Zomi (literally the endonym "hill-man" zo-mi) is a Northern Kukish language originating in North West Burma and spoken

also in Manipur in North East India where it is known as Zou.[2] The term Zomi is also often used as equivalent to the central identity of all the Kukish or Chin people and the whole Chin or Kukish language group.

Contents

1 Linguistic relations o 1.1 Relation to Paite language 2 Geographical extent o 2.1 In Burma o 2.2 In India 3 References 4 External links

Linguistic relations
As can be seen from the name Zomi ("hill people") and Mizoram ("people hill country") Zomi among the Northern Kukish languages is closely related to the Central Kukish languages such as the Lushai or Mizo language (endonym in Lushai is Mizo awng), the main language of Mizoram.

Relation to Paite language

Zou in India is similar to the Paite language of the Paite, though Zou does not have the guttural stop W.[3][4]

Geographical extent
The geographical extension of the language group is at its largest extent a territory of approximately 60,000 square miles (160,000 km2) in size, in Burma, India and Bangladesh.[5] However exact geographical, and linguistic, extension is debated, such as by the Zomi National Congress claiming Thado language as part of Zomi language in the argument for a Zomi identity and a Zo homestate, "Zogam".[6]

In Burma
It is used in Chin State, Tiddim, and the Chin Hills. Use of Burmese has increased in the Zo speaking Chin State since the 1950s.[7]

In India
Manipur, Chandel, Singngat subdivision and Sungnu area; Churachandpur districts; Assam.

References
1. ^ Zomi reference at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)

2. ^ The discovery of Zoland - Page 12 T. Gougin - 1980 "The word ' ZOMl ' comes from the word 'ZO' which means hill in the Zomi dialect or the Zomi language. The word MI means man in the Zomi language. Hence the word Zomi means highlanders (hillmen). The word ZOMI is never a foreign tongue or word. It is not a corrupt word composed for the nomenclature of people who are ethnically one and the same people having the same customs and usages. The word Zomi is the first and the last that ......" 3. ^ Bareh, Hamlet (2001). "Zou". Encyclopaedia of North-East India: Manipu. Mittal. pp. 260ff. ISBN 978-81-7099-790-0. Retrieved 22 November 2010. 4. ^ People of India: Manipur - Page 253 Kumar Suresh Singh, M. Horam, S. H. M. Rizvi - 1998 "For example, a word for 'good' is hoih in Paite while it changes into hoi in the Zou language. Sannemla (Zou folksongs) are also popular among the Paite, although they are rendered in their individual dialect bearing the characteristic phonetic .." 5. ^ Encyclopaedia of South-Asian tribes - Volume 8 - Page 3436 Satinder Kumar 2000 "According to the 1981 census, 12,515 persons speak the Zou language" 6. ^ Socio-political framework in North-East India - Page 150 Ramamoorthy Gopalakrishnan - 1996 "But against the background of all such conflict the Zomi National Congress went a step further in its argument for a Zomi identity by claiming Thado language as Zomi language. In the Kuki-Chin group of tribes, numerical strength has played ..." 7. ^ Evaluating the impact of family devotions upon selected families ... - Page 7 Nang Khen Khup, Oral Roberts University - 2007 "The Zomi language is descended from the Tibeto-Burman language domain. Though each tribal group speaks its own dialect, Burmese is widely used in Zoland (Chinland) due to Burmanization of military regime for over five decades"