[1] See above as to windows, page [27]. [↑]
CHAPTER VI
LANGUAGE
I propose, in this chapter, to deal only with Lushai, and to treat of the connection between the different dialects spoken in these Hills at the end of Part II.
Lushai or Dulien, which is the dialect of the Lushei clan, modified, doubtless, by contact with those of other clans, is now the lingua franca of the whole Lushai Hills, and is understood in many parts of the adjoining districts. A very complete grammar and vocabulary has been published by Messrs. Savage and Lorrain, now of the London Baptist Mission, and therefore I only propose to give a bare outline of the language here, which is largely borrowed from the above work.
Articles.—The indefinite article can generally be rendered by the numeral one.
The definite article is sometimes represented by demonstrative pronouns or relative particles.
Gender.—Inanimate objects have no gender. In nouns gender may be shown by use of different words, as “tlangval,” a young man; “nula,” a maiden. This system is only employed when speaking of human beings, by adding suffixes—“pa” and “chal” for males, “nu” and “pui” for females; thus “fa pa,” son; “fa nu,” daughter; “she chal,” bull metna; “she pui,” cow metna. “Chal” and “pui” are restricted to full-grown animals. All men’s names end in “a,” all women’s in “i.” Some words are the same in both genders—“u,” elder brother or sister; “nao shen,” a baby; “naupang,” child. “I” is the feminine termination in Manipuri also.
Number.—The plural terminations are “te,” “ho,” and “zong”; sometimes these are combined or duplicated.