| Kaman | |
| Pronunciation: | pronounced as /mxj/ |
| Also Known As: | Geman, Kman |
| Nativename: | Miju, Kùmán |
| Region: | Arunachal Pradesh, India |
| Ethnicity: | Miju Mishmi |
| Date: | 2006 |
| Ref: | e18 |
| Familycolor: | Sino-Tibetan |
| Fam1: | possibly Sino-Tibetan (Midzuish), or a language isolate |
| Iso3: | mxj |
| Glotto: | miju1243 |
| Glottorefname: | Kman |
| Map2: | Lang Status 80-VU.svg |
Kaman (Geman, Geman Deng, Kùmán, Kman), or Miju (Miju Mishmi, Midzu), is a small language of India and China.Long assumed to be a Sino-Tibetan language, it may be a language isolate.
In China, the Miju are known as the Deng 僜人. The Deng number over 1,000 in Zayü County, Tibet, China, with 1,000 of the Deng having the autonym pronounced as /tɑ31 ruɑŋ53/ (大让), and 130 having the autonym pronounced as /kɯ31 mɑn35/ (格曼) (Geman). They are also neighbors with the Idu or pronounced as /i53 du31/ (义都) people.
In India, Miju is spoken in Hawai Circle and the Parsuram Kund area of Lohit District, Arunachal Pradesh (Boro 1978,[1] Dasgupta 1977[2]). Ethnologue reports that Miju is spoken in 25 villages located in high altitude areas to the east of upper Lohit and Dau valleys, which are located east of the Haguliang, Billong, and Tilai valleys.
These are the sounds in the Miju/Kaman language.
| Labial | Alveolar | Post- alveolar | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |||||
| Plosive | plain | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||||
| aspirated | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||||||
| voiced | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||||||
| Affricate | plain | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||||||
| aspirated | pronounced as /link/ | ||||||||
| voiced | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |||||||
| Fricative | plain | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||||
| voiced | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||||||
| Approximant | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||||||
| Lateral | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |||||||
| Flap | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |||||||
| Close | pronounced as /link/ | (pronounced as /link/) | pronounced as /link/ • pronounced as /link/ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close-mid | pronounced as /link/ | |||
| Open-mid | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ • pronounced as /link/ | |
| Open | pronounced as /link/ |
There are three main tones in the Miju language, rising (á), falling (à), and level (ā).
Kman has various registers that are used in different situations. These include:[3]