1.1. INTRODUCTION

Aliu chalad dinbambo hai wakhon (Sound) ne. Sijeng niu chalad kati subo hai pakhon gasu kati suwe. Chamai khon lamga katibo tu phonetics and phonology chiu kuwe. Chalad khat katibo ga wiibo lad ga de-de khon bam lo chiu phiu pad raiye. Haibo khon phiu padbo hai pazai bamme. Chalad ga siamthubo khatdi paramba pad suibo khon situ Phoneme tiu kuwe. English ga phui sai /pit/ nai /bit/ ga, /p/ nai /b/ si Phoneme ye, khatdi German ga phuisai /kunst/ ‘art’ nai /gunst/ ‘favour’ ga, /k/ nai /g/ si Phoneme ye. English gu Vowel gasai /pit/ nai /put/ ga /i/ nai /u/ si Phoneme ye. Pariga English nai German gu chalad keng dung pikhai bambo si phui mui sai chakhon khat kalibo sai suijiu paramba di kaliye. Haikumbo chalad keng dung, chakhon khat kali sai paramba di kalibo dung tu Minimal Pairs chiu kuwe. Haitiujiu chalad khat ga chakhon de-de bam lo chiu sira haikumbo Minimal Pairs keng phiu pad ra pageng bamme. Chalad hina haibo zai alilu chakhon katiye.

Sikumjiu Lianglad di pakhon (Phoneme) dejiu bamlo chiubo si ra pageng bamme. Sironna makjiu Lianglad katibo ga haibo khon ga ma-ngiuh khaijiu kati ra pageng bamme. Aliu Liangkhon ga phui sai /pak/ ‘run’ nai /bak/ ‘groin’ ga /p/ nai /b/ haisi Phoneme ye. Vowel khon gasai /rit/ ‘heavy’ nai /rat/ ‘tie’ ga /i/ nai /a/ si Phoneme ye. Chakhon hai Consonant khatdi Vowel chiujiu palang khaii patle. Haibo Minimal Pairs gu pazai thin lujiu aliu Lianglad ga Phoneme (chakhon), Consonant bi di Vowel bi di, dejiu bam lo chiu phui ncham khe.

1.2. KHAGIAK (CONSONANT)

Chamun maksai chakhuriang ga khamnambo bamjiu din patbo khon tu khagiak (Consonant) chiu kuwe. Aliu Lianglad gu khagiak dung hai chaladkeng subo nai n-gang ga pad (occur) sui kamme, chiudi khagiak kakeng ra chaladkeng kaloibo ga pad makge. Khagiak dung gu Minimal Pairs phui ncham khe.

/p/ - /b/

/pi/ ‘give’ /bi/ ‘cut’

/chapon/‘dress’ /chabon/ ‘youth’

/t/ - /d/

/tì/ ‘small’ /dí/ ‘big’

/katì/ ‘teach’ /kadí/ ‘earth’

/k/ - /g/

/kì/ ‘dry’ /gì/ ‘kill’

/chaki/ ‘house’ /chagi/ ‘iron’

/k/ - /kh/

/kì/ ‘dry’ /khì/ ‘poke’

/makì/ ‘bite’ /makhì/ ‘a kind of herb’

/t/ - /th/

/ta/ ‘stop’ /tha/ ‘fry’

/tatu/ ‘stone’ /tathu/ ‘thorn’

/p/ - /ph/

/pi/ ‘give’ /phi/ ‘earn’

/chapi/ ‘head’ /chaphi/ ‘leg’

/s/ - /z/

/si/ ‘know’ /zi/ ‘sleep’

/tasa/ ‘hearth’ /taza/ ‘rat’

/s/ - /h/

/sa/ ‘bad’ /ha/ ‘not available’

/rasá/ ‘devil’ /raha/ ‘story’

/z/ - /h/

/zú/‘pull’ /hú/‘brave’

/za/‘stringing’ /ha/‘not available’

/m/ - /n/

/mèng/ ‘fool’ /nèng/‘to cast an evil eye’

/kim/‘satisfy’ /kin/‘bend’

/m/- /ng (ŋ)/

/man/ ‘to dream’ /ngan/ ‘throw’

/lum/ ‘hot’ /lúng/ ‘live’

/n/ - /ng (ŋ)/

/nam/ ‘village’ /ngam/ ‘able’

/tán/ ‘strong’ /táng/ ‘reach’

/s/ - /ch/

/su/ ‘start’ /chu/ ‘dig’

/məsan/ ‘clean’ /məchan/‘taste’

/l/ - /r/

/le/ ‘open’ /re/ ‘nag’

/malí/ ‘boat’ /marí/ ‘axe’

/w/ - /r/

/wi/ ‘good’ /ri/ ‘late’

/y/ - /l/

/yo/ ‘yes’ /lo/ ‘IMP’

Pariga pikhai bambo Minimal Pairs sai suijiu aliu lad ga khagiak khon (Phoneme) dung hai makai bamme: /b/, /ch/, /d/, /g/, /h/, /k/, /kh/, /l/, /m/, /n/, /ng/, /p/, /ph/, /r/, /s/, /t/, /th/, /w/, /y/, /z /.

1.3. SIUGIAK (VOWEL)

Chamun khambing makjiu maksai chakhuriang (Vocal Track) ga khamnambo hajiu din pad suibo khon tu siugiak (Vowel) chiu kuwe. Lianglad keng ga siugiak niu pad raibo chaladkeng keng makge. Tuhoi katangbo ga phiudoubo /ə/ ronnaye. Haibo khon tu schwa chiuwe, ah kadunbowe (Short Vowel). Example ga, ariak nai chapa chiubo ladkeng ga, ‘ah’ khon kania si ncham makge. Khat niu ‘Heavy Vowel’, khatbo niu ‘Light Vowel’ ye.Lianglad raobo ga, haibo Heavy nai Light Vowel khon kania tu ‘a’ chiubo giak khat ronna niu thin piu bamme. Pahang lam, Alphabet ken rabo Section ga phui sanlo. Kakibo siugiak khon niu tad raibo ladkeng ra dao makge. Siugiak gu Minimal Pairs phui ncham khe.

/i/ - /u/

/ri/ ‘late’ /ru/ ‘burn’

/líng/ ‘to plant’ /lúng/ ‘to live’

/i/ - /e/

/pí/ ‘give’ /pé/ ‘pluck’

/mīn/ ‘catch’ /mēn/ ‘swell’

/e/ - /o/

/le/ ‘open’ /lo/ IMP marker

/bèn/ ‘wear (shawl)’ /bon/ ‘gather (as insect on the flower)’

/e/ - /a/

/phé/ ‘shovelling’ /phá/ ‘talk’

/kep/ ‘shot’ /kap/ ‘cry’

/a/ - /u/

/ka/ ‘white’ /ku/‘call’

/bat/ ‘leech’ /but/‘protruding object/CL’

/ə/ - /a/

/nə-/ ‘2Person possessive’ /na/‘near’

/pə-/ ‘3Person possessive’ /pa/‘curry’

Pariga pikhaibambo Minimal Pairs sai suijiu aliu lad ga siugiak charok bamme. Paliu sai /ə/, /a/, /i/, /e/, /o/, /u/. Hai dung tu Monophthong Vowel (Vowel khat pakhon khat) chiu kuwe.

1.4. DIPHTHONG

Siugiak nia aruang lu khon khat patbo tu Diphthong chiu kuwe. Lianglad ga Monophthong Vowel suang Diphthong niu kengnge. Aliu lad ga Diphthong tachat phiu padle, viz. /ei/, /ai/, /oi/, /ui/, /iu/, /ao/, /ua/, and /ia/. Paliu gu Minimal

Pairs sai:

kéi ‘torn’

kai ‘to fall’

kòi ‘bend, not straight’

kúi ‘circular’

kìu ‘extra’

kāo ‘stumble’

kúa ‘to step on something’

kía ‘a piece of something’

1.5. TRIPHTHONG

Siugiak sum aruang lu khon khat patbo tu triphthong chiu kuwe. Lianglad ga tripthong khat bamme, e.g. /iao/. Chiudi haibo Triphthong haisi nam kasia ga Diphthong -io leng lukhaibo di bamme.

akiao ‘a jungle fowl similar to chicken’

madiao ‘smooth’

makhiao ‘itchy’

1.6. MODIFIED ROMAN LETTER FOR LIANGMAI: REPRESENTATION OF SOUND IN WRITING

Aliu Lianglad pagiat (Script) habo jeng niu Roman Script thin piu bamme. Chiudi aliu lad ga pakhon (Phoneme) dejiu bam lo chiu aliu si mide. Sijeng niu aliu Roman Script thin bam ta di aliu lad ga bambo pakhon sai suijiu Symbol di thin rabowe. Tuhoi aliuniu English Alphabet gasu aliu leng pageng bambo khatdi pakhon bambo haisi aliu Liangmai gu Alphabet leng chiujiu kada pad khai bo si pahang ga len khaiye. Muilam pikhaibo siniu aliu Lianglad gu pakhon khatdi zatlam siniu pakhon gu Symbol maksai Alphabet. Lianglad karaobo ga aliu Primary Alphabet khatdi Secondary Alphabet chiu palang khaii pad ra pageng bam mide, palamra aliu lad ga habo khon di masuang gasu aliu thin bam niuwe.

1.6.1. PRIMARY ALPHABET/SYMBOL)

Khagiak

Pakhon (sound) Pagiak (Symbol)

ka k

kha kh

ga g

ta t

tha th

da d

pa p

pha ph

ba b

cha ch

ma m

na n

nga ng

ra r

la l

ha h

sa s

wa w

ya y

za z

1.6.2. SIUGIAK (ALPHABET/SYMBOL)

Pakhon (Sound) Pagiak (Symbol)

ah a

aa a

ih i

eh e

oh o

uh u

Pari ga pikhai bambo giak dung hai aliu lad ga pakhon bambo dungnge. Pakhon (Pronunciation) sai suijiu Bold Letter ga lenkhaibo dung si aliu gu Primary Alphabet thiujiu thinpiu rabowe. Consonants makai khatdi Vowel ma-ngiu, pakhiang na makai-ma-ngiu bamme. Haiga khat sikhai rabo siniu aliu gu Vowel pakhon charok bamme chiudi karaobo ga ra Letter mangiu ronna thin piuwe. Sira Vowel /ə/ ‘schwa’ nai /a/ ‘ah’ tu ‘a’ chiubo giak niu Represent thiune.

1.7. SECONDARY ALPHABET/SYMBOL

Lianglad karaobo ga Roman Alphabet kasia aliu lad ga pakhon ra ha chiudi thin piu bambo dung si tu Secondary Alphabet chiujiu thinne.

c -

f chafai

q qonniam, chaqon

sh kamshat, shai,

v kavang, vangpiu, vang

j -

x -

Pari ga lenkhaibo Symbol dung si pakhon lam phuisai aliu lad gara habowe. Haisi aliu pakhon (Sound) khat tu pagiat (Alphabet/Symbol) nia thinbambowe, cha khon tu ch nai c, pha khon ph nai f, ka khon tu k nai q, sa khon tu s nai sh, ba khon tu b nai v, khatdi za khon tu z nai j.

Haibo dung ruang ga f nai j khatdi sh hai ra masuang gasu Common thiumibo donniu Secondary Symbol chiujiu thin bamne khatdi ladkeng dung tu kam tasikhai ra thinbowe. Kakibo c, v, q, x hai si ra thin mak ra chapkhaiye. Thin makbo ramba ra, haibo khon dung thin sai, aliu lad ga maiky lad ngut mirabo bamme. Siniu phut mi ra chapkhaiye. Pahangga haibo Secondary Symbol thinrabo lamga len khaiye.

S nai Sh

Hai kania gu Pronunciation ra sa chiurabowe (Sha chiu lakge). S niu Primary Symbol thiujiu thinne khatdi Sh si Secondary Symbol thiujiu thinne. Sh thin rabo sai Negative maksai Deprecative Meaning bambo chalad keng ga thinne. Example, shaibo – ‘dead/death’, sha/shabo – ‘bad’, lungshabo – ‘poor’, and so on. Kakibo ga ra S niu thinne.

Z nai J

Hai kania gu pronunciation ra za chiuwe (dz chiu lakge). Z si Primary Symbol thiujiu thin piune khatdi J si Secondary Symbol thiu ne. Z niu Lexical Word e.g., Noun, Verb, Adverb, etc. ga thinne. Example sai, taza – ‘mouse’, maza – ‘angel’, zaw– ‘wine’, zi – ‘sleep’, etc. J niu grammatical Words (nai Adverb) ga thinne. Grammatical Words chiu sai Conjunction (-jiu) kumbo tuwe. Example sai, chiujiu, suijiu, thiujiu, etc. Kakibo hina ga ra z thin kamne.

F nai Ph

pha[1] chiubo khon leng ph thinlo. Pariga z nai j, maksai s nai sh kumjiu, f haidi masuang gasu thinbo zengniu Spelling Vocabulary khangsia tu kam tasi ra, f haisi thinlo. Bible ga chafai, chafiu kumbo dung tu thin bamme.

Bible ga thin kamakbo hina ra daudiu then thin makne. Chiudi thinbo ga, chaladkeng tu kam tasi padra, thin sai, Bi-syllable Word ga, parathiujiu Noun Word hina ga, paniabo Syllable (Second Syllable of the Word) ga thinlo, e.g. kafiu ‘spade’, kafung ‘plot’, etc. Kakibo leng Verb, Proper Noun kumbo leng f thin makne. Siniu pariga Alphabet ken ra khaibo kumjiu, ph haisi Primary Symbol thiujiu thinlo.

C, Q, V, X

Haibo khagiak dung ra tingkum kariu tang makbo lungga Bible ga thin haubo guye. Chiudi pakhon habo donniu haibo dung ra, thin mak ra chapkhaiye.

1.8. LIANGKHON KATI RABO ZAI

Lianglad katibo ga para kathiubo palam khat sirabo niu aliu lad hai English gu A B C sai suijiu kati doa lakge. Lianglad nai English ra wadi ncham makge. Pakhon di tamme khatdi pakykhun (Language Family) di tamme. Lianglad niu Tibeto-Burman Family ye, English niu Indo-European lad ye. Siniu aliu Lianglad gu Class Room mide chiu sai aliu khon zai ga ma-ngiu khai lu kati ra kam rabowe. Liangmai Class gu Environment tamsinbo taliu raye.

Siniu Alphabet gasu sujiu aliu gu Grammar di makum mawi lu kati ra kam rabowe. Sizeng niu pariga Lianglad gu Alphabet leng pikhai bambo si aliu gu Sound System ga ma-ngiuh (Base) khai lujiu kam pad khaibowe. Pariga din mibo kumjiu Liangmai ladkeng ga Vowel khon gasu padraibo habo donniu, Vowel hai chaladkeng n-gang ga (Middle Position ga), pakhon phapad ra leng, Example si taliu khai bamme.

Haibo machun (Aim) ra Lianglad ga Siugiak (Vowel) khon haisi, haichiujiu phapad rabowe, Pronounce kam rabowe chiubo lengnge. Haibo System hai makimai lad (Meiteilon) maksai khoumai lad (Hindi (Devanagri), Bengali, etc.) tu alibo makge. Chiudi haisi Ancient India (4th Century BC) gu Linguist Panini niu kambo Grammar System ga ma-ngiuh khajiu kambo guye. Haibo zai ga thainai World gu thiujiu International Phonetic Alphabet di ma-ngiuh khaijiu kam bamme. Chiudi haibo Alphabet gu Sequence ra kadiubo zai (Order) ga taliu khaine di suiye. Mathiuniu nchambo ga khaibo suiye.

1.8.1. KHAGIAK PAARABO ZAI

p ph b

t th d

k kh g

m n ng

ch s z h

r l w y

Example

P niu Pengphai

Ph niu Phaksi

B niu Bamre

T niu Taza

Th niu Thingna

D niu Diuga

K niu Kamaii

Kh niu Khum

G niu Gaazing

M niu Malii

N niu Niugam

Ng niu Nguna

Ch niu Chakui

S niu Singgiu

Z niu Zungkhap

H niu Hengset

R niu Riam

L niu Langpi

W niu Wangkham

Y niu Yo

1.8.2. SIUGIAK PAARABO ZAI

a a: i e o u

Example

A niu Ariak

A:[2] niu Chapa

I niu Tiupi

E niu Chaken

O niu Chabon

U niu Singku

DIPHTHONG

ei niu tei

ai niu kai

oi niu taloina

ui niu marui

iu niu thiura

ao niu zao

ua niu chakuan

ia niu karia

TRIPHTHONG

iao niu akiao

1.9. TONE (CHAKHON KAKUU-KANAH)

Lianglad hai ‘Tonal Language’ ye. Samtap dinsai aliu lad ga Tone pazat sum bamme, kuubo, n-gangbo khatdi nahbo. Tone tiubo ra chakhon kuubo nahbo sai suijiu chaladkeng (Spelling nchambo) ramba kalibo tuwe. Aliu ariak raobo ga debo khon niu kuubo lo, desi nahbo lo tiu sitam pad ra macha khaibo phui ncham khe.

Chakhon kakuubo (high Tone) ga kanamthubo giak (Letter or Symbol) si ‘doubling’ khe. N-gangbo khon (Mid Tone) ra wadi khai san mak di suiye. Chakhon kanahbo (Low Tone) ga kanamthubo giak sai ‘h’ khai khe chiu chap khaiye. Pahang ga Example kasia pikhai bamme.

High Tone Mid Tone Low Tone

chamii ‘meat’ chami ‘marriage chamih ‘fire’

maraa ‘scream’ mara ‘sick’ marah ‘touch

chalii ‘tongue’ chali ‘chali’ chalih ‘pot’

sangg ‘thousand’ sang ‘dry’ sangh ‘dye’

khengg ‘ask’ kheng ‘tie’ khengh ‘bear’

agaa ‘my chest’ aga ‘steal’ agah ‘greedy’

bungg ‘traditional box’ bung ‘bend’ bungh ‘drill’

tangg ‘reach’ tang ‘stick’ tangh ‘break’

mariuu ‘hungry’ mariu ‘roam’ mariuh‘forest

chagii ‘shield’ chagi ‘metal’ chagih ‘charcoal’

raoo ‘backbite’ rao ‘write’ raoh ‘respect’

chagaa --- chagah ‘crab’

Chakhon kakuu-kanah kam npekbo hai pawan machang thin mak ta di sui suye. Bible ga Tone Marker wajiu thin makge chiu di aliu ken lubamme. Pagu Context sai suijiu chaladkeng gu paramba si silu buiye. Chiudi thin mak dao lak zingbo ga, thinmak sai kam tanok (Potential Confusion) bam rabo ga pari ga pikhai bambo zai thin khailo.

[1] pha chiubo khon tu Liangmai Literature ga ‘ph’ nai ‘f’ niu Represent thiu bam niuwe. ‘ph’ giak si kakeng ga thinne. Haibo ‘pha’ khon hai Theoretical Phonetic Level ga phui sai, /pʰ/ (aspirated stop), /ɸ/ (bilabial fricative), /f/ (labio-dental fricative) chiujiu Describe thiu bamme. Theoretical Level ga sichiu bamdi, palamra Convention ga thin bambo sai suijiu, Practical Orthography ga, ‘ph’ giak si, haibo pha khon tu Represent thiune chiujiu chapkhaiye. Chiudi /f/ haisi di masuang gasu thinbo donniu tuhoi leng ra Orthography ga ‘f’ si, Secondary Symbol ga khai bam khe chiujiu chapkhaiye. Sikumjiu ‘z’ nai ‘j’ kakga di, ‘j’ khon si Secondary Symbol leng thin bamne chiujiu chapkhaiye. [2] Haiga Colon khaibo ramba ra Lianglad gu Class Room ga bambo wan Schwa Vowel (ə) nai Normal Vowel (a) haitu si tam ra khaibo guye. Raobo ga ra Schwa Vowel tudi, Normal Vowel tudi Normal ‘a’ giak niu Represent thiune. Galo mai, Bodo, mai ra Schwa Vowel tu V nai Y giak niu Represent thiuye. Haisi Roman Letter ga Vowel giak ma-ngiuu ronna bambo donniuye.