Kaman (Geman, Geman Deng, Kùmán, Kman), or Miju (Miju, Mishmi, Midzu), is a small language of India and China. Long assumed to be a Sino-Tibetan language, it may be a language isolate.
Locations In China, the Miju are known as the Deng 僜人. The Deng number over 1,000 in Zayü County, Tibet, China, with 1,000 of the Deng having the autonym (大让), and 130 having the autonym (格曼) (Geman). They are also neighbors with the Idu or (义都) people.
In India, Miju is spoken in Hawai Circle and the Parsuram Kund area of Lohit District, Arunachal Pradesh (Boro 1978,Boro, A. 1978. Miju dictionary. Shillong: Research Department, Arunachal Pradesh Administration. Dasgupta 1977Dasgupta, K. 1977. A phrase book in Miju. Shillong: Director of Information and Public Relations, Arunachal Pradesh.). Ethnologue reports that Miju is spoken in 25 villages located in high altitude areas to the east of upper Lohit and Dau valleys, which are located east of the Haguliang, Billong, and Tilai valleys.
Phonology These are the sounds in the Miju/Kaman language.
Consonants + Consonant phonemes Labial Alveolar Post-alveolar Retroflex Palatal Velar Glottal Nasal Plosive plain aspirated voiced Affricate plain aspirated voiced Fricative plain voiced Approximant Lateral Flap
Vowels + Monophthong phonemes Front Central Backunroundedrounded Close () Close-mid Open-mid Open /ɯ/ may also be heard as [ɨ].
Tones There are three main tones in the Miju language, rising (á), falling (à), and level (ā).
Registers Kman has various registers that are used in different situations. These include:Blench, Roger. 2022. Why would a language with 5000 speakers have seven registers? Register-flipping in the isolates of Northeast India compromises the unitary concept of language. Cambridge: Kay Williamson Education Foundation.
Shamanic Shamanic register is used by Shamans during rituals and is made up of a series of lexical substitutions and periphrasic constructions, the original of these are often speculated to be from an archaic version of the language or another language but this cannot be proven. Regular SpeechShamanic RegisterEnglishìkūàbrí ànà, àbí tòmbō, kùbū mə̄yīdogayaìdūmīlīdaughterpàkūkhə̀njé ēndōagriculture
Hunting Hunting register is used by hunters and when hunting large and dangerous animals such as takin it is the only form of speech that can be used. Hunting register consists of lexical substitutions of words mostly but not exclusively relating to hunting. Regular SpeechHunting RegisterEnglishkhyāmbrīmā kāyōŋtakindīʔìŋyēlkāgingersīŋshūlkhūŋzèʔgun
Other meters include: cursing and scolding poetic babytalk mediation mourning
References
Further reading Blench, Roger. 2019. A grammar of Kman [=Miju], a language of Arunachal Pradesh Blench, Roger. 2017. A dictionary of Kman (Miju), a language of Arunachal Pradesh. Blench, Roger. 2015. Reading and writing Kman / Kman tasay tapuri pit. Tezu, Arunachal Pradesh: Kman Language Development Committee.