Bishnupriya Manipuri

Not to be confused with Manipuri language, Bangladeshi Manipuri language, or Assamese Manipuri language.
This article is about a lect. For the eponymous Bengali goddess, see Bishnupriya.

Bengali
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Bishnupriya Manipuri
বিষ্ণুপ্রিয়া মণিপুরী
RegionPrimarily Northeast India and Bangladesh
EthnicityBishnupriyas
Native speakers
119,646 total speakers
Early form
Bengali-Assamese script[6][7]
Language codes
ISO 639-3bpy
Glottologbish1244
ELPBishnupuriya

Bishnupriya Manipuri, also known as Bishnupriya Meitei[8] or simply as Bishnupriya,[a] is an Indo-Aryan lect[10] belonging to the Bengali–Assamese linguistic sub-branch. It is a creole[11] of Bengali language and Meitei language (also called Manipuri language) and it still retains its pre-Bengali features.[12][13][14] It is spoken in parts of the Indian states of Assam, Tripura and Manipur as well as in the Sylhet Division of Bangladesh. It uses the Bengali-Assamese script as its writing system. Bishnupriya Manipuri, being a member of the Eastern Indo-Aryan languages, was evolved from Magadhi Prakrit. So, its origin is associated with Magadha realm.[15][16][17] The Government of Tripura categorised Bishnnupriya Manipuri under the "Tribal Language Cell" of the State Council of Educational Research and Training. Its speakers are also given the "Other Backward Classes" status by the Assam Government and notably, there is no legal status of the Bishnupriyas in Manipur.[18] In the 2020s, the Bishnupriya speaking people started demanding that the Assam Government should give them the status of "indigenous people" of Assam and treat the same like other indigenous communities of the state.[19]

The Bishnupriya-speaking people use Meitei language in Bangladesh as their second language (L2).[20]

According to Sahitya Akademi honorary fellow British linguist Ronald E. Asher and Christopher Moseley, Bishnupriya is a mixed language spoken by former Bengali immigrants, with substantial Meithei lexicon but basically Bengali structure and reduced morphology.[21]

According to linguist and historian Andrew Dalby, Bishnupriya (also known as "Mayang") is historically a form of Bengali language once current in Manipur.[22]

According to American linguist David Bradley's research works published by the Department of Linguistics, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies in the Australian National University, Bishnupriya is spoken by former Bengali subjects, with some Manipuri lexicon and reduced morphology.[23][24]

  1. ^ a b "Abstract of Speakers' Strength of Languages and Mother Tongues - 2011" (PDF). censusindia.gov.in. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 February 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  2. ^ "C-16: Population by mother tongue - Assam". censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  3. ^ "C-16: Population by mother tongue - Tripura". censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  4. ^ "C-16: Population by mother tongue - Manipur". censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  5. ^ "Census of India - Language tools". Archived from the original on 24 April 2021.
  6. ^ a b c "Bishnupuriya". Ethnologue. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  7. ^ Kim, Amy; Kim, Seung. Bishnupriya (Manipuri) speakers in Bangladesh: a sociolinguistic survey (PDF). SIL INTERNATIONAL. p. 11. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  8. ^ Sahoo, Ajaya K. (30 March 2021). Routledge Handbook of Asian Diaspora and Development. Taylor & Francis. p. 109. ISBN 978-1-000-36686-0. The Bishnupriya Meiteis from Bangladesh, Myanmar, Tripura and Assam used the Bengali script and speak their own language, which is influenced by Meiteilon (Mani- puri).
  9. ^ "Familty-wise Grouping of the 122 Sscheduled and Non-scheduled Languages – 2001". censusindia.gov.in. Archived from the original on 24 November 2007. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  10. ^ "FAMILY-WISE GROUPING OF THE 122 SCHEDULED AND NON-SCHEDULED LANGUAGES – 2001". censusindia.gov.in. Archived from the original on 24 November 2007. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  11. ^ Moseley, Christopher (1 January 2010). Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger. UNESCO. p. 139. ISBN 978-92-3-104096-2.
  12. ^ Frawley, William (2003). International Encyclopedia of Linguistics: 4-Volume Set. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 481. ISBN 978-0-19-513977-8.
  13. ^ Haokip, Pauthang (2011). Socio-linguistic Situation in North-East India. Concept Publishing Company. p. 8. ISBN 978-81-8069-760-9.
  14. ^ Asher, R. E.; Moseley, Christopher (19 April 2018). Atlas of the World's Languages. Routledge. p. 97. ISBN 978-1-317-85108-0.
  15. ^ Cardona, George; Jain, Dhanesh, eds. (2003), "The historical context and development of Indo-Aryan", The Indo-Aryan Languages, Routledge language family series, London: Routledge, pp. 46–66, ISBN 0-7007-1130-9
  16. ^ South Asian folklore: an encyclopedia : Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, By Peter J. Claus, Sarah Diamond, Margaret Ann Mills, Routledge, 2003, p. 203
  17. ^ Ray, Tapas S. (2007). "Chapter Eleven: "Oriya". In Jain, Danesh; Cardona, George. The Indo-Aryan Languages. Routledge. p. 445. ISBN 978-1-135-79711-9.
  18. ^ "Bishnupriya Manipuris demand satellite autonomous council - Sentinelassam". www.sentinelassam.com. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2022. The Tripura government has categorized and placed the Bishnupriya Manipuri language under the Tribal Language Cell of the State Council of Educational Research and Training, while in Assam they are considered among Other Backward Classes (OBC), whereas in Manipur from where these people originated remains status-less
  19. ^ "Plea for indigenous status". The Telegraph. India. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  20. ^ "Meitei | Ethnologue". Ethnologue. Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2023. Used as L2 by Bishnupuriya [bpy].{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  21. ^ Asher, R. E.; Moseley, Christopher (19 April 2018). Atlas of the World's Languages. Routledge. p. 97. ISBN 978-1-317-85108-0.
  22. ^ Dalby, Andrew (28 October 2015). Dictionary of Languages: The definitive reference to more than 400 languages. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 86. ISBN 978-1-4081-0214-5.
  23. ^ Bradley, David (1997). Tibeto-Burman Languages of the Himalayas. Department of Linguistics, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-85883-456-9.
  24. ^ Pacific Linguistics. Department of Linguistics, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University. 1997. p. 29. ISBN 9780858834569.


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