The Mikirs

by Edward Stack

Sounds.

Mikir has no written character of its own. The first publication printed in it, a short catechism issued by a missionary press at Sibsagar in 1875, used the Assamese character; since then, so far as is known, the Roman alphabet has always been employed to express the sounds of the language. Mr. Stack, from whose materials this monograph has been compiled, distinguished the following vowel sounds:—

ā, long a as in father (chiefly in open syllables);

à, the same shortened and pronounced abruptly, as in the German Mann, always in closed syllables;

(N.B. The language does not possess the short Hindī a, representing the u in but.)

ē, the long e in the French scène;

e, the same sound shortened, as in belief;

è, the sharp e in the English men (always in closed syllables);

ī, the long i in machine;

i, the short i in it;

ō, the long o in bone;

o, the same shortened, as in obey;

ò, the sharp abrupt sound in pot (always in closed syllables);

ū, the long u in June;

u, the short u in full.

The diphthongs are—

ai, as in aisle;

ei, almost as in feign, with the i audible;

oi, as in boil;

ui, long ū with i added: no English equivalent.

The consonants used in Mikir are b, ch, d, h, j, k, l, m, n, ng, p, r, s, t, v (all with their value as in English), and the aspirates kh, ph, th (pronounced as in cookhouse, haphazard, anthill). Bh, dh, and g occur only in a few borrowed words, and bh and dh are commonly resolved, as bahār (for Hindī bhār), “a load,” and dohòn (for Ass. dhon), “money.” F, sh, w, y, and z are not used. Ng is never initial, and the g is not separately heard (always as in singer, never as in younger).