Digaro Mishmi language

Digaro Mishmi
Tawra, Taraon
tɑ31 rɑŋ53, da31 raŋ53, tɯŋ53
Pronunciation	[tɑ˧˩ rɑŋ˥˧], [da˧˩ raŋ˥˧], [tɯŋ˥˧]
Native to	India, China
Region	Arunachal
Ethnicity	Mishmi people
Native speakers	(35,000 cited 2001 census)
Language family	Digarish (Mishmic)? Digaro Mishmi
Language codes
ISO 639-3	mhu
Glottolog	diga1241
ELP
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Digaro, also Taraon, Tawra, or Darang, is a Digarish language of northeastern Arunachal Pradesh, India and Zayü County, Tibet, China.

Names

According to Jiang, et al. (2013:2), their autonym is tɑ31 rɑŋ53 or da31 raŋ53, and alternatively tɯŋ53 (Deng 登, 僜) in China. The Kaman (Miju) call them tɕi31 moŋ35, the Idu call them tɑ31 rɑŋ35, and the Assamese call them Digaro Mishmi.

Distribution

India

In Arunachal Pradesh, India, Digaro Mishmi is spoken in Hayuliang, Changlagam, and Goiliang circles in the Amjaw district (Ethnologue). It is also spoken in Dibang Valley district and Assam.

China

Jiang, et al. (2013:2) reports that in Zayü County, Tibet, Taraon is spoken in the following villages.

• E River watershed 额河流域
  • Jiyu village 吉玉村 (alternatively named Juyu 巨玉)
  • Ciba village 次巴村
  • Rusu village 如苏村
  • Demen village 德门村
  • Zigeng village 自更村
  • Xiani village 下尼村
  • Ba'antong 巴安通
  • Xin village 新村
• Sang'ang River watershed 桑昂河流域
  • Gayao village 嘎尧村
• Chayu River watershed 察隅河流域
  • Dongchong 洞冲, Lower Chayu town 下察隅镇

Phonology

Consonants

Consonant phonemes

		Labial	Alveolar	(Alveolo-) palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal		m	n		ŋ
Plosive	voiceless	p	t		k	ʔ
	aspirated	pʰ	tʰ		kʰ
	voiced	b	d		ɡ
Affricate	voiceless		ts	tɕ
	aspirated		tsʰ	tɕʰ
	voiced		dz	dʑ
Fricative			s	ɕ		h
Approximant		w	ɹ	j
Lateral			l

Vowels

Monophthong phonemes

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

• /ɨ/ may also be heard as [ɯ].
• /a/ may also be heard as [ʌ] before /k/.

References

• Evans, Jonathan P.; Manyu, Johakso (2021). "The sounds of Tawrã (Digaru-Mishmi), a Tibeto-Burman language". Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area. 44 (1): 1–26.
• Jiang Huo [江获], Li Daqin [李大勤], Sun Hongkai [孙宏开]. 2013. A study of Taraon [达让语研究]. Beijing: Ethnic Publishing House [民族出版社].

Further reading

• Blench, Roger. 2017. A dictionary of Tawrã, a language of Arunachal Pradesh.
• Chakravarty, L. N. (1963). A Dictionary of the Taraon Language. NEFA.
• Pulu, Jatan (1991). A Phrase Book on Taraon Language. Arunachal Pradesh government.
• Sastry, Garimella and Devi Prasada (1984). Mishmi Grammar. CIIL.
• Sastry, Garimella and Devi Prasada (1991). Mishmi-English-Hindi Dictionary. CIIL.