Native to Burma, India Native speakers 82,000 (2001–2012) | Ethnicity Zou ISO 639-3 zom | |
Region In Burma: Chin State, Tiddim, Chin Hills;
In India: Manipur, Chandel, Singngat subdivision and Sungnu area; Churachandpur districts; Assam. Language family Sino-Tibetan
Kukish
Northern
Zou | ||
Zou (literally "of the hills"), or Zo, Zomi, Yo, Yaw, or Jo, is a Northern Kukish language originating in northwestern Burma and spoken also in Manipur in northeastern India, where the name is spelled Zou.
Contents
- Linguistic relations
- Relation to Paite language
- Geographical extent
- In Burma
- In India
- In Bangladesh
- References
The name Zou is sometimes used as a cover term for the languages of all Kukish and Chin peoples. (See Zo people.)
Linguistic relations
As can be seen from the name Zo ("of the hills") and Mizoram ("people hill country"), Zo 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 ṭawng), the main language of Mizoram.
Relation to Paite language
Zou as spoken in India is similar to the Paite language of the Paite, though Zou does not have the guttural stop W.
Geographical extent
At its largest extent, the geographic area covered by the language group is a territory of approximately 60,000 square miles (160,000 km2) in size, in Burma, India and Bangladesh. However political boundaries and political debates have distorted the extent of the area in some sources.
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. Ethnologue reports that Zou is spoken in the following townships of Myanmar.
In India
In Bangladesh
In Bangladesh it is used by the Bom people.