Mao language (Manipur) explained

Mao
Nativename:	Sopvoma, Emela, Mao' La
States:	India
Region:	Nagaland, Manipur
Ethnicity:	Mao Naga, Poumai Naga
Speakers:	240,205
Date:	2011 census
Ref:	^[1]
Familycolor:	Sino-Tibetan
Fam2:	Angami–Pochuri
Lc1:	nbi
Ld1:	Mao
Lc2:	pmx
Ld2:	Poumai
Glotto:	naga1397
Glottorefname:	Naga Maoic
Dia1:	Paomata
Fam1:	Sino-Tibetian
Minority:	India
Pronunciation:	mau

Mao, also known as Sopvoma, is a Sino-Tibetan language of the Angami–Pochuri linguistic sub-branch.^[2] It is spoken primarily in Senapati district, northwestern Manipur and in Nagaland, India. It is similar to Angami.^[3] The speakers of this language use Meitei language as their second language (L2) according to the Ethnologue.^[4]

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial	Dental	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Plosive	voiceless	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/		pronounced as /link/
	aspirated	pronounced as /link/	(pronounced as /link/)	pronounced as /link/		pronounced as /link/
	voiced	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/			(pronounced as /link/)
Affricate	voiceless	pronounced as /link/		pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/
	aspirated	(pronounced as /link/)			pronounced as /link/
	voiced	pronounced as /link/		pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/
Fricative	voiceless	pronounced as /link/		pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/		pronounced as /link/
	voiced	pronounced as /link/		pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/
Nasal		pronounced as /link/		pronounced as /link/		pronounced as /link/
Trill	voiced			pronounced as /link/
	voiceless			pronounced as /link/
Lateral				pronounced as /link/
Approximant		(pronounced as /link/)			pronounced as /link/

• /t͡ʃʰ/ and /w/ only rarely occur, and with /t͡ʃʰ/ only occurring in word-initial position.
• The pre-aspirated voiceless /ʰr̥/, may have a word-initial allophone of pronounced as /link/, [ʂ] rarely occurs phonemically.
• [ɡ] only occurs marginally from loanwords.
• /t̪, p͡f/ in word-initial position may be heard as [t̪ʰ, p͡fʰ] in free variation, rarely as phonemic.
• /h/ may have an allophone of pronounced as /link/ word-initially, word medially in free variation. [x] rarely occurs as a phoneme.
• /m/ before a central vowel /ɨ/ can have an allophone of a labiodental pronounced as /link/.
• /n/ before high vowel sounds can have an allophone of a palatalized pronounced as /link/.

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/
Mid	pronounced as /link/	(pronounced as /link/)	pronounced as /link/
Open		pronounced as /link/

• [ə] only occurs inter-morphemically.
• /ɨ/ can be heard as rounded [ʉ] in free variation.
• In word-initial position, /i, u/ can be lowered to [ɪ, ʊ].
• /e, o/ can be lowered to [ɛ, ɔ] in word-final position.^[5]

References

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Notes and References

1. Web site: Statement 1: Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues – 2011. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. censusindia.gov.in. 2018-07-07.
2. Web site: Mao (Naga) language and alphabet . 2023-04-15 . omniglot.com.
3. Web site: Mao (Naga) language and alphabet . 2023-04-15 . omniglot.com.
4. Web site: Meitei Ethnologue . 2023-05-03 . . en.
5. Book: Giridhar, P. P.. Mao Naga Grammar. Mysore: Central Institute of Indian Languages. 1994.