Khiamniungan Naga phrasebook
Patsho Khiamniungan or colloquially Patsho Nyu is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken in North Eastern parts of India in the state of Nagaland, Noklak district. It also refers to the people living in the district mostly inhibiting the western part, that of Patsho range, southern part i.e. Thuonoknyu administrative circle and sparingly all over Noklak. Above all, it is a village with one of the highest number of Population in the region. Sometimes, it refers to Patsho speaking group of people who are native to and belong to Patsho Village. The language is widely known who are native to Noklak district and parts of Myanmar.
Grammar
Patsho Khiamniungan word order is subject-object-verb: "I-subject him-object see-verb." Subjects (especially I and you) are often omitted if these are clear from the context.
Patsho has postpositions instead of prepositions: like hui khem or jam khem, "bridge below" or "house below" respectively instead of "below the house."
Patsho people or Khiamniungans refer to each other rather in terms like elder brother, elder sister, younger sibling, uncle, aunt, grandmother, grandfather, manager, teacher etc. than by using the straight word like you even if this person is actually not. The other common words used daily are the words "pie" for the male and "wu-ai" for female is such a humble and polite reference to someone either close or strangers, especially among younger people. Those two completed word form would be "pienie" and "wuynie". Additionally, it's not uncommon to refer to yourself by using such an expression ( example: "[I] Father will cook you a nice dinner." Which feels like saying "This or myself father will...").
To keep in mind that the word for older brother is simply "tei" or "teihai", while the word for older sister is "nou" or "nouhai". The word for the younger ones is simply neu or neuhai for both male or female.
Pronunciation guide
Vowels
There are six vowels in Patsho
Consonant
| Small letters | a | e | i | o | u | ü |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
- a
- like 'a' in 'father',
(IPA: a, a̯)
- e
- like 'e' in 'bed'
(IPA: e, ɛ, ɛ̯)
- i
- like 'ee' in 'beet'
(IPA: i, i̯)
- o
- like 'o' in 'orange' or 'author'
(IPA: o, o̯)
- u
- like 'oo' in 'hoop', 'look' in open positions or like 'o' in 'hope' in close positions, such as in final 'uh' and 'uk' combinations.
(IPA: u, ʊ, u̯)
- ü
- like in 'banana'.
(IPA: ə, ɜ̯)
Consonant
| Small letters | ch | h | j | k | kh | l | m | n | ng | ny | p | ph | s | sh | t | th | ts | tsh | v | w | y |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
There are 21 consonants, which are all pronounce with the letter vowel ü like the sound found in in the word 'banana'(IPA: bəˈnɑː.nə) . So, to exemplify, the letter ch or h should be pronounced chü, or hü respectively.
Written language
Patsho Khiamniungan is written in Latin script with twenty seven letters. Some letters are combined to form a letter, for example t, s, and h are different and separate., but there is tsh as one letter, found in (among others) the word Patsho. Another example could be kh and ng both found in the word Khiamniungan.
| Capital letters | a | ch | e | h | i | j | k | kh | l | m | n | ng | ny | o | p | ph | s | sh | t | th | ts | tsh | u | ü | v | w | y |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPA | a a̯ | tʃʰ | e ɛ ɛ̯ | h | i i̯ | tʃ | k | kʰ | l | m | n | ŋ | ɲ | o o̯ | p | pʰ | ʃ | ʃʰ | t | tʰ | ts | tsʰ | u ʊ u̯ | ə ɜ̯ | v | w | j |
Phrase list
|
Common signs
|
- hǖhêi(huhei)(IPA: /hə³³.hɛ̯i⁵²/).
- Hello.
Used at the initial phone calls or during meeting or visit someone.
- Shâu-òh nyîvâ kǜ jǖnòi*(IPA: /ʃɑu⁵²-ɒʔ³¹.ɲɪ⁵²vɑ⁵². kə³¹.tʃə³³nɒɪ³¹/)
who knows.
A rhetorical statement uttered to show that the person uttering it neither knows the answer nor knows who might. Nong tikü naih tsak nü-e, tikü naih memtsho. Shâu-òh nyîvâ kǜ jǖnòi It could be one or the other, or both. Who knows
Local terms.
Basic vocabulary
| Patsho Khiamniungan | English | Sentence Patsho Khiamniungan | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theumei | Thank You | Theumei, nyo-oh ei tah pautsang kiuh jünü theutho. | Thank you for taking care of me. |
| Amei hüni? | How are you? | ||
| Amei. | I am fine. | ||
| Khiam | Water | Jujie liang kü Khiam nü thingkeuh tsak asheu kiuh. | Please bring a cup of water |
| Tshih | (cooked) rice | Tshih hielouh va mou | Have you eaten lunch/dinner(meal) |
| Ngouh (nyieh) | fish (meat) | ||
| Veu (nyieh) | chicken (meat) | Jüsa toh Veu nyieh kie hie nye. | We have eaten chicken curry. |
| Yoh (nyieh) | pork (meat) | ||
| Jang (nyieh) | beef (meat) | ||
| Uo (nyieh) | mutton (meat) | ||
| Kie (nyieh-kie sang o) | dish (meat/vegetable) | ||
| Sang-o (kie sang-o) | vegetable | ||
| Naga chum | lentils | ||
| Tsem | salt | ||
| Lutsoutsoh (Chauchau ko) | less | ||
| Püiuh | chilli | ||
| Shua | Distribute | Jujie lianko ashua kiuh shi | Please give again (serve again). |
| Teitsoh | enough, stop, completed | Teitsoh, nyü chishi ko | Let's stop working |
| Khiam nü asheu kiuh. | Please give water. | ||
| kiuh | give or serve | Tshih nü akhem kiuh. | Please give food (rice). |
| Sngewbha ai jyntah seh | Please give (side dish) vegetable / meat. | ||
| Atei euh je? | What do you want? | ||
| Atei? | What? | ||
| Avaih? Atei naih-oh? | When? | ||
| Atei le? | Where? | ||
| Atei ali? | How? | ||
| Asheuh amei. | Good Night. | ||
| aleuh | where(how) | Shiemong le aleuh oh phu je? | How(from where) do I go to Shiemong? |
| ateisoh? | how much? | Nongni ateitsoh mai no? | What's(how much) the price of this? |
| mei | good or happy | Mei kü lü-iu. | Happy journey. |
| mongling | happy | Mongling kü anoi. | Stay happy. |
Numbers
|
Counting words When counting objects, words use in Patsho are simply spoken by adding the numerals. For example, "two beers" is thing ming-lümieh, where lümieh is "two" and ming means "bottle". But when asking for single item, adding the word "pioho" (which means alone, only), sounds accurate. For example, "Thing ming-tsak pioho" equivalent "one beer only". Counting things or people.
|
| Numerals | Hauvi | Tone(Shangliak) | IPA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | wa | wà | wa³¹ |
| 1 | tsak | tsāk | tsak³³ |
| 2 | lümih | lǖmīeh | lə³³ mɪʔ³³ |
| 3 | sümieh | sǖmīeh | sə³³ mɪəʔ³³ |
| 4 | pülie | pǖlīe | pə³³ lɪə³³ |
| 5 | müngou | mǖngōu | mə³³.ŋɒu³³ |
| 6 | lüvok | lǖvòk | lə³³.vɒk³³ |
| 7 | tshünyieh | tshūnyìeh | tsʰə³³.ɲɪɛʔ³³ |
| 8 | püjeih | pǖjèih | pə³³ tʃɛʔ³³ |
| 9 | lükau | lǖkàu | lə³³ kɒu³³ |
| 10 | tshie | tshìe | tsʰɪɛ³³ |
| 20 | khei | khèi | kʰɛɪ³¹ |
| 30 | ausam | āusám | ɑu³³sɑm⁵⁵ |
| 40 | aupülie | àupǜlīe | au̯³¹pə³¹liɛ̯³³ |
| 50 | aumüngou | àumǜngōu | au̯³¹məŋ³¹ou̯³³ |
| 60 | aulüvok | àulǜvòk | au̯³¹lə³¹vok³² |
| 70 | autshienyieh | àutshǜnyìeh | au̯³¹tsʰə³¹ɲiɛ̯ʔ³² |
| 80 | aupüjeh | àupǜjèih | au̯³¹pə³¹tʃɛi̯ʔ³² |
| 90 | aulükau | àulǜkàu | au̯³¹lə³¹lau̯³¹ |
| 100 | tsum tsak | tsūm tsāk | tsum³³.tsak³³ |
| 200 | tsum lümieh | tsūm lǖmīeh | tsum³³.lə³³ mɪʔ³³ |
| 300 | tsum sümieh | tsūm sǖmīeh | tsum³³.sə³³ mɪəʔ³³ |
| 400 | tsum pülie | tsūm pǖlīe | tsum³³.pə³³.lɪə³³ |
| 500 | tsum müngou | tsūm mǖngōu | tsum³³.mə³³.ŋɒu³³ |
| 600 | tsum lüvok | tsūm lǖvòk | tsum³³.lə³³.vɒk³³ |
| 700 | tsum tshünyieh | tsūm tshūnyìeh | tsum³³.tsʰə³³.ɲɪɛʔ³³ |
| 800 | tsum püjeih | tsūm pǖjèih | tsum³³. pə³³.tʃɛʔ³³ |
| 900 | tsum lükau | tsūm lǖkàu | tsum³³.lə³³.kɒu³³ |
| 1000 | ka tsak | ká tsāk | ka⁵⁵.tsak³³ |
| 10,000 | ka tshie | ká tshīe | ka⁵⁵.tsʰɪɛ³³ |
| 100,000 | tsang tsak | Tsāng tsāk | tsaŋ³³.tsak³³ |
| 10000000 | pei tsak | péi tsāk | pei⁵⁵.tsak³³ |
| 1000000000 | iuh tsak | ìuh tsāk | iu³¹ʔ.tsak³³ |
| 100000000000 | em tsak | ēm tsāk | em³³.tsak³³ |