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Karbi Lingua

An Exploration of an Eastern Himalayan Tongue.

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What is Karbi?

Linguistic Identity

The Karbi language, also known as Arleng, is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken by the Karbi people, who are also referred to as Mikir or Arleng. It is primarily spoken in the northeastern Indian states of Assam, Meghalaya, and Arunachal Pradesh.

Geographical Context

The language is predominantly found in Assam, with significant populations in districts such as Karbi Anglong, West Karbi Anglong, Kamrup, Morigaon, and others. It is also spoken in Meghalaya (Ri-Bhoi district) and Arunachal Pradesh.

Demographics and Classification

As of the 2011 census, Karbi had approximately 528,503 native speakers. It belongs to the Sino-Tibetan language family, specifically within the Tibeto-Burman branch. Its precise placement within this larger family is a subject of ongoing linguistic research, with some scholars classifying it as a basal member or relating it to the Kuki-Chin or Naga groups.

Language Codes

The language is identified by ISO 639-3 codes: mjw for Karbi and ajz for Plains Karbi (Amri). It is also cataloged under Glottolog as karb1240 and recognized by the Endangered Languages Project (ELP).

Historical Development

Evolution of Writing

Historically, Karbi lacked a standardized written script. Early efforts to document the language were undertaken by Christian missionaries, primarily using the Roman script, though the Assamese script has also been employed. The first Karbi newspaper, titled Birta, was published in 1903. Significant early linguistic works include vocabularies and dictionaries compiled by figures like Rev. R.E. Neighbor and Edward Stack.

Oral Traditions

The Karbi people possess a rich oral tradition, with extensive folk narratives passed down through generations. The Mosera, a lengthy folk narrative detailing the origin and migration history of the Karbi people, stands as a prominent example of this cultural heritage.

Dialectal Variations

Hills vs. Plains Karbi

While dialectal diversity is generally limited, a notable distinction exists between "Hills Karbi" and "Plains Karbi." The latter, also known as Dumurali or Kamrup Karbi (Amri Karbi), is sufficiently distinct that it is sometimes treated as a separate language, though often classified as a dialect of Karbi.

Geographical Distribution of Dialects

Hills Karbi is predominantly spoken in the Karbi Anglong and West Karbi Anglong districts of Assam. Plains Karbi (Amri Karbi) is found in the Kamrup and Morigaon districts of Assam, as well as in the Ri-Bhoi district of Meghalaya.

Phonological System

Consonants

Karbi exhibits a range of consonants, including stops (voiced, voiceless, aspirated), fricatives, nasals, rhotics, and approximants. The phonemic inventory, as described by Konnerth (2017), includes distinct initial and final consonant clusters and allophonic variations.

Initial Consonants
Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Voiceless Stop p t c k
Voiced Stop b d /ɲ~j/
Aspirated Stop pʰ ~ ph
Fricative /β~w/ s h
Nasal m n
Rhotic /r~ɾ~rʲ/
Approximant l /ɲ~j/

Note: Palatal /ɲ~j/ shows free variation between stop and glide. Aspirated stops and rhotic consonants exhibit allophonic alternations.

Final Consonants
Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Stop p t k
Nasal m n /ŋ/
Rhotic /r~ɾ~rʲ/

Vowels and Syllables

The Karbi vowel system includes high front /i/, high back /u/, close-mid front /e/, close-mid back /o/, and low central /a/. Diphthongs such as (ei), ai, oi, and ui are also present. Syllable structure can be open (C)(C)V(V) or closed (C)(C)VC, allowing for complex initial consonant clusters like /pl/, /pr/, /kl/, /kr/, among others.

Vowel Phonemes
Front Central Back
High /i/ /u/
Close-mid /e/ /o/
Low /a/
Diphthongs
Diphthongs of Karbi (ei) ai oi ui

Tone and Stress

Karbi is a tonal language featuring three primary tone pairs: low (L), mid (M), and high (H). Syllables that are not stressed may be toneless. Certain suffixes, particularly derivational ones, tend to carry specific tones, influencing word meaning. For example:

  • ròng (L): 'village'
  • rōng (M): 'plant'
  • róṅg (H): 'to borrow'

Grammatical Structure

Morphology and Agglutination

Karbi is characterized as a highly synthetic and agglutinating language, particularly in its predicate morphology. Noun phrases, however, tend to be more analytic and isolating. The language distinguishes between inclusive and exclusive first-person pronouns.

Verb Morphology

The verb system employs a complex template involving prefixes and suffixes to denote various grammatical categories such as tense, aspect, mood, voice (causative, reciprocal), and negation. For instance, the template includes slots for proclitics, nominalizers, causative/reciprocal markers, the verb stem, derivational suffixes, reduplication, negation, aspect, and mood markers.

Karbi Verb Template
+4 +3 +2/+1 Core -1 -2 -3 -4 -5
Proclitic NMLZ CAUS (pV-)/RECIP/REFL (che-)/AUTOBEN/MAL (cho-) Verb Stem DERIV RDPL NEG (-cē) Aspect AM/subordinate, non-declarative speech act-marking

Sentence Structure Example

Karbi utilizes clausal chaining to connect sequential events or related clauses. Suffixes like -si (non-final, realis), -ra (non-final, irrealis), and -pen (non-final, with) facilitate this structure, enabling the expression of temporal sequences and other clausal relationships.

te mō pī-nē-pinā-cē-dēt-jī-ma kō jīrpō pu

therefore FUT what-INDF-DISTR.PL-NEG-PFV-IRR.2-Q buddy:VOC friend QUOT

'And there won't be any difficulties, my friend?'

e [ānke ā-pāi-tā pharlā dām] [thēng ā-khangrā ō-kōk-si] [hēm dām-si] [hongkūp ingnī-lūn-si] [mōk che-pa-chū-si] [dō-jōi-nōi pō

DS and.then POSS-mother-ADD.FOCUS outside.part.Karbi.house go firewood POSS-basket.for.firewood leave.in.a.fixed.place-NF:REAL house go-NF:REAL entrance.area.Karbi.house sit-big:(agent-orientated.verb)-NF:REAL breast RECP-CAUS-suck-NF:REAL stay-quiet-INF.COND.IMP father

'And then, the mother went and unloaded the firewood in the Pharla (Veranda), then entered the house, sat in the Hongkup, gave the child the milk, (and said) "be quiet, Daddy"'

Syntactic Structures

Noun Phrase Structure

Karbi noun phrases exhibit flexibility in modifier placement. Demonstratives and possessors typically precede the head noun, while post-nominal modifiers and plural markers follow. This structure allows for complex enumerations and relative clauses.

pinī-ke nē e-sōn ā-khobōr mē-sēn arjū-lōng

today-TOP 1SG.EXCL one-CLF:thing POSS-news(IND) be-good-INT hear-get

'Today I got good news'

Role Marking

Karbi employs case marking and other grammatical markers to indicate syntactic and semantic roles. Unmarked NPs are common for subject arguments in intransitive clauses. Specific markers like -phān (non-subject) and lōng (locative) are used for other participants, with -pen serving instrumental and comitative functions.

ā-phī alōng thōn-dām-kōk-lō

POSS-grandmother LOC drop-go-in.a.fixed.place-REL

'...she left (the child) with the grandmother'

lasō ā-bamōn-pī alōng dūn-krī-lō

this POSS-wise.person(IND)-female LOC join-follow.closely-REL

'...he followed this wise woman closely'

Geographical Distribution

India

Karbi is spoken across numerous districts in Northeast India, primarily in Assam. Key areas include:

  • Assam: Karbi Anglong, West Karbi Anglong, Cachar, Darrang, Dima Hasao, Hojai, Kamrup Metropolitan, Lakhimpur, Marigaon, Nagaon, Sonitpur, Biswanath, South Kamrup.
  • Arunachal Pradesh: Papum Pare district (Balijan circle).
  • Meghalaya: East Khasi Hills, Jaintia Hills, Ri-Bhoi, West Khasi Hills districts.
  • Nagaland: Foothills around Dimapur.

Bangladesh

A smaller community of approximately 1,500 Karbi speakers resides in Bangladesh.

Related Topics

Karbi Script

Explore the development and characteristics of the writing systems used for the Karbi language.

Karbi Script ➡️

Linguistic Notes

Key Observations

Linguistic research highlights the unique position of Karbi within the Sino-Tibetan family. Its phonological complexity, agglutinative morphology, and distinct syntactic features offer valuable insights into language evolution in the region.

References

Scholarly Sources

The information presented is derived from the following academic and linguistic sources:

  1. http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_Data_Online/Language/Statement1.aspx2001 census Archived 2012-02-06 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Linguistic survey of India vol III Part II
  3. Karbis Of Assam
  4. Konnerth, Linda. 2017. "Karbi." In The Sino-Tibetan Languages (2017).
  5. "Arleng people group in all countries | Joshua Project".
  6. Konnerth, Linda (2014). A Grammar of Karbi (PhD). University of Oregon. hdl:1794/17928.
  7. Konnerth, Linda; Tisso, Sikari (2018). "Karbi texts A fully glossed corpus of different genres". Himalayan Linguistics. 17 (2). doi:10.5070/H917239461.

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References

References

  1.  Karbis Of Assam
A full list of references for this article are available at the Karbi language Wikipedia page

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Important Notice

This page was generated by an Artificial Intelligence and is intended for informational and educational purposes only. The content is based on a snapshot of publicly available data from Wikipedia and may not be entirely accurate, complete, or up-to-date.

This is not professional linguistic advice. The information provided on this website is not a substitute for expert linguistic consultation or detailed academic research. Always refer to primary sources and consult with qualified linguists for in-depth analysis or specific academic requirements.

The creators of this page are not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for any actions taken based on the information provided herein.