Kuki (Indic people); Lushai (Asian people); Lushai language
"Feh" in Lushai, "to go to the jhums," "feh" in Rhangkhol, "to go";
"che" in Thado, Aimol, and Anal, and "chatpa" in Manipuri have the
same meaning.
"Fing" in Lushai, "ching" in Thado, "singba" in Manipuri, mean "wise."
"Fu" in Lushai, "chu" in Thado mean "sugar-cane."
"Fang-hma" in Lushai, "fung-mat" in Bete, "chung-mai" in Thado, mean
"a pumpkin."
N in Lushai sometimes becomes "shi" in Lai or Haka dialect, as "ni"
in Lushai and "shi" in Lai, meaning both "to be" and "aunt."
G and K are often interchanged and also R, L, and N.
In Lushai we have "lung" meaning both "stone" and "heart," while
in Manipuri we have "nung" meaning "stone," and though "heart"
is translated by "puk," we have "nung-siba" "to be sad," evidently
composed of "nung" and "siba," "to die," and also "nung-ngaiba,"
meaning "happy," showing that "nung" once meant heart.
In many of these languages, similar words are used but have slightly
different meanings. For instance, "shang" in Lushai means "tall,"
while in Thado and Manipuri we have "sang" meaning "long."
"Leng" in Lushai means "to stroll," and "lengba" in Manipuri means
"to walk," but is only used of important personages who would be
likely to move slowly and in a dignified manner.
In Lushai "shat" means "to cut," but as a Lushai's house consists of
timber and bamboos, he always uses "shat" when he speaks of building
a house, and we find "sha" in Thado and "saba" in Manipuri mean
"to make," "to build."
In Lushai the verb "ni," "to be," is conjugated completely, but in
Manipuri "ni" means "is" and has no other tenses.
Manipuri: Ma ai-gi i nau ni.
Lushai: Ama ka nau a ni.
English: He my younger brother he is.
The following comparative vocabulary gives in the first two columns
the Thado and English words as given by Mr. Hodson. The first word in
the column of remarks is always Lushai, and where it has not exactly
the same meaning as the Thado word the correct meaning is given;
then follow, where necessary, the equivalents in other dialects.
About one word in every three given in Mr. Hodson's vocabulary has
been found to resemble closely the Lushai word having the same or
a similar meaning. Mr. Hodson's vocabulary has no pretensions to be
a complete dictionary of the Thado language. Were such available I
believe the number of similar words in the two dialects would be found
to be even greater. As regards the Old Kuki dialects the information
available is not sufficient to make a thorough comparison. It is clear
that they are very closely allied to Lushai and Thado and to each
other. The connection between Manipuri and what Dr. Grierson calls
the Chin languages will, I believe, be found on further enquiry to
be closer than at first appears.
COMPARATIVE VOCABULARY OF THADO AND LUSHAI LANGUAGES, WITH NOTES ON
THE OTHER CHIN LANGUAGES AND MANIPURI OR MEITHEI.
THADO. ENGLISH. LUSHAI AND REMARKS.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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