Monipuri language, Meithei, or Meitei(Meetei), Meitheilon, Meeteilon, Meeʁteilon is a Sino-Tibetan language. It is the predominant language and lingua-franca in the state of Manipur, in northeastern India. It is also spoken in parts of Myanmar aside from Bangladesh and India.
Monipuri language belongs to the Kuki-Chin group of the Tibeto-Burman language family. The formation of the Tibeto-Burman tribe’s dialects was composed of the dialects of the tribes of Tibetan and Himalayan origin; Asiatic origin like Karen, Kachin, King, Kang, Kou Man, Mon, etc.; Chinese like chin, Ch‟u, etc; and Tai origin like Shen Lao, Ngai Lao, Lai, etc. besides other elements of Huns and Taratas which came comparatively later. When these tribes got mixed a series of dialects known as Tibeto-Burman of the so-called Sino-Tibetan family of language gave birth.
The Tibeto-Burman language began to develop from about the early Christian era and became fully characterized by about the 7th century A.D. The status of the Monipuri language can be divided into Pre- Vaishnavite period (1467-1709 A.D), and the Early Vaishnavite period (1467-1709 A.D) Vaishnavite period (1709- 1891A.D), and the British period (1891-1947 A.D). Legends, songs, and manuscripts found in this language evidently prove its long and continued existence of it. It appears that though the Monipuri language is the lingua franca of the different groups, each spoke a separate dialect, and as a result of the proximity with one another or of the subsequent amalgamation, many words from those dialects have been taken over and introduced into the main language.
The "Monipuris," from a linguistic point of view, are divided into two groups, namely, the Meiteis and the Bishnupriyas. Bishnupriya Manipuri is classified as an Eastern Indo-Aryan language, related to such major regional languages as Bengali and Assamese. The Meiteis entered Monipur from the east; their Language is of the Tibeto-Burman group. The Bishnupriyas entered Monipur from the west; their language is of the Indo-Aryan group. People had Indo-Aryan features and call themselves Bishnupriyas.The label “Manipuri” is due to the origins of the language in the Indian state of Manipur, from which speakers had to leave during political and ethnic upheavals of the 18th and 19th centuries. It is currently classified as a "vulnerable language" by UNESCO.
The three main dialects of Meitei are Meitei proper, Loi, and Pangal. Differences between these dialects are primarily characterized by the extensions of new sounds and tonal shifts. Meitei proper is considered, of the three, to be the standard variety and is viewed as more dynamic than the other two dialects. Meitei is the state language of Manipur, one of the eighteen state languages of India.Because of this status and widespread use, literature in Meitei is growing, and many works of world literature, such as Ramayana and the Bible, as well as works by Tagore, Tolstoy, Shakespeare, Homer, and Sophocles have been translated into Meitei. It is the language of instruction in state schools, including colleges and universities. It is also the language of mass media and popular culture, with films, songs, and music videos all being produced in Meitei.
However, In Bangladesh, Meitei is primarily an oral language, used exclusively by and
within the community. Here, Meitei is not used much as a written language . When it is written, Bengali script is used, which displaced their traditional script in the eighteenth century during the reign of Raja Garibniway in Manipur. This ancient script, of which they are very proud, is absolutely unique to the Meiteis.
According to the Banglapedia, “a characteristic feature of the old Monipuri script is that each
and every alphabet is named according to a limb of the human body. Their shapes are also in
consonance with those off the limbs”. Their script is known as 'Meitei Mayek'. The original script is getting back to it's root and people in Monipur are trying hard to revive to it's original script before it loses recognition.
Source-
1.https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Manipuri,_The#:~:text=According%20to%20the%201991%20Population,%2C%20Chenglei%20and%20Khaba%2DNganba.
2.https://www.ritiriwaz.com/manipuri-language-meithei/
Written by Dipita Chakma
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