The negative verb in Mikir is formed by suffixing the particle -ē to the positive root, when the latter begins with a vowel. Similarly, in Boṛo a negative verb is formed by adding the particle -ā. In the Kuki-Chin languages different suffixes are employed (lo, lai, loi, māk, ri), and in a few dialects prefixes. Here Mikir resembles Boṛo rather than the Kuki group. But the remarkable feature of Mikir in reduplicating initial consonants before the suffixed negative (see ante, p. 85) has no analogy in either family, unless the isolated example in Kolren (an Old Kuki dialect) quoted in the Linguistic Survey, vol. III., part iii., p. 19, supplies one. It is to be observed, however, that in the construction there cited (na-pē-pèk-māo-yai, “did not give”), the verb pèk has suffixed to it the negative particle māo, and that the reduplication alone appears to have no negative force. Other examples seem necessary before the rule of reduplication can be considered to be established. Possibly loi and lai in Kuki correspond to the separate Mikir negative kā-lī (see ante, p. 86).
It remains to give some examples of correspondence in general vocabulary between Mikir and other Tibeto-Burman languages. It has been shown above from the analysis of the numerals that prefixes play a large part in all these languages. These prefixes, which to some extent are interchangeable, and also differ in the different members of the family, have to be eliminated in order to find the roots which are to be compared. Again, certain changes in vowels and consonants between different languages regularly occur. Our knowledge is not yet sufficient to enable a law of interchange to be formulated; but the following conclusions seem to be justified. In vowels, Mikir has a preference for long ō where other languages have -ā, especially in auslaut;[8] on the other hand long ā in Mikir is sometimes thinned down to ē; the word rēchō, answering to the Aryan rājā, is an example of both processes. Long ī in Mikir often corresponds to oi and ai, as well as to ē and ei, in the cognates. As regards consonants, nasals at the end of syllables are often rejected; thus within Mikir itself we have ō and òng, dā and dàm, nē and nèng, lā and làng. Some languages (as for instance Angāmi[9] Naga) tolerate no consonantal endings, not even a nasal. In Mikir itself final l has been vocalised into i or dropped; and in many Naga and Kuki-Chin dialects (as also in Burmese) final consonants have disappeared or have suffered great changes. As already noticed, the surd mutes k, p, t (sometimes aspirated) have taken the place of the original sonants g, b, d to a large extent in Mikir, though b and d (not g) still survive in a fair proportion of words. Boṛo generally retains the old sonants of Tibetan, and Meithei uses both classes according to the adjacent sounds. The palatals ch, j of Mikir tend to become sibilants, s, ts, z, in the cognate languages; j is also often softened to y in Kuki-Chin. L and r in anlaut frequently interchange in Meithei, the interchange depending on the adjacent vowels. These letters also interchange freely in other languages of the family. In Burmese r has everywhere been changed to y, except in Arakan. L and n also often interchange. Initial d in Mikir seems sometimes to correspond to l in other cognates; and it is possible that Mikir initial s may occasionally be represented by h in the latter, though this is not quite certain. Th and s often interchange in anlaut, some dialects of Kuki-Chin showing the intermediate stage of θ, which in Burmese now everywhere replaces original s.
Lastly, it should be noticed that Tipura, an outlying member of the Boṛo group, often exhibits a sound system more closely corresponding to that of the Kuki-Chin languages (which are its neighbours) than Boṛo, Dīmāsā, or Garo.
The resemblances in vocabulary between Mikir and the Western Naga dialects are extensive, as will be seen from the list (due to Mr. A. W. Davis) at p. 201, vol. III., part ii., of the Linguistic Survey. These need not be repeated here. The following is a list of Boṛo (Darrang), Dīmāsā, Garo, and Tipura words which seem to correspond with Mikir. It will be seen, however, by reference to the columns headed Kuki-Chin and Naga (including Naga-Kuki), that in the case of nearly all these words the other two families, as well as Mikir, have the same roots. They therefore belong to the common stock of the Tibeto-Burman languages of Assam, and do not by themselves prove any close connection of Mikir with Boṛo.
Nouns.
| English. | Mikir. | Boṛofamily. | Kuki-Chin. | Naga. | ||||
| nose | nōkàn | Garo, nukum, nākung | Meithei nātōl (n) | Tangkhul nātūng | ||||
| Tipura, bukung | Thado nakui | Angāmi ā-niki | ||||||
| Lushei nhār | E. Naga nākong, nātong | |||||||
| eye | mèk | Boṛo mēgan | Meithei |  | mit | Ang. mhi, mhü | ||
| Dīmāsā mu | Thado | Tangk. mik | ||||||
| Garo mik-rēn | Lushei | Marām mek | ||||||
| Shö (Chin) mik | E. Naga mik, mek | |||||||
| mouth | ing-hō | Boṛo khū-ga | Lushei kā | Ang. thā, mē-thā | ||||
| Dīmāsā khau | Khāmī khā | Rengma màng-khòng | ||||||
| Garo hō-tom, ku-sik | Shö khō | |||||||
| tooth | sō | Boṛo hā-thau | Andro sho | Ang. ho, hu | ||||
| Dīmāsā id. | Sengmai shoa | Sema a-hu | ||||||
| Thado |  | hā | ||||||
| Lushei | ||||||||
| Shö haw | ||||||||
| ear | nō | Garo nā-chil, nā-kāl | Meithei | | nā | Ang. nü | ||
| Lai | Lhota en-nō | |||||||
| Shö a-nhō | Maring ka-nā | |||||||
| face | me-hàng | Boṛo makhàng | Meithei māe | |||||
| Garo mikkang | Lushei hmai | |||||||
| Tipura mukhàng | ||||||||
| belly | pòk | Dīmāsā ho | Meithei puk | Ang. vā | ||||
| Garo ok, pī-puk | Andro pūk | Sema ā-pfo | ||||||
| Tipura bahak | Shö puk | Lhota o-pòk | ||||||
| Lai paw | ||||||||
| Thado wai | ||||||||
| father | pō | Boṛo | | fā | Meithei | | pā | Ang. pō |
| Dīmāsā | Lushei | Sema pā | ||||||
| Garo pā, bā | Thado | Ao ta-bā | ||||||
| Tipura bā | Sengmai | | pō | Lhota o-pō | ||||
| Khami | ||||||||
| Shö | ||||||||
| son | sō-pō | Boṛo f’sā | Meithei | | chāpā | Lhota o-tsöe | ||
| Dīmāsā pasā, sā | Thado | Maring chā | ||||||
| Garo sā, pī-sā | Khami chōpo | Hatigoria chāpā | ||||||
| Tipura basā | Shö chō | |||||||
| daughter | sō-pī | Dīmāsā pu-su | Meithei cha-(anu)-pī | |||||
| Khami numpui-chō | ||||||||
| cat | mèng, mèng-kālū | Garo mèng-gō | Thado meng-chā | |||||
| Tipura ā-mīng | Ranghkhol meng | |||||||
| Shö min | ||||||||
| iron | ingchin | Boṛo shurr | Andro sēn, sēl | Ang. the-zhī | ||||
| Dīmāsā shēr | Lushei thīr | Yachumi inchi | ||||||
| Garo sil, sar | Thado | | thī | Thukumi īsē | ||||
| Tipura sir | Shö | |||||||
| Khami sing | ||||||||