtu	Daily	Lalrinmawia Sailo	Aizawl
Zoram Tlangau	Daily	L.Pachuau	Aizawl
Zorin	Daily	Lalkunga	Aizawl

Most of them are daily newspapers.

Statistics

There are around 850,000 speakers of the Mizo language: 830,846 speakers in India (2011 census); 1,041 speakers in Bangladesh (1981 census); 12,500 speakers in Myanmar (1983 census).

See also

• Hunterian transliteration
• Mizo grammar
• Mizo literature

References

1. Mizo at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)  
2. "Kuki Mizo". Directorate of Kokborok & Other Minority Languages, Government of Tripura. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
3. Lalthangliana, B., 'Mizo tihin ṭawng a nei lo' tih kha 13 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine, see also Matisoff, 'Language names' section
4. "Ministry of Development of Northeastern Region, Mizoram State Information". Ministry of Development of Northeastern Region. 2 November 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
5. "Requests to include 38 languages in Constitution pending: Govt". The Hindu. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
6. James Herbert Lorrain; Fred W. Savidge (1898). A Grammar and Dictionary of the Lushai Language (Dulien Dialect). Assam Secretariat Print. Office. p. 24.
7. Lalthangliana, B.: 2001, History and Culture of Mizo in India, Burma and Bangladesh, Aizawl. "Baptist Missionary Conference, 1892", p. 745
8. The Mizo Wiktionary uses the additional symbols ạ, ǎ, ȧ, and likewise for the other vowels aw, e, i and u, to differentiate these
9. "Wt/lus/Thlûkna chungchanga kaihhruaina - Wikimedia Incubator". incubator.wikimedia.org. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
10. Mc Kinnon, John and Wanat Bruksasri (Editors): The Higlangders of Thailand, Kuala Lumpur, Oxford University Press, 1983, p. 65.
11. . www.vanglaini.org. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
12. STEDT database.See also
13. "Search for data in: Sino-Tibetan etymology". starling.rinet.ru. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
14. "STEDT Database (Beta)". stedt.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
15. Weidert, Alfons, Component Analysis of Lushai Phonology, Amsterdam Studies in the Theory and History of Linguistic Science, Series IV – Current Issues in Linguistic Theory, volume 2, Amsterdam: John Benjamins B.V., 1975.
16. Zoppen Club, Mizo ṭawng thumal thar
17. "Sarmah, Priyankoo & Caroline Wiltshire, An acoustic study of Mizo tones and morpho-tonology." (PDF). Retrieved 14 January 2020.
18. Govind, D., Priyankoo Sarmah, S.R. Mahadeva Prasanna, Role of pitch slope and duration in synthesized Mizo tones.
19. Khoi Lam Thang, A phonological reconstruction of Proto-chin.
20. Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, Workshop on Tone and Intonation: Theory, Typology and Computation.
21. SCERT, Mizo Grammar, class XI & XII textbook (2002–).
22. SCERT, Mizo Grammar and Composition, 2002.
23. "Chhangte, Lalnunthangi, The Grammar of Simple Clauses in Mizo" (PDF). Retrieved 14 January 2020.
24. This form is also used as the accusative
25. UDHR in Mizo (Unicode Website) or OHCHR Website
26. "Mizo Academy of Letters Book of the Year list". dcserchhip.mizoram.gov.in. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
27. "Vanglaini, April 24, 2012" (PDF). Retrieved 14 January 2020.
28. "See the website". Retrieved 14 January 2020.
29. "Vanglaini – Mizo Daily Since 1978". vanglaini.org. Retrieved 30 June 2010.

Sources

1. K. S. Singh: 1995, People of India-Mizoram, Volume XXXIII, Anthropological Survey of India, Calcutta.
2. Grierson, G. A. (Ed.) (1904b). Tibeto-Burman Family: Specimens of the Kuki-Chin and Burma Groups, Volume III Part III of Linguistic Survey of India. Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta.
3. Grierson, G. A: 1995, Languages of North-Eastern India, Gian Publishing House, New Delhi.
4. Lunghnema, V., Mizo chanchin (B.C. 300 aṭanga 1929 A.D.), 1993.
5. Zoramdinthara, Dr., Mizo Fiction: Emergence and Development. Ruby Press & Co.(New Delhi). 2013. ISBN 978-93-82395-16-4

External links

 

Mizo language test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator

• Lorrain, J. Herbert (James Herbert) Dictionary of the Lushai language. Calcutta : Asiatic Society, 1940. (Bibliotheca Indica, 261)
• Sino-Tibetan Etymological Dictionary and Thesaurus database
• Mizoram.nic.in Official website of Mizoram.
• Mizoram Presbyterian
• Mizoram Baptist
• Mizoram Adventist 4 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine