Manipur a khantanhoi hing lut nua kum 100 a chin lopna ding toh kisai in Gospel Centenary Celebration Committee Southern Manipur in Feb. 21, 2009 Kiginni nitalam nai 2 in Evangelical Baptist Convention, Headquarter Dorca’s Hall ah Press Meet han uhi.
Tam hun ah Elder L.S. Gangte, Celebration Committee Chairman in a genna ah, Manipur simlam (Southern) a um Senvon khuo a Sapkang tangval Watkin Roberts in May 7, 1910 a Tangthupha a hing lutpi nua kum kia May 7 a kum 100 a chin lopna thupitah in Lamka Public Ground ah May 5-7, 2010 sung nei hi ding hi’n talang hi. A ban a gen zelna ah tam toh kisai in March 25, 2006 in ECCI, Office ah Hattuam pawl tuamtuam 20 val a kipat palai peikhawm in Celebration Committee khat phuan a um hi’n zong gen hi.
M Kaimuanthang | LAMKA, Feb 23: The Mautam affected people of Churachandpur district are reportedly compelled to pay the transportation charges from the district headquarters to their respective villages which is 10 times more than the government approved rates. Stating this today in a press release, the ZEPADA (Zomi Economic Planning and Development Agency )
has said that this is a cruel act of insensivity on the part of the goverment to tax the hungry public just because there is no provision for meeting the transportation cost.
Maintaining that the ZEPADA had always made an appeal to the government to make arrangement for transporting rice, it said this too had not yielded positive response from the government.
The district officials appeared to be completely helpless on the issue, it said adding which is why the hungry villagers have to bear the brunt of such apathy.
The release went on to say that the FCI is supposed to pay or re-imburse the transportation charges upto the existing principal distributuion centres i.e. Parbung and Churachandpur headquarters.
Questioning why even after receiving such magnanimous assistance from the Union government the state government failed to extend a little samaritan gesture, it said in spite of this during the first phase of relief rice distribution in Singngat subdivision there were reports of rice embezzlement on the pretext that provision for transportation charges are not given by the government.
The district administartion inititaed prompt action due to which the culprits, both officials as well as the village chiefs, were forced to recover all the missing rice.
While expressing hope that such practises do not recur in the future, it pointed out there are instances of NREGS money being diverted by the chiefs to meet the transportation charges in Thanlon and Henglep sub-division.
In additon to the transportation charges the chiefs are asked to pay expenditures of the supervisory officials deputed to oversee the conduct of rice distribution, it said.
It said what remains uncertain is when and from which account will the government repay Rs. 3 per kg plus officials expenditures paid by the chief, while stating also that the amount is ranging from Rs. 20,000 to 92,000 for villages of Thanlon and Henglep sub-division.
It further said this is an enormous amount for famine affected people, adding they have scepticism as the government having given definite assurance is yet to recover the meagre amount of Rs. 17, 964 that ZEPADA incurred on food, lodging and transportation charges of the visiting Central ministerial team who conducted survey of crop damages during April 2 and 3 in Churachandpur district.
BHUBANESWAR, (UCAN) - Catholics in Orissa say they are relieved after a top government official stopped the construction of a temple on the premises of a Catholic church that was destroyed by Hindu extremists. However, they say they want the government to do more for the safety of Christians in the strife-torn eastern Indian state. Kishan Kumar, collector of Kandhamal district, visited Betticola village after Church groups complained that Hindus were building a temple on the grounds of a local Catholic mission.
Catholics in the state capital Bhubaneswar said the district's highest government official had stopped construction work at the site. These were only three meters away from the demolished church building, part of the Church mission under Cuttack-Bhubaneswar archdiocese.
Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar commended the collector's action as a positive step.
"But that is not enough," the Divine Word prelate added, noting that Christians continue to stay in relief camps while their attackers move around freely. "None of them have been arrested so far. So the crime continues," he declared.
Betticola parish priest Father Praful Sabhapati said he was happy the collector had acted justly. "However, tension remains in the village and Christians cannot go back to their homes."
He said all 56 Christian families fled the village soon after anti-Christian violence erupted in the district on Aug. 24, 2008, a day after Maoists killed a Hindu religious leader. The Hindu radicals had blamed Christians for the murder, a charge that Christians denied.
The Betticola church was completely razed to the ground during the violence.
Father Mrutyunjay Digal, the archdiocese's treasurer originally from Betticola, said he felt relieved after the collector's move. "I was really worried for my village people who remain in relief camps," he stated, adding that "I hope and pray that people will return to the village."
He explained that Christians would have feared returning even more if the temple had been erected.
Father Digal said if the collector had not acted, Hindus in other Christian villages would have been emboldened to build their temples on Church land.
Parish head catechist Teleswar Digal, who is presently staying in a relief camp, said the villagers had written many petitions to the administration to stop the temple construction. "They have taken some action and we are happy," he stated.
Christians in Orissa, mostly tribal people and farm workers in remote villages, comprise 2.1 percent of the 31 million people in the coastal state.
Aizawl: Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla has been given a clean chit by the special judge for Prevention of Corruption court, in a graft case registered against him, Congress sources said on Sunday. ''The court on February 19 issued its final verdict which said Mr Thanhawla was clean in an alleged misappropriation of funds case for construction of Tuipanglui and Kau-Tlabung hydro-electric projects,'' Congress spokesperson K Lal Rinawma said.
A criminal case, under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 was registered at the Aizawl police station against Lal Thanhawla on July two, 2002.
The case had been registered on the basis of a First Information Report (FIR) submitted by the Late Rev Zairema, a church leader, who alleged that Mr Thanhawla misused his office and power by misappropriating a large amount of public money during his two-term as the Chief Minister from 1989-1998. (UNI)
Rebel leader held
Imphal: Banned militant oufit KCP's Commander-in-Chief Rajen Singh was arrested from his house in Aizawl in Mizoram. Official sources on Sunday said acting on a tip-off, troops of 57 Mountain Division on Saturday launched an operation in collaboration with police forces from Mizoram and Manipur, and nabbed the militant from his residence. (UNI)
Boy kills sister in freak incident
Aizawl: Had his father not left the gun within the reach of children, this five-year-old girl would have been still alive.
Everyone was shocked when a 15-year-old boy of Zemabawk locality in Aizawl unintentionally shot dead his five-year-old sister with his father’s .22 service pistol at their residence on Saturday.
According to sources, the kids’ father C Lalthlamuana, a policeman, was out-of-station and their mother too was away in the market.
The boy, not knowing that the gun had live cartridges, shot his youngest sister C Ramdinmawii on her chest.
Terrified by what he had done, the boy carried his bleeding sister out of the house and handed her over to a neighbour who was passing by and he himself immediately fainted. The deceased was the youngest sibling in the family. (UNI)
Assam Govt move to abolish ‘outside quota’ for PG seats
Guwahati: To tackle the acute shortage of specialised medical professionals and augment services in State's hospitals and medical colleges, Assam Government has decided to do away with outsiders' quota in post-graduate courses in the State's medical colleges subject to approval of Supreme Court. As per the Supreme Court directive, medical colleges in Assam are required to reserve 50 per cent of seats in post-graduate courses for students from outside Assam who appear in the All India Post Graduate Medical Entrance Test. However, Assam Government would soon file a petition in Supreme Court seeking exemption from the mandatory reservation of seats for outside students in post-graduate medical courses so that the institutions in the State can produce enough specialised doctors to serve in public hospitals in the State, Health Minister Dr Himanta Bishwa Sharma informed.
He said in the next few years Assam, would require a large number of specialised medical professionals given that the Government was setting up three more medical colleges in the State.
Agartala: Two persons died from suspected outbreak of meningitis in a tribal hamlet of South Tripura district on Saturday. With this, the death toll from the disease has risen to 56 in the State.
Sources said Urmilla Reang (19) of Kalajari in South District, who had been suffering from fever, was admitted to Amarpur hospital on February 16. She died later of suspected meningitis.
Rananta Reang of the same village also died of fever with meningitis symptom on Saturday night, according to the villagers.
When contacted, SDMO (Amarpur) Dr Achinta Nath said, "a medical team has left for Kalajari on Sunday to investigate the matter. It is not yet confirmed if the two actually died due to meningitis as of now," he said.
According to hospital sources, on an average about 40 to 45 patients visit Amarpur hospital daily and of them only 50 per cent are fever patients.
Dr Nath said the overall situation is under control while stating that there are sporadic cases of malaria across the subdivision. "The entire subdivision is malaria prone. There is nothing alarming," he said.
It may be mentioned that the outbreak of meningitis was first reported from Longtarai Valley subdivision of Dhalai district. Alarmed by the outbreak, the State government decided to offer preventive medicines to 1.40 lakh people living in the subdivision on February 27.
A team of National Institute of Communicable Disease (NICD) has undertaken investigation into the matter.
Bamboo floor tiles, handicraft in offing
Agartala: Bamboo, which grows in abundance in Tripura, is now ready for value addition and commercial utilisation with technology provided by China's Nanjing Forestry University.
The Bamboo Engineering Research Centre (BERC) at the Nanjing university has concluded after extensive research that the bamboo varieties found in the State could be used in making floor tiles, building materials and handicraft.
The State's Forest Minister Jitendra Chowdhury said the Government had signed a memorandum of understanding with the BERC through the Tripura Forest Development and Plantation Corporation (TFDPC) in 2007 for transfer of technology.
The TFDPC had last year sent a consignment of two varieties of bamboo available only in Tripura -- Muli and Mirtinga -- to the university for research.
The minister said that the BERC had recently sent some samples of finished building materials with recommendations that the bamboo types available in Tripura had huge opportunity of export.
Chowdhury, who had led an Indian delegation in 2007 to seek technical assistance from the BERC, said efforts were being made to use the grass in making organic fertiliser and bamboo fibres for manufacturing pulp.
The TFDPC has already decided to establish a bamboo-based factory at Nagicherra industrial estate here with the Japan Bank of International Cooperation providing financial assistance.
"The initiative has been taken to exploit the potential of bamboos in the state," Deputy Manager of TFDPC Madhumita Som said, adding the JBIC would provide a financial assistance of Rs 1 crore to promote non-timber forest products.
She said the factory would produce handicraft items and material for decorating houses.
The TFDPC has initiated a training programme for artisans to run the proposed factory.
There is a growing demand for bamboo-made products as people have shown interest in various bamboo-made products in different commercial exhibitions in the country, she said.
Investors from Bangladesh are also showing interest with a delegation of industrialists, led by Abdul Matlub Ahmed, president of Indo-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industries, visiting Tripura last week. It stayed for four days to explore possibilities of investment in the state.
Matlub, an industrialist himself, announced that he would relocate his Rs 200 crore pulp and paper mill from Sylhat to Tripura as bamboo is available here in plenty. (PTI)
IMPHAL, Feb 23: A day after the NSCN (IM) admitted that one of its Lt Cols identified as Hopeson Ningshen masterminded the brutal killing of Kasom Khullen SDO Dr Th Kishan and his two staff, Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh today has sent a missive to the Union Home Ministry to instruct to the Ceasefire Monitoring Group to hand over the killers to the custody of the State Government.
The message which was sent before the Chief Minister left Imphal categorically stated that the present case has shown that the NSCN (IM) has been letting loose a reign of terror in Manipur and demanded that the accused be handed over to the State Government to deliver justice.
In his missive, the Chief Minister also recalled the past instances when the IM group had subverted the process of law.
The Chief Minister is set to meet the Union Home Minister and highlight the role of the IM group in the killing of the SDO as well as recall past incidents, such as the cases of Hrinii Hubert and Muheni Martin, said the source.
The Naga rebel group, which is engaged in peace talks with the Government of India for 11 years now, yesterday disclosed that three persons who were suspected to be involved in the killing have been taken into custody for further interrogation.
Accordingly, the Chief Minister today communicated with the Home Ministry to give necessary instruction to the Ceasefire Monitoring Group for handing over the three suspects who are in the custody of the NSCN (IM) to the State Govt so as to help in dispensing of justice, disclosed a Cabinet Minister of the SPF Govt. On the other hand, according to a top police officer, interrogation of the three staff who were abduc-ted together with Dr Kishan but rescued from Tolloi in Ukhrul district by a joint team of Assam Rifles and Manipur has led to some conclusions that are similar to the disclosure of the NSCN (IM). The police officer conveyed that the black colour Bolero used for transportation of the three staff rescued from Tolloi has been recovered. The three rescued staff are being kept in the custody of the Assam Rifles on security reason, the police officer explained.
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NSCN IM seeks some more time
Dimapur, Feb 23: The NSCN-IM has said tonight that the outfit’s ‘official decision and action’ on the killers of Kasom Khullen SDO Dr Kishan and his two staff could not be taken today as some more persons involved in the barbaric act, are yet to be rounded up.. ‘Lt Col’ H Ningshen was held responsible by the NSCN-IM on Sunday as the mastermind in the gruesome killing of the SDO and his two subordinates. The NSCN- IM’s Ministry of Information and Publicity said that the outfit is on the war-path to bring justice and that it would award punishment according to the severity of the crime involved in the killing at the earliest.
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RIMS morgue to Gandhi Ghat : Three souls take last journey
IMPHAL, Feb 23 : Mortal remains of SDO Thingnam Kishan, Mandal Yumnam Token and Driver Aribam Rajen who were brutally murdered by cadres belonging to the NSCN (IM) were claimed by respective family members amidst a tearful funeral procession.
As per an understanding reached between the family members, JAC and the Government, the last rites of the three slain employees were performed at Gandhi Ghat, Uripok. Following an agreement between the JAC and the Government, family members, relatives and a large number of people including members of different civil society organisations came to RIMS mortuary to claim the mortal remains this morning.
As the mortal remains were brought out from the mortuary, a large number of people particularly women broke down and sobbed giving vent to their emo- tions. The lifeless bodies were then put on three trucks one after another in three well decorated coffins. Thereafter a large number of people took out a funeral procession starting from Lamphel traffic point. From there, the procession snaked through RIMS Road, Nagamapal, Waheng-bam Leikai, Keishampat and Singjamei Yumnam Leikai through Keishamthong.
At Yumnam Leikai, the birthplace of Yumnam Token, people paid floral tributes to the three persons who were found murdered in the most primitive method using crude weapons. From Yumnam Leikai, the procession headed to the homes of the other two victims at Uripok and Nagamapal carrying all the three coffins. The rallyists who took part in the funeral procession held placards which read as, “Let truth be your walking stick, Ibobi”, “Truthful persons are unable to live”, “Why are the unbridled rulers so afraid”, “Won’t the Government protect lives of innocent citizens.” IM’s peace in the hills, deaths in the valley!
Earlier, as the three trucks carrying the three coffins approached RIMS Road Crossing, police halted the procession and asked the people to take the three coffins to their houses separately. To this, the shocked and aggrieved people maintained that they would take the three corpses together as they died together. Enraged and visibly upset by the police instruction, a large number of people lay prostrate on the road in front of the vehicles carrying coffins.
At this moment, some people took down the coffins containing mortal remains of Token and Rajen and put them on the truck carrying the coffin of Kishan.
Finally , the people’s wish prevailed and mortal remains of the three persons were brought to the houses of each of them together one after another where a large number of people paid their last respects. Moreover, at several points along the route of the procession, people came out and paid floral tributes to the departed souls.
The tearful and heart-rending procession culminated at Gandhi Ghat where State Government officials paid tribute to the slain employees. The Government officials who came there to pay obeisance to the departed souls included Ministers, MLAs, the Chief Secretary, the DGP and other high-ranking officials. This was followed by a Manipur Rifles team offering gun salute in honour of the employees killed in the line of duty. Later, mortal remains of Dr Thingnam Kishan, Y Token and Aribam Rajen were put to rest with customary rites.
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JAC set to resume intense agitation from today
IMPHAL, Feb 23: Maintaining that three of its primary demands have not been fulfilled yet, the JAC Against the Brutal Killing of Dr Th Kishan, Y Token and A Rajen has decided to resume its stir from tomorrow.
Addressing a press meet here this evening, JAC convenor Y Kapur detailed that mass sit-in-protests will be staged on February 24 and 25 followed by a protest rally on February 26. This would be followed by a public meeting at Nagamapal Kangjabi ground.
Another convenor Y Khemchand demanded that report of the committee constituted by the Government in connection with the murder should be published by February 27.
There has no agreement with the Government on the JAC’s demand to take up criminal proceedings against suspended DC Pankaj Kumar Pal, punishment of the culprits according to law of the land and saving lives of the surviving abducted employees.
Even as Chief Minister O Ibobi claimed to have rescued the surviving employees abducted together Dr Kishan and his two staff, Khemchand asserted that the Government’s claim lack clarity.
Observing that NSCN (IM) has admitted involvement of its cadres in the murder, he said that the JAC still has nagging suspicion about Pankaj Kumar Pal’s involvement in the murder according to reports furnished by family members, Khemchand asserted that as it is likely that the suspended DC might have nexus with the rebel group, it is only logical to take up criminal proceedings against Pankaj Kumar.
As regards NSCN (IM), the JAC has not yet lost its faith that the Union and State Governments would take up necessary actions according to law, Khemchand confided. He also decried the alleged firing of several rounds of tear gas shells and rubber bullets by police at Yumnam Leikai last night when there was no assemblage of people. JAC chairman Soram Tiken contended that AIR news report which said that the corpses would be claimed with an appeal to the Chief Minister was totally false. The mortal remains were claimed after an MoU was signed between the Government and the JAC, Tiken clarified while decrying that the AIR Imphal news report projected JAC functionaries in the wrong light.
Appreciating the cooperation and support extended by different sections of people during the protest movement launched from February 17, the JAC chairman expressed regret for the injuries caused to strike supporters.
Lekhasiem nasep neilou(Educated unemployment) hi khawvel solkal tuamtuamte buoipi penkhat ahia, ei Zou sungah zong lekhasiem nasep neilou akitam pan ta hi. Lekhasiam nasep neilou tehi amin a lekhasim leh nasep leh kham munading khawm a simpailou leh tupna tahtah neilou a, hina (qualification) leh ki hisahna deizia a lekhasimte ahitangpi uhi.
AZma uhte hi apawl pih/ class mate te theina tan theipha kisa thoungal, a deiuh sawrkal naseplah muzou tuonlou, nasep danghawl dinga ching kisa louleh sepkhiet bangma neilou, Khutnasep kizumpi a, um thasie talahlaw, midangte banga changkang tah a hin utngal, innsung hindana mipha a deidei neithei hilou nalai. Sum dawnna lam bawldinga lah sumpi ding neilou ban ah a silbawl ut uh sang le tupna sangsah te ahi nalai uhi.
Tambang lekhasiem nasep neiloute adingin business leh enter prises lam a kihei a hoipen hi. Business leh enterprises hi lekhasiem te bawldinga kilawm pen ahi a, Lekhasiem leh zilsangte ahizieh un sil peidan leh umdan mite sil bawldan bangkim theisiemte ahi uhi. Business leh enterprises te hi migama dingin sum dawnna neu hinanleh, eigam adingin kitoudelna leh hausatna ching ahiziehin lekhasiem nasep neilouten, bangma bawlloua changkangtah a umsanga bawl theilam khata bulpat mai ahoi pen hi.
I gama lekhasiam nasep neiloute bawltheite ahileh:
Dawrkaileh sum dawnna tuamtuam te hi lekhasiam nasep neiloute bawlding ahoipen leh dinmun sangtah a aki khangsang theina uh lampi hoipen ahia, Business hi mi nautangte hausatna khiat napen zong ahihi. Business leh dawrkaitehi correspondence apat bawl thei tampi um a tuate ahileh. Hardware store, Motor parts stores, shoes store leh adangdangte hi agent/distributor througha material kila ahi zia in, lekhasiemlou te sangin lekhasiemte adingin bawl anopzaw hi.
2. HOTEL MANEGER:
Hotel I chite hi nehawlna hoitah ahi a khawpi sung a nehawlna ngaisang leh deihuai penkhat ahihi. I gam ah zawng hotel bawlthei lou nadinga umsia, hotel ichichiangin Singpi hotel (Tea stall), An hotel (food hotel) leh Giehna hotel (Lodging) a umhi. Utleh piching tah leh lientah a bawl a utleh aneu deu a bawl thei ahi hi. Tambangte hi lekhasiem nasep neiloute bawl theilamtah ahi ziehin lekhasiem solkal nasep muzouloute ading a bawl ding a kilawm leh hoi mama ahi hi.
Hotel chi tuomtuomte hi sumpi tam senglou a bulpat thei ahia, eima a buai ikisah sengleh mi lawneia zah maiding ahi hi. Business leh silkhat poupou bawldingin ngaituana zaha eima kipei phot angai hi. Tambang business neu leh gin huailou nasan bawl nachang theilou leh peilou a I um uhi setan in zong talawm lawm ang chi mai thei hi.
3. MAGAZINE LEH NEWS PAPER:
Magazine leh news paperte hi lekhasiam nasep neilou te bawlthei pen leh ne hawlna hoitah ahi a, Magerine leh news paper te hi ei Zou ham in ana um zauhzauh a hinanleh a etkawldan (Management) lam siamlou zia in kitou del zoulou in ana mit zel uhi. Lekhasiam nasep neilou te adingin a etkawldan sil hasa ahilou zia in nasep hoitah nehawlna leh kitoudelna khawm ching ahi hi. Hun peisa ah I Zopukam akibawl Magagine leh News paper te hi tunitan a peitou sua khatbhe aum sia hun sawtlou kibawlin aban bawlzawm theilou in ading tawp zel a, tambang a adintawp zel zia hi ei Zou sunga customer/ subscriber umlou zia hilou in abawl te kichuplou zia leh Financial management siamlou zia ahizaw hi. Etsahnan: News paper/Magagine ibawl leh a news item leh material te hi atulai leh a latest thei bangpen a bawl sawm ding ahi a, Adia in Magagine bawl ding ten Article collection siam a, mite thei ut leh sim utding lam te atamthei bang pen asua ding ahihi.
4. DAILY NEWS PAPERS:
Daily news papers hi gam leh nam khangtou nading a thu kizahtuona leh ki thuhil nading a(Print media) poimaw pen ahi a, ei Zou ten daily news papers I neilou zieh un I khangtou ding bang un ikhangtou thei sih uhi. News paper bawl dingin lekhasiam leh mipilvang leh mifel hi angai a, ei Zou sung a lekha siam mifel tahtah te ading a nehawlna hoi mama ahihi.
News Papers Bawldan ding: Silbawl dingte alawdan leh hoidan thei nanleizawng abulpatdan leh apeidan Itheilou leh alawching theisihi. News papers bawl utten amasa pena printers (Machine/ Computer Printer) te kihoupi a, alem chiang a news collectorste houpi kitding ahi hi. Tuachiaa material munading alemtan chianga bulpat ding ahi. Daily News paper leh Magazine bawldan akibanga, khat I bawl khiat theileh ani a bawlkawp hi silhasa ahinon sihi.
Magazine leh News paperte hi khovel a media poimaw leh solkal in zong angai poimaw mama in Zalenna liantah anei ua, Mipi leh solkal kikal a palai hoipen ahihi. Gam khangtou leh changkang ah Media te solkal nasem leh thuneite sum neguna(Corruption) lianpi pi suikhie in mipite theidinga apuangza chiang un mipite leh politician ten solkal thunei ang naw(Pressure) bawlin gam in akhantou pi mama hi.
5. CONTRACTORS:
Contracottr nasepdan leh alaw dan ei Zou tate lah a gettam ngailou in ithei chiat ua, inam sung a mi hausa leh lamkai lamzaw te hi contractor te ahi tangpi uhi. Contractor te hausat bai dan leh sum leh pai a akining chin dan uh zong aki mu chiat a, hinanleh minautang bawl thei seng lou leh sumpi nei masat te angai zia in lekhasiam nasep neilou te bawlding a kilom pen ahihi.
I gam a lekhasiam nasep neiloute hi gam leh nam ading a mipoimaw tah ahithei uhi. Nasep leh bawl neilou a um maimai uhi gam leh nam khangtouna dalte ahidan uh kithei ua asiam apilna te uhi nehawlna nei a tha leh zung itlou a na angsep tah tah chieng un lekhasiemlou a silbawlte sangin nasatahin akhangtou un ma asawnthei uhi. Tuachia na angsep tahtah chiengun ama uh ki toudel chauh hilouin anuoi ua nasem a kilaw (wages) mi bangzat ekhat hing um in migen thei tampiten azal zou in ne leh ta muna in ang nei zel uhi. Tuachia mi zawng leh hasaten azal ua nasep anei chiang un gam leh nam economic nasatah in a dawmkang uhi. Tuaziain igam leh nam khangtou nadingin lekhasiem na sep neilouten nasem theileh abawl theilam uh bawlpai dingin mipiten aki ngala mama hi.
Lekhasiem nasep neilou business bawl ut a sumpi (Capital) nei louten khut nasepa sumpi hawl dan akitheimai ding ua ngai ahia, hiananleh igam hasatna zia in mitampi te kitoudel theilou leh kitou del dandingthei lou in aki um hi. Tuabangte adinga sumpi hawl nading a hoipen leh sum muna hoipen ahileh Aa leh Voh khawi ahia, Lekhasiam nasep neilou ten a lekhasiam na uh kisuanpi leh kizumpi mai lou in Kum 3/4 lah Aa leh Voh khawi in kipei vengvung uh leh ama ua ding a sum muna leh dingkhiatna ahiban ah midangte adingin mi ettawnta ahi ding uhi.
Nehawlna kichi khat poupou hi mibawl lou bangm,a aum nonsia, mibawl bang bawl a lawchin sawm ahoipen hi. Miten nehawlna kitu in kihau a akitha hial lai ua, eiten tuami bawl paising ka tui nalam hilou chi a bangma bawllou a i umsawm zing uhi itopsan uh ahun ta hi. Nehawlna hi koipou mimal innsung veng/khosung leh nam bang a kitaidem napen ahia, eite zong ipha khawmkhawm un kipan in tai lei nikhat ni chiang in lawmman imu ngei ding uhi.
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The Zou / Zo are a Tibeto-Mongoloid group of people, a sub-family of the Chin-Kuki-Mizo race. Our ancestral homeland of the Zo people was around the South-Eastern Tibet and Western China. They speak a common language belonging to Assam-Burma branch of Tibeto-Burman family having affinity with Filipino, Brunei, Malaysia, Thai, etc.
both in the language and culture. They form a group of Tibeto-Burman peoples inhabiting the Chin Hills in Mynamar and Manipur in India. They are also recorded as Yo and Jou by many colonial civil servants.
The most accurate historical records of the Zos/Zous were written by Rev. Fr. Vincentious Sangermano, a Roman Catholic missionary who came to Burma in 1783 A.D. He wrote a book entitled "A Description of the Burmese Empire", which was published in 1835 A.D in Rome in the Latin language. Later on it was translated into English by William Tandy D.D. "To the east of the Chien Mountains is a pretty nation called 'Jou'. They are supposed to have been Chein, who in the progress of time have become Burmanized, speaking their language, although very corruptly, and adopting all their customs."
Betram S. Carey CIE, Assistant Commissioner, Burma, and Political Officer, Chin Hills and H. N. Tuck, Extra Assistant Commissioner, Burma and Assistant Political Officer, Chin Hills wrote 'The Chin Hills'. In that book, Volume I, page 140, they wrote about the Zos as follows: "The Yos (Zos) tribe three generations back occupied the tract now occupied by the Kanhow clan of Soktes, and many of the Kanhow villages are inhabited still by Yos, whose tribal name has given way to that of Kanhow. As has been shown in the previous chapter, Kantum, the Sokte, conquered all the inhabitants right up to the borders of Manipur, and Kanhow, his son, founded Tiddim village and ruled the newly acquired conquests of his father. The conquered Yos thus became known as Kanhowte, Kanhow's men, and as they intermarried with the Soktes who settled north with Kanhow, there is no real difference between the conquerors and the conquered".
"While all clans and families belonging to the tribe who call their chief Topa designated themselves by 'Yo' or 'Zo', they in turn apply their common name to a particular clan. The Yos (Zos) are most unique in the sense of the name they bear and the culture they practice in reflection of the ancient Zo tradition" ... No proper study has yet been made as to why the generic Yo as spelt in former literature was applied to them".
Our forefathers of Mizos/Zomi hailed from place to place called CHHINLUNG PUK (Chhinglung Cave) between, 300 BC to 200 B.C. and came to Chin-Lushai Land to settle there between 2nd Century to 7th Century AD. The Chin-Lushai land (our land), hereinafter referred to as Zoram or Zoland is situated between 92 ° and 95 ° longitude (East) and between 20 ° and 25 ° latitude North of Equator. The whole area is roughly about 91,000 square miles with a population of about 5 millions in 1991. The Zo dynasty or Zo Kingdom was built sometime between 200 AD and 700 AD.
S. T. Hau Go, a former Lecturer of Mandalay University and an authority on the Zomi wrote: “Our present geographical distribution extends from the Naga Hills and the Hukawng Valley in the north to Bassein and the Irrawaddy Delta in the south, from the Irrawaddy and Sittang Valleys in the east to the Arakan coast, Bangladesh, Assam and Manipur in the West. In short, we occupy the mountainous region between India and Bangladesh in the west and the Chindwin-Irrawaddy valleys in the east, and the plains and valleys adjacent to these hilly regions.”
This Zoland is geographically contiguous, compact and has been the land where the Zomi permanently settled for centuries. Here they lived in complete independence before the advent of the British. They lived without any outside interference and domination, and no part of her territory had been subjugated. Within their territory, they were knitted together by common traditions, customs, cultures; mode of living; language and social life. They governed themselves in accordance with their customary laws. It was a sovereign land where the people enjoyed perfect harmony on their own.
The term ‘Zo People’ is derived from the generic name 'Zo'. In the past they were little known by this racial nomenclature. They were known by the non-tribal plain peoples of Burma, Bangladesh and India as Chin, Kuki, or Lushai. Subsequently the British employed these terms to christen those 'wild hill tribes' living in the 'un-administered area', and was subsequently legalised to be the names for the newly adopted subjects by Queen Victoria of England. However, they called themselves Zomi since time immemorial. They are Zomi not because they live in the highlands or hills, but are Zomi and called themselves Zomi because they are the descendants of their great great ancestor, 'Zo'. In this regards, F.K. Lehman, Professor of Anthropology and Linguistics, University of Illinois (USA), who had done extensive study on the Chin of Burma, said: 'No single Chin word has explicit reference to all the peoples we customarily call Chin, but all - or nearly all of the peoples have a special word for themselves and those of their congeners with whom they are in regular contact. This word is almost always a variant form of a single root, which appears as Zo, Yo, Ysou, Shou and the like.'
Relating to this generic name, Fan-Cho a diplomat of the Tang dynasty of China, mentioned in 862 AD a Kingdom in the Chindwin Valley 'whose Princes and Chiefs were called Shou (Zo) ' . In 1783, Father Vincentius Sangermano in his book, 'A Description of the Burmese Empire' described them as, "a petty nation called JO (JAW) " Sir Henry Yule, as early as 1508 mentioned about the YO country the location of which was"west of the mouth of the Kyen-dwen (Chindwin) the interior of Doab, between the Irrawaddy and the Chindwin, from Mout-Shabo upwards and the whole of the hill country east and north-east of the capital, towards the Ruby-mines, the upper course of Hyitnge, and the Chinese frontier" . Rev. Howard Malcolm also testified thus, "The YAW (ZO) is on the lower waters of the Khyendiwen (Chindwin) not far from Ava. The district is sometimes called YO or JO".
Another early use of the name ZO with reference to the Zomi (Kuki-Chin-Lushai), the first on the Lushai Hills side which till then was a terra incognito, was by Col. T.H. Lewin, the first white man to know the inhabitants of Lushai Hills (Mizoram). He wrote that he came to know, during the Lushai Expedition of 1871-72 that, “ the generic name of the whole nation is Dzo” Dr. Francis Buchanan also wrote of Zomi and Zomi language, while Captain Pemberton mentioned Zo or Jo in his “Reports on the Eastern Frontiers of British India 1835”. The fact that the Zomi were known as ZOU or YO or YAW, before their society evolved into clan based organisation and lineage segmentation, was pointed out by Dr. G.A. Grierson in his survey, thus, 'The name (Kuki and Chin) is not used by the tribes themselves, who use titles such as ZOU or YO or CHO'.
Rev Sukte T. Hau Go, a former lecturer of Mandalay University (Burma) also shared the same view, "Zomi is the correct original historical name of our people, from the Naga hill to the Bay of Bengal. To the north of Tedim, the Thadous and other tribes call themselves Yo; in Falam, Laizo. The Tedim people call themselves Zo; the Lushais, Mizo; in Haka, Zotung, Zophei, Zokhua. In Gangaw area Zo is pronounced as YAW, in Mindat Jo or CHO; and in Paletwa Khomi. In Prome, Thayetmyo, Sandoway and Bassein areas they call themselves A-Sho. So, inspite of slight variations Zomi is our original historical national name ".
Two British administrators, Bertram S. Carey and H.N. Tuck who place Zo people under modern system of administration record as thus: 'Those of the Kuki tribes which we designate as "Chins" do not recognise that name……they call themselves YO (ZO)…and YO (ZO) is the general name by which the Chins call their race'
Another European writer, Sir J. George Scott also claimed that, the Zomi never called themselves by such names as Kuki or Chin or Lushai. He wrote: 'The names like Kuki and Chin are not national, and have been given to them by their neighbours. Like others, the people do not accept the name given by the Burmese and ourselves; they do not call themselves Chins, and they equally flout the name of Kuki which their Assamese neighbours use. They call themselves Zhou or Shu and in other parts Yo or Lai’.
It is, therefore, no wonder that Zomi use the term Zo, Zou, Zhou, Chou, Shou, Yo, Jo, Yaw, Shu, etc in their speech and poetic language as Zo-Vontawi, Zo-lei, Zogam or Zoram, Zo-tui, Zo-fa, etc; in naming geographical names such as Zotlang, Zopui, Zobawks; and in some of the clan names like Zophei, Zotung, Zokhua, Laizo, Bawmzo, Zote, etc. All these have a common derivation from the generic name, "ZO". It is also because of this fact that scholars like Dr. Vum Kho Hau, Prof. Laldena, Dr. Vum Son, Dr. Tualchin Neihsial, Dr. H. Kamkhenthang, Dr. Mangkhosat Kipgen, Cap. Sing Khaw Khai, Dr. J. M. Paupu, Pu K. Zawla, Pu R. Vanlawma, B. Langthanliana, Dr. V. Lunghnema, Dr. Hawlngam Haokip, Pu L. S. Gangte, Pu T. Gougin, Pu Thang Khan Gin Ngaihte, Rev. S. Prim Vaiphei, Rev. Khup Za Go, Pu L. Keivom, Rev. S. T. Hau Go, Dr. Khen Za Sian, Prof. Thang Za Tuan, Rev. Sing Ling etc. concluded that ZO is the ancestor of the Zo people.
Common Race: People are easily tied to each other by the factor of common race or kinship. The Zo people are distinctly different from the Aryans of India and Burmans of Burma. All the Zomi tribes and sub-tribes resemble each other very closely in appearance, and their characteristics, behaviour and colour identify them as being of the Mongolian race. A unique Mongolian characteristic which is found among the Zomi is the ‘blue Mongolian spot”, which can be seen on the back and buttock of every new-born child, male or female. Being the Mongoloid stock, their skin colour varies between dark yellow-brown, dark olive copper and yellow olive. The face is nearly as broad as it is long and is generally round or square, the cheek bone high, broad and prominent, eyes small and almond-shaped, the nose short and flat, thick hair and usually straight and jet black. ‘The Zomi are well-built with strong limbs and good figures; the average height of the man is about 5 feet and 6 inches. Other common characteristics of the Zomi, as observed by Carey and Tuck are worth mentioning:
“………the main Kuki characteristics can be universally traced as – The slow speech, the serious manner, the respect for birth and the knowledge of pedigrees, the duty of revenge, the taste for and the treacherous method of warfare, the curse of drink, the virtue of hospitality, the clannish feeling, the vice of avarice, the filthy state of the body, mutual distrust, impatience under control, the want of power of combination and continued effort, arrogance in victory, speedy discouragement and panic in defeat are common traits throughout the hills".
These traits were quite applicable to the Zomi in the past during the period of British rule. There are some traits which still hold good today, e.g. clannish feeling, knowledge of pedigree, impatience under control, virtue of hospitality and mutual distrust. The other traits are on the wane as a result of the influence of Christianity and exposure to outside world.
Religion: Religion has played a very important part in uniting the Zo people. The Zo people were not proselytized into Buddhism of Burma or Islam of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) nor Hinduism of India. They maintained their traditional belief, viz. animism up till the coming of the British who, not only conquered but also introduced Christianity in Zo country. The efforts of the Christian Missionaries of various denominations were nowhere more successful than in Zo country, and it was estimated that by 1947, about 80% of Zomi were converted into Christianity.
Common Language: Well known linguist, G. A. Grierson in his book, “Linguistics Survey of India, Vol. III, Part III” demonstrated clearly that Zomi language is a branch of the Tibeto-Burman family of languages. The Zomi speaks numerous dialects, but linguistic affinities prevail among them, and verbal or non-verbal communication has never been too great a problem. Much less in the olden days Vum Kho Hau writes: “But in traditional songs and poetry, they still retain its original uniformity and the meaning is generally understood by the hearer regardless of whether he comes from Teddim, Tukhiang, Assam, Manipur.”
Thus, not only do the old songs preserved among different clans but even the folk songs being composed at present, reveal the extent of the uniformity of language that existed in the not-so-distant past. The small dialectical differences that are there stem from the words that are borrowed from Burmese, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Manipuri or Arakanese, so that they sound mutually unintelligible to an unaccustomed ear. They remain basically the same, nevertheless. On the basis of slight differences, the Zomi language may be divided into two: R-Group and Non-R-Group. The non-R-Group (like the Thadou, Paite, Simte, Vaiphei, Zoute, etc) has no R-sound and is devoid of some consonant clusters like Tl, Hm,….. in their dialects. The R-Group includes Lushai, Hmar, Lakher, Pawi and all the so-called Old Kukis like Kom, Anal, Chiru which have R-sound and are closer to the Lushai or Hmar dialects.
Professor Gordon Luce analysed 700 words of Zomi Language common to at least three Zo dialects. From these 700 words 230 words are common in all dialects of Zomi. Pu Lalthangliana also estimated that the Zo dialects share about 60% of the words in common. About 40% are peculiar to the locality in which they are spoken . An illustration of these linguistic affinities are provided by Lamka Town in Manipur, where people belonging to various Zo groups live together and are able to communicate with ease, each using their own dialect.
William Shaw also wrote: “The Koms, Aimols, Khothlangs, Thadous, Lushei, Chirus, Pois, Suktes, Paites, Gangtes, etc are undoubtedly all connected. The language also has many similarities and the syntax is not dissimilar”.
In the administrative system of the Zo kingdom, the people had a king under whom there were chiefs in villages. The king and the Chiefs were assisted by village Elders. It was also assisted by village priests, warriors, artisans and youth leaders of the village community.
Our social and cultural life of the Zo people was an independent and a peaceful. They lived freely and happily for about 1200 to 1500 years till the advent of the British Expeditions in 1777, 1824, 1849, and between 1871-1782 and 1888-1890.
The British had annexed the whole of Zoram, brought it under its rule in 1890 and divided into three administrative units. They divided the eastern and southern part of Mizoram including the present Chin Hills and Arakan under the Chief Commissioner of Burma; the central and Northern part of the country comprising of the present Mizoram state and part of Assam, Manipur and Tripura states which are contiguous to Mizoram fell under the administration of the Chief Commissioner of Assam while the western area of Mizoram including the Chittagong Hill Tracts was under the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal.
We, the Zo people were divided into three countries against our will into three countries - Burma, India and Bangladesh in 1890; The British rulers had considered it very desirable to put the whole tract of the acquired Chin Lushai country under one administrative head. The Chin-Lushai Conference held at Fort William in Calcutta on January 29, 1892 had adopted a resolution to this effect:
Resolution No. 1: “The majority of the conference are of the opinion that it is very desirable that the whole tract of country known as the Chin-Lushai Hills (Zogam) should be brought under one administrative head as soon as this can be done…”
As a first step towards implementing the resolution, the North and South Lushai Hills were amalgamated on April 1, 1898 through a proclamation of the Government of India. However, the other resolution about joining the Zo inhabited areas of India and Burma was not implemented even though there are no substantive arguments against its implementation. The proposal was not forgotten, however Sir Robert Reid, Governor of Assam in 1941 made a proposal for re-unification of the Chin-Lushai country under one administrative head. The late Sir Winston Churchill, then a Prime Minister of Britain, had approved Sir Robert Reid’s plan in principle. But the Labour party which came to power after World War II did not take up the matter.
Many efforts were taken for the reunification of the Zoram, A memorandum was submitted to the Prime Minister of India by the Mizo National Front (MNF) under the leadership of Mr. Laldenga (L) on October 30, 1965 demanding full self-determination and territorial integration for Mizo people and the MNF launched its first armed offensive on midnight of February 28, 1966 against the Republic of India for securing territorial Independence for the same ethnic group of Mizo people. But the armed insurgency came to an end after 20 years.
The first political party of then Lushai Hills (now Mizoram) the Mizo Union, had submitted a memorandum to his Majesty’s government, the Government of India, on April 26, 1947 seeking to represent the case of Mizos for territorial unity and integrity of the whole Mizo (Zo) population and full self-determination and territorial integrity.
The 50 accredited leaders of Lushai Hills representing Chiefs and commoners, under the Chairmanship of the then Superintendent of Lushai Hills, Mr.L.L.Peters, had submitted a memorandum to the Adviser to His Excellency, the Governor of Assam, demanding, among others, that the Lushais be allowed to opt out of the Indian Union when they wish to do so subject to a minimum period of ten years.
Slumdog Millionaire. It's time to party, Slumdoggystyle, Mumbai! Eight awards, including Best Director and Best Picture. What an achievement. What a night. The whole cast and crew is up on the dais, over twenty strong. Jai Hindi! They're calling Mumbai a 'fabulous' city. Anil Kapoor is there, immaculate mustache on display! What a night!
And now the Don of Hollywood on to present the Best Picture Award. Steven Spielberg announces that the winner is...
Stunning visuals accompany the run-up to the presentation for best Actor. And though most thought that Brad Pitt or Mickey Rourke would carry the day, instead it is Sean Penn for his role in Milk, who's captured the award! Congratulations, Mr Penn! A bit of a political speech from Mr Penn. But that's to be expected.
The winner is Kate Winslet for The Reader! She breaks the 13 year curse and is justly rewarded for her fantastic work, year in and year out. Now, let's see how she handles this speech.
And again they're using this interesting format, where former winners announce the nominees in a given category. This time, it's best Female Lead (former winner Halle Berry looks stunning! Sophie Loren? Not so much). Up for the award are Anne Hatheway, Kate Winslet, Meryl Streep, Melissa Leo and Angelina Jolie.
And he's done it! Danny Boyle has done it! Best Director for Danny Boyle and Slumdog millionaire. He jumps for joy (literally), and with good reason. It's the films seventh award. He gives a great speech and finishes it off with a heartfelt thanks to Mumbai.
Again, must mention how impressive Hugh Jackman has been. The rugged Aussie is deftly manoeuvring about the stage, controlling the action without hogging the limelight. He passes the stage on to Reese Witherspoon, of Legally Blonde fame, who is wearing a gorgeous dark blue/purple gown. She's giving the award for Best Director, where Danny Boyle must be considered the favourite.
Looking regal and royal in blue, Queen Latifa is on-stage in a gown quite befitting of her name She leads us into another of these cool montages. The big awards are so close we can almost taste them! Only a few more minutes!
Now the lovely, exquisite, delightful Freida Pinto is on-stage to present the award for Best Foreign Film. The girl exudes class, whether it's on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, in the pages of Vanity Fair or on the red carpet at awards show. The winner is Departures, a Japanese film.
And Jai Ho has won the Oscar for Best Song! Two Oscars for India's finest modern musician! What a night to remember. India at the Oscars will never be looked at the same. And a classy, gracious acceptance speech from Mr Rahman. Well deserved, sir. Well deserved. You've made all of India proud! Slumdog, for those keeping count, has collected a staggering six awards already.
And an incredible treat, the great AR Rahman is performing live at the Oscars. Wah! Wah! Triple Wah! O Saya is by Rahman himself, and accompanied by a platoon of dancers and drummers. It segues to a Western song and soon comes back to Rahman. This time, it's the song that made the film famous: Jai Ho! And now it's a collaborative effort. East meets West. And it sounds great! The crowd is on its collective feet, applauding. Now, to see how he does in the Best Song category.
And the winner is AR Rahman for Slumdog Millionaire! He's looking dapper in a black sherwani. Like a good Indian boy, he mentioned his mother and said a few words in his native tongue. India has arrived, ladies and gents. There's no point denying it now!
A lovely piece of orchestral music leads us into the award for best Original Score. AR Rahman, India's son, is up for the award...
Ahh, we're well past the halfway stage, at this point. Now it's time to dig into the really meaty awards: best film, actor, actress, director, etc. Where as previous years have dragged, this year's show is flying by.
And we're back, to find the enormously talented, uproariously funny Eddy Murphy on-stage. He gives a classy introduction to film legend and comedy guru Jerry Lewis, who comes on briefly to accept the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian.
And the winner is Slumdog Millionaire!??! Wah! Wah! The film is really and truly hitting a six in cinema's version of the World Cup. Chris Dickens brings it home (Best Film Editing), with a classy and gracious 'thank you'. In true stiff-upper-lip fashion he thanks his Indian hosts, his English friends and his own family. Classy, classy. Slumdog has won four awards!
Another award presented by Will Smith? He might as well have been named co-host. The award is for Best Film Editing. Can Slumdog win another?
And the Best Sound Mixing award goes to Slumdog Millionaire's Resul Pookutty. Amchi Mumbai, the movie is, and it captures the living, breathing pulse of India's most famous megacity, the city of Dreams! And now some genuine, authentic praise of 'Bombay', as he says. Who would have thought? Its sights and sounds are now centre-stage, having captured the world's heart!
Smith is staying on and presenting the Best Sound Mixing award. He's owning the stage! Ahh, Slumdog now has a chance for redemption.
Oh no! It's the first big letdown of the night! Slumdog has lost out to The Dark Knight for best sound editing. It's sad, of course, but one can see why it happened. The truck flip sequence and the countless explosions in The Dark Knight were too much for Slumdog and the sounds of Mumbai to overcome.
Will Smith is flashing his trademark humour, even as he trips over the name of the category. It's a fun show tonight, no doubt. The Oscars are back in a big way.
Now, another Slumdog Nominee category is up - Best Sound Editing.
And the winner is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a film which is really cleaning up here tonight. Marvellous stuff, too, the work they did on this film.
Now, Hollywood's sure-fire hit star, Will Smith is presenting the Academy Award for best Visual Effects.
Smile Pinki! This is really and truly India's night, ladies and gentleman. Smile Pinki!, the story of a Uttar Pradesh village girl born with cleft lip, is the winner! Megan Mylan, the director, is very gracious in her acceptance speech. Pinki is actually on hand, with her parents. What a trip! From rural UP to the red carpet in LA; the world truly is shrinking. Now, will its big brother -- Slumdog Millionaire -- win a few more awards? Ahh, the suspense!
And now the Best Documentary (Short). Smile Pinki, a film based in Benares, is up for the award. The winner is...
And the winner is The Betrayal. One of the most important, but sometimes overlooked categories, this. Wow, and one of the guys from The Betrayal is balancing the Oscar on his chin! Madness! Isn't this fun?
Bill Maher, of Religulous fame, is on-stage, cracking jokes 'bout religion. That's walking on egg shells, most certainly. Mr Maher is presenting the award for Best Documentary.
Let's take a moment for Heath Ledger, only the second man to win an acting Oscar posthumously.
The winner is Heath Ledger! Tears are in abundance in the audience, as Ledger's parents accept the Best Supporting Actor award and make a touching, poignant, powerful speech.
And now one of the awards we've all been waiting for. It's Cuba Gooding Jr presenting the Best Supporting Actor award. And though there are many who believe that Robert Downey Jr should be tagged for his superb performance in Tropic Thunder, the odds on favourite is the late Heath Ledger, who positively sparkled as the Joker in the Dark Knight.
As for the song, his partner is the inimitable Beyonce. It's a proper musical, with several songs, top-hats, sequined gowns. They've done it up and done it big. It's an homage to High School Musical, to Mamma Mia!, to musicals from years past. Great stuff.
Another song and dance number, kicked off by the personable Jackman. There were many concerns over the Aussie's ability to handle the crowd, but he's been downright masterful. Perfect sense of humour, perfect sense of gravitas, and the perfect smile.
Twitter is abuzz after the Stiller impersonation of Joaquin Phoenix. Absolute incineration, decimation and destruction, they're saying. A BBC correspondent is jokingly saying that Phoenix 'will never work in Hollywood again'.
Now the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film. And the winner is Spielzeugland (Toyland). The show is just flying along this year.
Lots of clever features, diversions, extras. And the show is moving at quite a brisk pace, hopping from montage, to presentation, to humour skit. Now we have Seth Rogan and another stoner from Pineapple Express watching serious scenes from serious films and laughing at them. A funny piece.
And the Oscar for Best Cinematography goes to: Slumdog Millionaire (Anthony Dod Mantle)! It's the year of the dog, Slumdog that is! Soon Mr AR Rahman should be getting in on all this Oscars fun…
We're back. Looking beautiful in pink is Natalie Portman. She's positively sparkling. Alongside her is Ben Stiller, who channels Joaquin Phoenix's bizarre recent appearance on the David Letterman show. And now he's saying that Slumdog Millionaire being shot on a mobile phone. Good stuff, all around. They're presenting the award for best Cinematography.
And the Oscar goes to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button! It was a tough battle, to overcome the crazed Joker's make-up from The Dark Knight. But ultimately, the ability to show Brad Pitt as anything but an incredibly handsome middle-aged man must be applauded! Number two for Benjamin Button.
Another interesting presentation, for Best Make-Up. The utilisation of technology has been very impressive this year. It's like the Academy Awards has been thrust into the 21st century and beyond.
And now for Best Costume Design. Which goes to The Duchess (Michael O'Connor). Congrats. How about Sarah Jessica's gown? It's downright nuptial. Looks like she's getting ready to redo her wedding vows! Hubby Matthew Broderick is on-hand, after all. He's got his eye on you, Danny Craig.
And the Oscar goes to: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button! Ahh, you knew those 13 nominations weren't all for naught. But how many more will it win? And any at the expense of Slumdog. Only time will tell…
Jackman is back, studly as ever. And now another hunk -- new Bond-man Daniel Craig -- is presenting alongside Sarah Jessica Parker of Sex in the City fame. They're presenting the Best Art Direction.
The Academy should be proud of what they've accomplished here. Sagging ratings have prompted the new look, but they've maintained all the regalia of earlier years while adding a hip, intimate new flavour. Good show, guys.
Now, the award for Best Animated Short Film. And the winner is La Maison en Petit Cubes.
And he's right! Wall-E is the winner for Best Animated Film, which doesn't come as much of a surprise. Pixar is breathtakingly consistent, stunningly impressive year after year. They're the best in the business, no doubt!
Jack Black and Jennifer Aniston are on-stage and looking incredible comfortable. Black with some trademark self-deprecating humour. They're here to present the Award for Best Animated Film, which will come down to Kung-Fu Panda and Wall-E. Ask Black who will win, and there's nary a pause: Wall-E.
And Mr Vikas Swarup is indeed on hand. Not only is he the author of QnA (the book on which Slumdog is based), he's also India's deputy high commissoner to South Africa. Thank you, Mr Swarup, for this wonderful story!
Vikas Swarup gets a gracious 'Thank You' from Simon, as does everyone involved with Slumdog. Good show, Simon. India even gets a mention!
And the Oscar goes to Simon Beaufoy and Slumdog Millionaire. Pay attention, folks, because the rout is on! There's no stopping this Slumdog locomotive now..
Now the duo are presenting Best Adapted Screenplay, for which Slumdog Millionaire is nominated. Ooh, a tough bunch, with both Frost/Nixon, The Reader and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. This is a strange way to showcase the nominees, no? The real question is, however: can Simon Beaufoy bring it home??
Ah, some classic Steve Martin humour, spiced with a bit of Tina Fey. The comedy duo is presenting the award for Best Original Screenplay. And the winner is Dustin Lance Black for Milk! A great, heart-felt speech, in which he mentions homosexual rights and his own struggles as a young gay man coming with a Mormon background.
So far, the awards have been fabulous. Jackman's been the consummate host, the new look suits the ceremony, and the way they presented the Best Supporting Actress award was amazing!
And the winner is: Penelope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona! Another classic Woody Allen character brought to life by Penelope in stunning fashion. A great, emotional acceptance speech. Wah! Not too short and not too long.
Now five famous best supporting acress winners have come on-stage -- Whoopi Goldberg, Tilda Swinton and Goldie Hawn, Eva Marie Saint and Anjelica Huston. They say they are here to welcome a new actress into the sorority, then preview each of the nominated ladies.
An interesting montage of acceptance speeches from years past. The new format of the show is definitely working. Instead of being gimmicky, it's actually quite effective. It seems friendlier and less stuffy. Jackman's carrying the day thus far.
Here Jackman starts a song and dance number that previews the show, and names many of the year's films. First up? Slumdog Millionaire, why of course!
And there's our host for the evening (well, morning here): Hugh Jackman! Yes, according to some publications, the world's sexiest man. He's also quite proficient as a host. He's already warming up the crowd with solid jokes and good delivery. And how about this new set-up? The Oscars have gotten a complete overhaul! They've ditched some of the maroons and velvets and golds and turned it in for a modern look. Not bad!
BBC says that the child stars of the Slumdog Millionaire have been collecting autographs from the stars. Some of the hot names the kids are after? Daniel Craig, Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep. Good taste, kids!
Brangelina on the scene! She's in a regal black gown with her hair pulled back. Simply elegant! And Brad is Brad, wearing a tux and making the ladies swoon. She's been hailed for his work in Changeling and he for his work in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Talk about modern-day royalty…
Dev is stylishly rocking a classy black tux, while Freida Pinto is wearing a royal blue gown with sequins. But, get this, only one sleeve! It's a pretty bold move, and the gown isn't 'classically' beautiful. She's getting away with it, however, because the Western press is bowled over by her remarkable beauty.
Danny Boyle looks a little frumpy and a little frazzled. But, hey, that's his style! The guy's eccentric. Anil Kapoor is fabulously and impeccably manicured and primped.
He looks great, but breaks into Bollywood-style dance every five minutes. Still, the Slumdog cast have acquitted themselves quite well. Jai Hind! Now, for those 10 Oscars nominations...
The cast and crew of Slumdog Millionaire are on hand, with director Danny Boyle at the helm. It's a veritable platoon! Gracious responses from both Danny and Dev Patel. Nice going, guys. The Mumbaikar child actors are working the Hollywood paparazzi with decided ease.
Jessica Biel looks lovely in her off-white gown with a big bow. Meanwhile, Beyonce? Not so much! What's she wearing? Kate Winslet in a one-shoulder steel gray and black beaded gown looks lovely. Mickey Rourke, the ultimate resurrection story, is looking cool and relaxed with a cowboy-esque white suit.
Hello and welcome to the 81st Academy Awards! We're just getting underway, and all of Hollywood (and a little of Bollywood) is walking the Red Carpers. The big story of the night, of course, is Mumbai-based Slumdog Millionaire and its staggering ten Oscars nominations!
Here is the full list of winners at the 81st Academy Awards, which have been held in Los Angeles.
Best picture: Slumdog Millionaire Also nominated: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Frost/Nixon; Milk; The Reader Sean Penn Sean Penn shook as he used a scrap of paper to thank people for his award
Best director: Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire Also nominated: Stephen Daldry - The Reader; David Fincher - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Ron Howard - Frost/Nixon; Gus Van Sant - Milk
Best actor: Sean Penn - Milk Also nominated: Richard Jenkins - The Visitor; Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon; Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler
Best actress: Kate Winslet - The Reader Also nominated: Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married; Angelina Jolie - Changeling; Melissa Leo - Frozen River; Meryl Streep - Doubt
Best supporting actor: Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight Also nominated: Josh Brolin - Milk; Robert Downey Jr - Tropic Thunder; Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt; Michael Shannon - Revolutionary Road
Best supporting actress: Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona Also nominated: Amy Adams - Doubt; Viola Davis - Doubt; Taraji P Henson - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler
Best original screenplay: Milk Also nominated: Happy-Go-Lucky; Wall-E; In Bruges; Frozen River
Best adapted screenplay: Slumdog Millionaire Also nominated: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Doubt; Frost/Nixon; The Reader
Best animated feature film: Wall-E Also nominated: Bolt; Kung Fu Panda
Best animated short film: La Maison en Petits Cubes Also nominated: Lavatory - Lovestory; Oktapodi; Presto; This Way Up
Best foreign language film: Departures - Japan Also nominated: Revanche - Austria; The Class - France; The Baader Meinhof Complex - Germany; Waltz With Bashir - Israel
Best documentary feature: Man on Wire Also nominated: The Betrayal; Encounters at the End of the World; The Garden; Trouble The Water
Best documentary short subject: Smile Pinki Also nominated: The Conscience of Nhem En; The Final Inch; The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306
Art direction: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Also nominated: Changeling; The Dark Knight; The Duchess; Revolutionary Road
Costume design: The Duchess Also nominated: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Australia; Milk; Revolutionary Road
Make-up: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Also nominated: The Dark Knight; Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Cinematography: Slumdog Millionaire Also nominated: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Changeling; The Dark Knight; The Reader
Best live action short film: Spielzeugland (Toyland) Also nominated: Auf der Strecke (On The Line); Manon on the Asphalt; New Boy; The Pig
Visual effects: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Also nominated: The Dark Knight; Iron Man
Sound editing: The Dark Knight Also nominated: Iron Man; Wanted; Slumdog Millionaire; Wall-E
Sound mixing: Slumdog Millionaire Also nominated: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; The Dark Knight; Wanted; Wall-E
Film editing:Slumdog Millionaire Also nominated: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; The Dark Knight; Frost/Nixon; Milk
Best original score: Slumdog Millionaire Also nominated: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Defiance; Milk; Slumdog Millionaire; Wall-E
Best original song: Jai Ho - Slumdog Millionaire Also nominated: Down To Earth - Wall-E; O Saya - Slumdog Millionaire
LANGUAGE VARIATIONS: It is the study of language and society. Socio-linguists try to analyze the social factors which lead to this diversity. They are interested in language differences esp. in variation within a particular language. Socio-linguists prefer to start with the notion of a Speech community rather than a 'language'.
They define a speech community as any group of people who consider that they speak the same language. All Zo dialects must be classified as one language, because, in spite of differences in accents and terminology, their speakers all consider they speak Zo tongue.
Dialect and Accent
Language variation within a speech community is due to many factors, including geographical location, age, occupation, socio-economic status, ethnic group and sex. Dialect is usually associated with a particular geographical area such as Hâidawi, Thangkhâl, Khuongnung, Lamka, Sugnu etc of Zo language. However, the variations (if any) among these dialects are very insignificant that it is often difficult to identify or classify them as separate dialects in the true sense of definition of dialect. Examples: 'Hang pei in' in the Standard Zo(Hâidawi) is 'Hing pei in' as in Khodâi, 'Hung pai in' in Thangkhâl and Khuongnung, 'Hong pai in' as in Paite, Tedim-Chin. Tam, tanah, tami in Zo(Hâidawi) their equivalents are hi, hiah, hiai ah, himi, in Khuongnung, Thangkhâl dialects etc. But for, these few grammatical words(determiners) we may say that there is no other significant variations amongst these dialects. Here, comes the importance of analyzing what Accent means to the sociolinguists. Rather, it is the Accent that is often confused with dialect. In fact, Accent refers to way of pronunciation and difference pronunciation.
STYLISTIC VARIATION
Register: Several language styles within the speech of a single person and variation between people.Language styles may be High or formal; low or informal. Knowing what to say when sometimes known as communicative competence. Native speakers just know that it would be odd to say 'kindly refrain from smoking to a 10 year-old child puffing a stolen cigarette or rude to say 'put that fag out' to a Princess. Both utterances are equally inappropriate. Sometimes, inappropriate use of language or register becomes the source of good humor. Javanese aristocrats, townsfolk, and farmers each speak in a distinct style of speech associated with it. Among the Zo community as a child grows up it automatically picks up certain formal way of addressing its relatives such as the gang(husband of father's sister), Pu (father's father or mother's brother), mou(sister-in-law), Pa(to father's brothers or husbands of mother's sisters),U(to any elder person). Failure to follow these terms in an appropriate register brings displeasure to the speaker.
Phonological variation:
Phonological variation,both between speakers and within a single speaker, is immensely important as a reflection of various social factors. Speakers of a language alter their phonology to suit a particular situation,often without realizing it. For example, a Zo speaker from a interior village, when he/she comes in contact with a Zo speaker of a semi-urban areas like Lamka without realizing he/she alters his/her phonology to communicate with a Zo speaker of Lamka vice versa. Another way of explaining is that, A rural Zo speaker from interior village usually uses 'tami' to mean 'this' whereas when he comes in contact with the Lamka Zo-who may happen to use 'himi=this', the hill/rural Zo subconsciously and unknowingly changes his/her phonology using 'himi' for 'this'; often without realizing it. Similar, phonological variation takes place for words such as hing, pei, di aw, khunah etc into hung, pai, duoh, duah, huah as a person comes in contact with a Lamkan or townsfolks. Phonological variation also often occurs due to the wrong usage of spelling system among the Zo, Simte speakers etc. Here, let me define a new terminology known as 'Faithful phonology' or Native Phonology. Native phonology or faithful phonology means the phonology used originally used by the illiterate or rustic Zo native speakers and the usage of correct phonetics and spellings. For example, the word 'stone' when pronounced by an illiterate Tedim, Paite, Simte or Zo native speaker he/she would pronounce it as '/suo:ng/' or '/suaw:ng/' faithfully, but when it is written down its spelling becomes '/suang/'. Later on, when students or literate persons see the spelling or word they tend to read or pronounce it as 'suang as /su+ang/' as per the spelling and phonetics attached to it, and not in the original faithful phonology of 'suawng' as used by the illiterate folks. Similarly, words such as diai, pia, sia, chiang, chiat, siang, piang, liang, suah, tuah, suak, thuah, thuak etc. when read or pronounced by literate persons they tend to follow the spelling and phonetics and in the process the faithful phonologies are lost, thereby making them sound as if they are completely new types of morphemic shapes or words very different from the original native or faithful phonologies such as diei, pie, sie, chieng, chiet, sieng, pieng, lieng, suoh, suok, tuoh, tuok, suok, thuoh, thuok, etc.
Code-switching:
In some cultures a changed social situation is marked by a change in the actual language spoken, this phenomenon is known as code-switching. Socio-linguistically, this is not very different from stylistic variation within a single language. For example, in Churachandpur, the Zo community are adept at code-switching. They can use 7 different languages in the course of their everyday life: Zo, Paite, Thadou, Hmar, Meitei, Mizo, Simte. Zo is the language of the church(religion) and home. Paite, Thadou, and Hmar are the languages used by men and women in the bazaar and market places and in the offices. When a Zo comes in contact with a Meitei say in the Metei Leikai, he/she changes his/her language into Meitei. In Hmarvêng, he/she speaks in Hmar. In Simvêng he/she switches over to Simte(Khuongnung). In Tuibuong area he/she changes over to Thadou-Kuki and so on. In Mizo area of Thingkângphai he/she switches over to Mizo. In a multilingual societies like Churachandpur most of the speakers are proficient in all the languages spoken. However, the tendency is that some larger communities do not wish to speak in the languages of the smaller communities even if they are fully proficient and conversant with them, this leads to a situation wherein, the smaller communities subconsciously, develop inferiority complex that their language is not known by them; thus a sort of fear psychosis about loosing their language identity creeps in, therefore, they often loath to use the language of the larger communities. This is the main factor which hinders the development of a common language; lingua franca. Perhaps,it may take another 50 years to develop what we may call it 'Lamka hâm'(Lamka dialect) which may serve one day as the lingua franca or pidgin of the district.
Creole:
Children of the pidgin speakers speak creole. Thangkhâl dialect, Gângte etc may be classified as Zo creole.
LANGUAGE CHANGE
1. Human tendency: Humans have the tendency to imitate the speech of a particular native speaker in a village in order to sound like the true native villager and to gain acceptance of that particular villagers. This is true, more so, amongst the mutually intelligible dialects. For example, when a Zo speaker visits or settles in a Sizang or Teizang or Tedim-Chin, or Paite or Simte etc speaking village, he/she consciously tries to imitate the speech of that particular community in order to gain acceptance into that village/community. Over the years as he/she settled in that village, he/she adopts the language of that village discarding his original native/mother tongue/language, at the same time,he goes on unconsciously adding some more vocabularies to his/her own mother tongue which he/she brought along with his/her native village. Thus, he gradually, develops a new dialect slightly or more divergent from his/her parent language. This imitation of the local speakers must have been the most powerful natural process by which the various languages such as Tedim-Chin, Paite, Simte, Thangkhâl, Khuongnung etc, must have developed from the original Zo language. Examples: Hing & hang must have changed into hung, hong in course of a century or so. Tam, tami, tanah, etc must have changed into hi, himi, hiai, hiah, etc. Sih must have changed into hih, suh, kei due to geographical isolation of the native Zo speakers, along with them the velar stop 'k' must have been incorporated at the end of a word in place of the nasal stop 'h'. Thus, suh becomes suk, thuoh becomes thuok,suoh becomes suok and so on. A Zo inhabitant of Sugnu Town and a Zo inhabitant of Lamka town both speak consider and profess themselves to speak the same Zo language, which is quite true, but on actual analysis, they both speak with different accents.
Much of the Zo original language has been diluted over the years covering a period of 30 years, today we find that there is another Zo dialect in Lamka areas which is a combination or mingling of Simte, Paite, Lushei(Mizo), Khuongnung dialect and also Zo(Hâidawi); which is the original standard Zokam or Zohâm as employed in the Holy Bible in Zo and Holy Bible in Zomi.
Subconscioulsy, human beings imitate those people or society they admire,or desire to be associated with, thus affecting language changes. Some changes occur 'from above' meaning 'from the level of consciousness', when people consciously imitate the accent of others. For example, the word 'fel' is a Mizo/Lushai/Lusei word, in course of their interactions with the Mizos directly or indirectly through religious literature, the Zo speakers consciously picked up this word to substitute approximately for 'taima', in their day to day speech. Now, the word 'fel' has become apart and parcel of their speech by way of borrowing of words or what is known as using loan words. So also, the words such as tawmngaina, lungngâina, mangai, tanchin, theibufâi, mamaw, emaw etc have crept into their vocabularies.
SPREAD OF CHANGES WITHIN ZO LANGUAGE
1. Regularity of sound change:-
If one sound changes, the alteration does not only occur in an isolated word. It affects all similar words in which the same sound occurs. So, among the Zo speakers of Sugnu-Singtom-Sachih areas of Chandel district in Manipur state of India and also in the adjoining areas of Myanmar, we find that during the 1990s there were sound changes in some of the words like:- ung into vung, ua into vua, uh into vuh, un into vun. Here, we see that there is regularity of sound change by addition of the phoneme 'v' before the morpheme 'u' in these words. However, the original words ung, ua, uh, un, affected by these changes coexist with the new words vung, vua, vuh, vun, alongwith the associated new pronunciation in the process known as lexical diffusion. In the same way, in Zovêng Lamka village in Churachandpur Town, we find sound changes among the Zo speakers during the the same period, words such as; diei into diai, pei into pai, pie into pia, sie into sia, suong into suang, puo into pua, huo into hua, chieng into chiang etc, due to the influence of the A, AW, B, CH.. Z system of spelling usage and other factors. In the early stages of the process, many words may be affected and in the long run the changes may peter out, never catching on some words. It is not yet known at present which one will prevail; the old pronunciation or the new pronunciation; only time will tell.
2. Natural tendency-Social factors:
Most of the Zo dialects have developed by a process of natural tendency in which the ends of the words are replaced by a new phoneme/letter or they disappear. The changes are affected predominantly by the replacement of phonemes h(nasal stop) & a by phoneme k(velar stop) or by prefixing k before h in the beginning of a word. Let us examine some of the Zo words such as: âh, awh, beh, boh, bûh, buh, buoh, chih, deh, dêh, êh, eh, gâh, guh, gûh, guoh, hah, ha, hâ, hâh, hapi, hou, jâh, kawh, keh, kêh, koh, kûh, kuoh, lah, lâh, lih, lihleh, luh, luoh, mah, mâh, mawh, mêh, nâh, nêh, pâh, pêh, phawh, pua, puoh, sah, sawh, suh, suoh, tah, thah,thuh, thûh, thuoh, uh, ûh, vua, vuoh, zâh, zuh. When we consider the replacement rules as stated above, we obtain the following corresponding words as given below: âk, awk, bok, bûk, buk, buok( buak), chik, dek, dêk, êk, ek, gâk, guk, gûk, guok (guak), hak, kha, khâ, khâk, khapi, khou, jâk (zâk), kawk, kek, kêk, kok, kûk, kuok(kuak), lak, lâk, lik, liklek, luk, luok(luak), mak, mâk, mawk, mêk, nâk, nêk, pâk, pêk, phawk, pûk, puok, sak, sawk, suk, suok, tak, thak, thuk, thûk, thuok (thuak), uk, ûk, vûk, vuok(vuak), zâk, zuk.The variation in the vowels 'o' and 'a' in between words such as suoh and suah(suak) etc is brought about by introduction of A, B, C, D, E...Z system of spelling usage by educated class of Zo community and by the earlier European missionaries who introduced the Roman Alphabets in the form and usage of A, AW, B, CH,....Z.
The problem with this A, AW, B, CH,.........Z, is that most of the pronunciations of the Zo words are in a way found to be distorted or changed into completely different pronunciations through the adoption of this system.For example, when a illiterate Zo speaker pronounces the words such as bieng 'cheek' , chieng 'stick', hieng 'relative', lieng 'shoulder', muol 'hill', nuol 'reject', puo 'carry', suong 'stone', the vowel e sounds as in the word 'length' and the vowel o sounds as in old. Whereas at a time when the A, AW, B, CH, .. Z system was in vogue, the literate Zo speaker used to write the above words as: biang, chiang, hiang, liang, mual, nual, pua, suang, etc. However, in the true sense of phonetics these words do not convey the true sounds or pronunciations as spoken amongst the native Zo speakers. It was found that there were many anomalies in respect of the spelling usages and the actual pronunciations. For example, the words hill and reject are pronounced more closely to the spellings of muol and nuol than the spelling of mual and nual by a native speaker. However, those who are accustomed to the A, AW, B, CH .... Z system used more frequently the latter spellings, which are, of course, not very much favoured by the modern English educated new generation of Zo community.
Secondly, the word 'to carry' is written and sounds as 'puo' as a pronounced by a native speaker, where as, pua means to collapse; buol means to wallow or linger on, where as bu-al means a rooster, chia means mole where as chie means size, dia means infertile, unhatched, where as die means to soak; hia means to drive or turn, where as hie means it is(indeed); jie(zie) means manner, whereas jia(zia) means abstention, taboo or forbidden rule, kia means to return where as kie means to fall, lia means to roll, lie means to overshadow, pie means to give where as pia means to move, sia means iron, strike with foot, where as sie means bad, tua means that whereas tuo means to fit/match,vua means snow/to fill where as vuo means to thrash/beat. Some vowels like a undergoes change into o due to system of spelling usage as in suah into suoh; and suoh into suok and many more words need such differentiations, here lies the phonological anomalies because, Zo language is a tonal/phonetic language unlike the English language. The Zo Cultural-cum-Literature Society India has already adopted the A,B,C,...Z system following the system which is used in the Zo Holy Bible, which will bring more changes in the Zo language.
In recent period of history, the social and political factors of language changes might have resulted in the evolution of new dialects or languages such as Tedim-Chin, Thangkhâl, Gangte, Vaiphei, Paite, Hmar(?) etc, in course of a period spanning roughly 150 years of intermingling and inter-tribe migration within groups of ethnic hill tribes. Simte dialect may have been perhaps branched out from the base language Zo. Simte is also often called Khuongnung in Zo realm. Here, the political and social factors of language changes might have played a major role in the language changes by considering that they are different from the Zo community the Simte community has hung onto the A,AW,B,CH...Z system of spelling usage with slight modifications of the long sounding vowels. Some vowels like 'i', 'o' changed into 'a' 'o' or 'u' in course of time. For example, hing has changed into hang,ang,hong,hung among the Zo speakers. Sound changes also occur when certain vowels in some words in a particular position are affected due to the usage of different spelling system although the pronunciation may not have changed drastically among the native speakers, for instance; the vowel sound of 'o' undergo a change(mutation) into the vowel sound of 'a' due to system of spelling usage as in suoh into suah, tuoh into tuah, tuot into tuat, luo into lua, suo into sua etc.
In other cases,the vowel 'i' and 'u' 'g'are totally omitted from some words such as lien,suoh,hing etc., thus they become len,soh,hin etc.as in Thadou-Kuki dialect. Likewise, many changes in the sound patterns and written forms have been affected in this manner, for example,the accepted spelling for the word rich is 'hâu' at present; earlier it was written as hao,therefore,words like pao, jau, kao, lao, mao, nao, zao etc. have been now changed and written as pau, jau, kau, lau, mau, nau, zau respectively. Nevertheless, the 'o'ending is still popular among the Thadou-Kuki writers. The plural form of words in Zo are haw,hon, adjectives of numbers, and te. Due to the influence of other language, the educated class among the Zo community have started using the plural form 'te' more often than the plural form 'haw'. Thus, words such as 'amahaw' becomes amaute, ama uh becomes amaute, 'kouhaw' becomes koute, 'nouhaw' becomes noute, 'khumhaw' becomes khumte, bawnghon becomes bawngte,tahaw becomes tate, tamhaw becomes tamte.
In this manner, sound changes also follows alongwith the changes in the plural forms. The use of analogy has led to changes in the sequence of the words and sound patterns of the Zo language. For example, the poetic form of vaphuol is written as phuolva; in a similar manner words like Zomi is written as Mizo, phalbi is written as biphal, zusa is written as sazu, sakol is written as kolsa, the syntax and the phonology has changed but the semantics remain the same. By this method, most of the words of 'R' group of languages are easily identifiable with the words of 'G' group of languages.For instance, the R-group of languages have words such as ram, Zoram, ramhuaisia,rûn,etc and in the G-group of languages the corresponding words are gam, Zogam, gamhuoisie, gûn etc vice versa.
3. Chain shifts
Earlier we saw the changes in the ends of the words as in the changes from
(i) h endings words into k endings words and (ii) a ending words into k or h ending words and (iii) o ending words becomes u ending words by replacement method.;next we find that because of the system of spelling usages further changes occur in the vowel like(iv) i changing into either a,or o,or u vowels;(v) also the vowels o nd a interchange their positions vice versa due to the system of spelling usage.
Let us examine them one by one below:-
(i) Examples of h into k ending words are:- âh into âk,bûh becomes bûk; chih into chik, deh into dek, dêh into dêk, êh into êk, eh into ek, guoh becomes guok, luoh into luok, puoh into puok, phawh into phawk, suh into suk, suhte into sukte, suoh into suok, thuh into thuk, thûh into thûk, vuoh into vuok.
(ii) Examples of a ending words into k or h are: hua into hûk, hûh; mua into muh; pua into pûk, pûh; phua into phûk, phûk; thua into thûk, thûh; vua into vûk, vûh.
(iii) Examples of o ending words into u ending words are: hao into hau, jao into jau, mao into mau, nao into nau pao into pau, sao into sau respectively.
(iv) Examples of the vowel i changing into either a, or o, or u vowels are Hing into hin; hing into ang; hing into hang; hing into hong; hing into hung.
(v) Examples of o and a interchanges are:-
For example, we find that the word 'suoh' becomes suah, suak; phonologically, then at later stage as the written form, due to the system of spelling usage.The words suoh and suah, suak although are similar in their morphology but are quite different in their phonology.Thus, we may conclude that the overall changes is that the syllable/the morpheme 'oh' is changed into 'ah' or 'ak' as in:- luoh into luah,luak puoh into puak suoh into suah,suak thuoh into thuah,thuak tuoh into tuah, tuak vuoh into vuah,vuak.oi into ai as in:- buoi into buai, duoi into duai, guoi into guai, huoi into huai, kuoi into kuai; luoi into luai; nuoi into nuai; phuoi into phuai; suoi into suai; tuoi into tuai; vuoi into vuai;ol into al as in buol into bual;guol into gual,huol into hual; luol into lual; muol into mual,nuol into nual;phuol into phual;suol into sual; tuol into tual; zuol into zual;om into am as in duom into duam; guom into guam;huom into huam; kuom into kuam;muom into muam; nuom into nuam; puom into puam; suom into suam; thuom into thuam;on into an as in buon into buan;guon into guan;huon into huan; kuon into kuan;luon into luan; muon into muan; puon into puan;suon into suan; tuon into tuan;vuon into vuan;zuon into zuanong into ang as in buong into buang; duong into duang;guong into guang; huong into huong; juong into juang; kuong into kuang; luong into luang; muong into muang; nuong into nuang;phuong into phuang;puong into puang; suong into suang; zuong into zuang;op into ap as in:- duop into duap; huop into huap; thuop into thuap;tuop into tuap;ot into at as in:- duot into duat; guot into guat; huot into huat; luot into luat; muot into muat; tuot into tuat;
The consonantal and vowel to consonantal shifts are summed up as below:-
The symbol --> denotes 'becomes'
a or â --> h, k as in Thuâ-->Thuh, Thuk, a or â -->ah, âh, ak, âk as in Da-->Dah, Dâ-->Dâh, Thâ-->Thâh, Thâk, Mama-->mahmah ang--> ing, ong, ung as in Hang-->Hing, Hong, Hung e becomes a as in Chien-->Chian, Khie-->Khia, Lien-->Lian, Nieng--> Niang, Sieng-->Siang g-->r as in Gam-->Ram, Gou-->Ro, Rouh h-->k, r as in Tah-->Tak, Sah-->Sak, Uh-->Uk, Zieh-->Ziek, Suoh-->Suok, Pâh-->Pâr i.e Zozâm pâh-->Zozâm pâr i-->ih as in hoi-->hoih, koih, Nui-->Nuih, Sui-->Suih(Simte, Tiddim-Chin, Paite) s-->h as in Sih-->Hih-->C, Ch as in Teng-->Cheng, Ceng Tûn-->Cûn, Chûn, Chieng-->Tieng, Teng, Tem-->Chem,Cem
Negative markers: Lou-->Lo, Loh; Sih-->Kei, Puai, Puoi, Poi, Noh Proposition markers: Ni-->Vâ'i, Ni'ng-->Va'ng In some instances the phoneme o-->a, Uo-->Ua as in Puo-->Pua, Suo-->Sua(Paite,Tiddim-Chin, Mizo, Vâiphei)
Omission Rules as in Thado-KukiI is omitted as in Lien-->Len, Chien-->ChenU is omitted as in Suopi-->Sopi, Suong-->Song H(Zo)-->hl(Zo), kh(Tiddim-Chin, Paite, Vâiphei, Th(Gangte), Thl(Hmar,Mizo) e.g; Ha-->hla,kha,Tha,Thla Hl-->Lh(Thadou-Kuki),Thl(Mizo).
The demonstrative pronouns in other realms are ; hi,hih,hiai,himi,he,hiche whereas in the Zo(Hâidawi) the demonstrative pronouns are ; 'ta,tam,tami,tammi'; perhaps a feature of its antiquity.
The adverbs of place in other realms are; hiah,huah,huai ah,hu, but in Zo(Hâidawi) realm the adverbs of place are ; tan, tana, tanah, khunah, khum, khumnah.
Conclusions:
In modern times, the tribal dialects of Zo, Tedim, Paite, Simte, Gangte, Vaiphei etc should have been amalgamated or standardized by this time-a span of say 5o years or so, due to the influence of the printing press just as the dialectical differences in English language was arrested by the printing press, but the trend among these dialectical tribal groups is leading towards pronounced differences amongst the dialects instead of unifying their dialects into a common language. It is this mistaken analysis of these speech communities that has turned them to think that they seemed to belong to different ethnic groups or dialectical groups.
This false notion of dialects as the basis of ethnic polarization amongst these speech communities instilled in their mind a false sense of ethnic identity based on dialectical identity and often leads to disunity among them in the field of religion, politics and social milieu. The simple reason can be traced to the early missionaries who introduced Roman script for writing(Roman Orthography) which some groups have accepted in toto without verifying and justifying the phonetical sounds,structures,grammar and usages. Some groups have been trying to streamline their language as per IPA system whereas other still carry on with their old missionary gifted system of writing which are quite full of anomalies with what is actually spoken and written. Actual spoken sounds and phonetics are not attuned to the written structure leading to the development of new way of pronouncing the words by younger generations who come to study this missionary gifted Alphabets and Sound structures.
About the writer
The writer was posted at Churachandpur(Lamka) as SO and AE for nearly 3 years during that period he had made extensively observations of the various languages of Churachandpur/Lamka.*The writer is Civil Servant belonging to Delhi, Daman & Diu, DNH, Andaman, Nicobar Islands Civil Services(DANICS) of UT Cadre in the Government of India,Ministry of Home Aff airs. He is presently posted with the Government of Delhi as Deputy Commissioner(Trade and Taxes).*Prior to this,he was posted in Delhi from 1997 till 2005.*He completed his Class X from Loyola High School, Jakhama, Nagaland securing 10th rank in Nagaland State.*He completed P.U.Science from St. Edmund's College, Shillong,Meghalaya.*He completed Bachelor of Civil Engineering from Saurashtra University,Rajkot,Gujarat with distinction.*He completed M.A(Linguistics) in 2006 from Annamalai University, Annamalainagar, Tamilnadu.*He has authored/compiled 5(five) books in 2006 they are;1) Zo Lahâmtengte,Kigêntênate leh Kitêkâhnate Hâmbu Vol.I(Dictionary of Zo poetic words, metaphors and similes Vol.I),2) A Brief biography of Subedar Peter Thangkhokam3) Ka hinkhuo tomkim by Mari Lienzanieng4) Ka Katekizam Masapên5) Katholik Zailate leh Mass Lamzûina6) Global Warming (Leitung Satna) 2008 A.D*He is the editor of a quarterly journal 'ZOTONGDAM' published by ZCLSI. He is doing his own amateur research on Zo language.
.::. All my articles can be view here: MELTED HEARTS .::.
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