Paite language


Paite is a Sino-Tibetan language belonging to the northeastern sub-branch of Kuki-Chin branch. It is spoken by the Paite people in India and Tedim Chins in Myanmar. There are different Paite dialects; some notable Paite dialects are Bukpi, Lousau, Valpau, Dapzal, Tuichiap, Sukte, Dim, Lamzang and Sihzang. The language exhibits mutual intelligibility with the other languages of the region including Thadou, Hmar, Vaiphei, Simte, Kom, Gangte and other languages.

Etymology

The term Paithe originated in the Lushai Hills region. The Lushais used terms Pai or Poi to refer to central and southern Chin tribes, who tie their hair up. Paithe is said to be the plural of Pai. The Paite themselves did not accept the term originally, but in 1948, the Paite National Council was formed to obtain the recognition of Paites as a Scheduled Tribe in India. Thus the term came to be accepted.
Paite has also the meaning of "people on the move".

Language

  • The Paite has its own Alphabet propounded by T Vialphung in 1903 and was later published in the book "Singtung Bu" in 1945. The alphabets are as below:
A Aw B Ch D
E F G Ng H
I J K L M
N O P R S
T U V Z
  • This language has simple but long words. Paite is a tonal language and has three tones: High, low, and level. The tones are not transcribed in the Latin alphabet. This means words can look the same but mean different things depending on context and pronunciation. Here are a few words:
Thak – New, Spicy
Sikha – Servant, Ghost
Ngaih – Love, Loud
Bel – Pot, Early
Thum - Pray, Three
There's still unofficial ways to write tones, such as accent marks, but these aren't used frequently.
  • The language is included in Tripura's Tribal Language Corpus in which it is recorded that it has 32,626 words.

    Phonology

Paite has 6 monophthongs and has 11 diphthongs.
Consonants consist of s, k, l, m, n, ŋ, b, dʒ, d, f, g, h, p, r, t, v, and z.

Sample text

The following is a sample text in Paite of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
Paite pauEnglish
Mi tengteng zalen a piang ihi ua, zah-omna leh dikna tanvou ah kibangvek ihi. Sia leh pha theihna pilna nei a siam I hih ziak un I mihinpihte tungah unauna lungsim feltak I put ngai ahi.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.

There are two major dialects of Paite spoken in Manipur: Lamjang and Dapjal; and 4 minor dialects which are Songtal, Bukpi, Lousau & Kangkap.

Geographical distribution

Paite is spoken mainly in the following locations.
Paite language can now be taken up as one of the MIL subjects offered in the Three-Year Degree course in Manipur University. The Academic Council of the university in its meeting held on April 22, 2004, gave its approval for the inclusion of Paite as one of the MIL subjects after considering recommendation by the Board of Studies of the School of Humanities, and also in recognition of the richness of the language and its literature including creative writing.