Sümi language

Sümi, also Sema, is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken in Nagaland, India. It is spoken by the Sümi Naga people. It differs from every other Naga languages due to the presence of guttural sounds.[2][3]

Sümi
Sümi (Naga)
Pronunciation[sɨ˧ mi˩]
Native toIndia
RegionNagaland
EthnicitySümi Naga
Native speakers
350,000 (2011 census)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3nsm
Glottologsumi1235
ELPSumi Naga

Geographical distribution

Sümi is spoken in central and southern Nagaland, mainly in Zünheboto District and parts of Niuland District, Dimapur District, Chümoukedima District, Kohima District, Mokokchung District and Kiphire District, as well as in 7 villages of Tinsukia District, Assam (Ethnologue).

Dialects

Ethnologue lists the following dialects of Sümi.

  • Dayang (Western Sümi)
  • Lazami
  • Jimomi
  • Zumomi

Phonology

The transcriptions in this section use the International Phonetic Alphabet.

Vowels
Monophthongs of Sema, from Teo (2012:368)

The vowels of Sümi are as follows:[4][5]

Front Central Back
Close i ɨ u
Mid e o
Open a

Notes:

  • The close front and the close central vowels have been variously described as near-close [i̞, ɨ̞] and close [i, ɨ]. The close back vowel has only been described as close [u].[6][7]
    • In the word-medial position, /ɨ/ can be realized as mid [ə].[4][8]
  • The mid vowels /e, o/ can be realized as either close-mid [e, o] or open-mid [ɛ, ɔ].[4][9]
    • Teo (2012) describes the close-mid allophone of /o/ as slightly advanced [o̟].[6]
  • /a/ has been variously described as near-open [ɐ][6] and open [ä].[8]
    • After uvular stops, /a/ can be realized as open back unrounded [ɑ].[8]

Consonants

The consonants of Sümi are as follows:[5][10]

Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
Nasal plain m n ŋ
aspirated mʱ nʱ
Plosive voiceless p t k q
aspirated pʰ tʰ kʰ qʰ
voiced b d ɡ
Affricate voiceless tʃ ~ ts
aspirated tʃʰ ~ tsʰ
Fricative voiceless f ʃ ~ s x h
voiced v ~ w ʒ ~ z ɣ
Approximant ɹ j
Lateral plain l
aspirated lʱ

References
  1. "Statement 1: Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues - 2011". www.censusindia.gov.in. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  2. Sreedhar (1976).
  3. Sreedhar (1980).
  4. Teo (2012), p. 369.
  5. Teo (2014), p. 20.
  6. Teo (2012), p. 368.
  7. Teo (2014), pp. 27–28.
  8. Teo (2014), p. 28.
  9. Teo (2014), p. 27.
  10. Teo (2012), p. 366.

Bibliography
  • Sümi DoReCo corpus compiled by Amos Teo. Audio recordings of narrative texts with transcriptions time-aligned at the phone level, translations, and time-aligned morphological annotations.
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