Zou language

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Template:Short description Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".<templatestyles src="Template:Infobox/styles-images.css" />Script error: No such module "Check for conflicting parameters". Zou (also spelled Zo and also known as Zokam) is a language of the Northeastern branch of Kuki-Chin languages[1] originating in western Burma and spoken also in Mizoram and Manipur in northeastern India.

The name Zou is sometimes used as a cover term for the languages of all Mizo people (Zo people) i.e., Kukish and Chin peoples, especially the Zomi people.

The term 'Zo' has been employed in many books to denote the word 'Zo', for simple reason of phonetic usage.

The Zo themselves employ the various terms Zo, Zou, and Jo to mean their tribe.[2]

Phonology

The set of 23 Zou consonantal phonemes can be established on the basis of the following minimal pairs or overlapping words. Besides these 23 Phonemes, 1 consonant is a borrowed phoneme (i.e. /r/), which is found only in loan words, in very rare cases (e.g. /r/ in /rəŋ/ "color"). Along with these consonants, Zou has 7 vowels: i, e, a, ɔ, o, u, ə.[3]

Consonant Phonemes
Labial Dental/
Alveolar 		Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive voiceless Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
aspirated Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
voiced Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
Affricate Template:IPA link
Fricative voiceless Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
voiced Template:IPA link
Nasal Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
Lateral Template:IPA link
Semivowel Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
Vowels
Front Central Back
Close Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
Close-mid Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
Open-mid Template:IPA link
Open Template:IPA link

Orthography

Vowels

  • a - [a]
  • aw - [ɔ]
  • e - [e/ə]
  • i - [i~j]
  • o - [o]
  • u - [u~w][4]

Consonants

  • b - [b]
  • ch - [c]
  • d - [d]
  • g - [g]
  • h - [h], [ʔ] at the end of a syllable
  • j - [ɟ]
  • k - [k]
  • kh - [kʰ]
  • l - [l]
  • m - [m]
  • n - [n]
  • ng - [ŋ]
  • p - [p]
  • ph - [pʰ]
  • r - [r]
  • s - [s]
  • t - [t]
  • th - [tʰ]
  • v - [ʋ]
  • z - [z][5]

Types of Zo verbs

The Zo verbs can be classified into three types: Stem (1), Stem (2), Stem (3) as given below:[6]

Types of Zo Verbs
Stem 1 Stem 2 Stem 3 Stem 4
piê-give pie? pe- pieh
puo-carry puo? po- pua-

Numbers

Zomi numbers are counted as follows:[7]

Numeral Zou English Hindi
0 Script error: No such module "Lang". zero Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
1 Script error: No such module "Lang". one Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
2 Script error: No such module "Lang". two Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
3 Script error: No such module "Lang". three Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
4 Script error: No such module "Lang". four Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
5 Script error: No such module "Lang". five Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
6 Script error: No such module "Lang". six Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
7 Script error: No such module "Lang". seven Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
8 Script error: No such module "Lang". eight Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
9 Script error: No such module "Lang". nine Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
10 Script error: No such module "Lang"., Script error: No such module "Lang". ten Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
11 Script error: No such module "Lang". eleven Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
12 Script error: No such module "Lang". twelve Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
13 Script error: No such module "Lang". thirteen Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
14 Script error: No such module "Lang". fourteen Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
15 Script error: No such module "Lang". fifteen Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
16 Script error: No such module "Lang". sixteen Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
17 Script error: No such module "Lang". seventeen Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
18 Script error: No such module "Lang". eighteen Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
19 Script error: No such module "Lang". nineteen Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
20 Script error: No such module "Lang". twenty Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
30 Script error: No such module "Lang". thirty Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
40 Script error: No such module "Lang". forty Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
50 Script error: No such module "Lang". fifty Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
60 Script error: No such module "Lang". sixty Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
70 Script error: No such module "Lang". seventy Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
80 Script error: No such module "Lang". eighty Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
90 Script error: No such module "Lang". ninety Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
100 Script error: No such module "Lang". hundred Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
1,000 Script error: No such module "Lang"., Script error: No such module "Lang". one thousand Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
10,000 Script error: No such module "Lang"., Script error: No such module "Lang"., Script error: No such module "Lang". ten thousand Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
100,000 Script error: No such module "Lang"., Script error: No such module "Lang"., Script error: No such module "Lang". one hundred thousand, one lakh Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
1,000,000 Script error: No such module "Lang"., Script error: No such module "Lang"., Script error: No such module "Lang". one million Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
10,000,000 Script error: No such module "Lang"., Script error: No such module "Lang"., Script error: No such module "Lang". ten million, one crore Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit
100,000,000 Script error: No such module "Lang"., Script error: No such module "Lang". one billion, ten crore Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:Translit

Writing systems

Zou is often written in a Latin script developed by Christian missionary J.H. Cope. In 1952, M. Siahzathang of Churachandpur created an alternative script known as Zolai or Zoulai, an alphabetic system with some alphasyllabic characteristics. The user community for the script is growing- Zou cultural, political, and literary organizations began to adopt the script beginning in the 1970s, and more recently, the Manipur State Government has shown support for both Siahzathang and the script.[8][9]

Linguistic relations

Zou among the Northeastern Kuki-Chin languages is closely related to the Central languages such as the Duhlian (Lusei/Lushai) or Mizo language (endonym in Duhlian or Lushai is Mizo ṭawng), the lingua franca language of Mizoram.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Zou as spoken in India is similar to the Paite language of the Paite, though Zou lacks the word-final glottal stops present in Paite.[10][11]

Geographical extent

At its largest extent, the geographic area covered by the language group is a territory of approximately 60,000 square miles (160,000 km2) in size, in Burma, India and Bangladesh.[12] However political boundaries and political debates have distorted the extent of the area in some sources.[13]

In Burma

It is used in Chin State, Tiddim, and the Chin Hills. Use of Burmese has increased in the Zo speaking Chin State since the 1950s.[14] Ethnologue reports that Zou is spoken in the following townships of Myanmar.

In India

In Bangladesh

In Bangladesh it is used by the Bawm people.[16][17]

References

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  1. ↑ Cite error: Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".
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  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ "Their language is called Zou which is similar to the language spoken by the Paite. Unlike the Zou, the Paite possess the terminal glottal stop 'h'. For example, a word for 'good' is hoih in Paite while it changes into hoi in the Zou language. Sannemla (Zou folksongs) are also popular among the Paite, although they are rendered in their individual dialect bearing the characteristic phonetic differences." Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Encyclopaedia of South-Asian tribes - Volume 8 - Page 3436 Satinder Kumar - 2000 "According to the 1981 census, 12,515 persons speak the Zou language"
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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Further reading

External links

Template:Sister project

Template:Sino-Tibetan languages Template:Kuki-Chin–Naga languages Template:Languages of Burma Template:Languages of Northeast India

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