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Pulmonic
Plosives Voiceless Unaspirated p t k ts H/ʔ Aspirated ph th kh tsh Voiced Unaspirated b d g dz Aspirated bh dh gh dzh Fricatives Voiceless h
Consonants : m n N/ɳ r l Glides : w y Vowels : i E/e a/ɑ O/ɔ o u U/ɯ I/ɨ
In the Rabha language [ts], [tsh], [dz] and [dzh] are alveolar affricates, therefore these sounds can be classed as sounds produced with complex articulation. In the articulation of these sounds, the alveolar stops [t] or [d] are followed by the palatal fricatives.
Rounded vowels [u], [o] and the rounded glide [w] are velarized as expected. Unrounded vowel [e], [I] and the unrounded glide [y] are palatalized as expected.
Both, Plosives and africates are aspirated in Rabha. The Rabha language has the following aspirated forms.
Voiceless aspirated : ph th kh tsh Voiced aspirated : bh dh gh dzh Vowel Retroflexion : Missing
No nasalization is seen in Rabha language. However following nasals are prominent in Rabha.
N n m
The sequence of all vowels followed by the high vowel [i] or [u] and mid vowel [E] or [o] is a dipthong in this language. However, in the case of mid vowel [E] and [o] are pronounced as [y] and [w] respectively.
Following 15 dipthongs are seen in the Rabha language. iu : / diutshi / 'assistant priest' Eo~ew : / tshEora~tshEwra / 'a kind of tree' ai : / tshilai / 'gun' aE~ay : / kaE~kay / 'man' ao~aw : / tsharao~tsharaw / 'epidemic' au : / haura / 'poor' oE~Oy : / doE~doy / 'a kind of fruits' oE~oy : / tOroE~tOroy / 'lenthening' (infin) oo~ow : / zooa~zowa / 'time' ou : / tou / 'black cookoo' ui : / kui / 'a bettle nut' uu : / ruua / 'poisonous fruits' UI : / phUI / 'come' Uo~Uw : / lUoak~lUwak / 'frog' Ii : / dIi / 'collective utterance in some group work'.
Tripthong is not prominent in Rabha. However, it is found in some sequences where more than three vowels are used in combination. For example:
iai : / biaiOn / 'to the father-in-law of son or daughter' (emphasis) aii : / tsayiian / 'in the song' (emphasis) aiE : / awaiE / 'prattling' iao~iaw : / dziaOn~dziaOn / 'to the dzia tree' (emphasis) uai : /rauwaian / 'at the beam of the roof' (emphasis) uao~uaw : / tsuaOn~tsuawOn / 'to the well' (emphasis) oai~oay : / dzoaian~dzowayan / 'in the times' (emphasis)
The Rabha language has the following segmental phonemes Vowels: i (high front unrounded) E/e (mid front unrounded) a/ɑ (low central unrounded) O/ɔ (low back rounded) o (mid back rounded) u (high back rounded) U/ɯ (high back unrounded) I/ɨ (mid central rounded) Following phonemic contrasts establish the vowel phonemes in Rabha : i : / tsiN / 'we / ri / 'to be weighty' E : / tsEN / 'to be light' / re / 'cane' a : / tsaN / 'who' / ra / 'to take' O : / tsON / 'to be prepared' / rOH / 'to boil' o : / tsoN / 'worm' /ro / 'to be long' u : / tsuN / 'to be big'/ ru / 'to bathe' U : / tshUm / 'to be sweet' / trUH / 'to make one bathe' I : / tshIm / 'to follow'/ rIH / 'to shift' Consonants p ph b bh m (Bilabial stops and nasal) t th d dh n (Alveolar stops and nasal) k kh g gh N (Velar stops and nasal) ts tsh dz dzh (Alveolar palatal affricates” r (Alveolar lateral) l (Alveolar trilled) h H/ʔ (Glottal fricative and stops) w y (bilabial and palatal glides) Following phonemic contrasts establish the consonantal phonemes in Rabha : p : / pa / 'to cross' / topa / 'cage' ph : / phas / 'to vomit'/ topha / 'name of a kind of bird' b : / ba / 'to carry on the back'/ toba / 'cock' bh : / bho / 'to cut down'/ bobha / 'dumb' m : /ma / 'to lose'/ boma / 'lap' t : / ta / 'to touch'/ ata / what/ th : / tha / 'vein'/ atha / 'gum' d : / do / 'to unload from back'/ boda / 'python' dh : / dhaN / 'to enter'/ badha / 'temporary shed' n : / na / 'fish' /bana / 'artificial dam' ts : / tsak / 'leaf'/ botsa / 'other' tsh : / tsha / 'to eat'/ totsha 'somewhat' dz : / dzap/ 'fan' / budzi / 'elder brother’s wife' dzh : / dzhak / 'a fall of rain' / dzhadzhi / 'a bit straw' k : / kak / 'to bite'/ boka / 'fool' kh : / kha / 'to tie' / tokha / 'crow' g : / ga / 'to carry'/ doga / 'war-shield' gh : / ghEk / 'goitre'/ bigha/ N : / laNa / 'name of Good' r : / ra / 'to take'/ lara / 'widower' l : / laN laN / 'transparent' / lala / 'stammer' h : / ha / 'soil' / laha / 'lac' H : / braHa / 'one feels shy' w : / brawa / 'one feels burning sensation' y : / braya / ‘one ejects out from mount’
Rabha does not have phonemic stress, length and nasalization. But it has the phonemic tone. For example
high / rising mid / level low / falling / tshó / 'to burn' / tshō / 'mosquito' / sho`/ 'to spite' / tshám / 'mortar' / tshām / 'grass' /tsha`m / 'to wait' / tshí / 'to die' / tshī / 'blood' /tshi`/ 'to scrape'
Intonational pitch defference is also phonemic in Rabha, but difference is found in terms of area (habitat), e.g.
/ name nukina / reNo / (with falling intonation), 'you will go home.' / name nukina reNo / (with level intonation), 'You will go home!' / name nukina reNo / (With rising intonation), 'Will you go home?'
Following are the phonetic variants of the Rabha language [tsh] ~ [ ʃ ] [dz] ~ [ʓ] [ph] ~ [f] [bh] ~ [β] [th] ~ [θ] [dh] ~ [ð] [ʔ ] ~ [t ] [r] ~ syllabic [ŗ] [I] ~ syllabic [!] [y] ~ [i] [w] ~ [o] [o] ~ [u]
The alveolar palatal africates [tsh] is free variation with the alveo-palatal fricative [s] before high back unrounded [u] and mid central rounded [I], e.g.
[tshUN] ~ [ ʃUN], 'to ask' [tshim] ~ [ ʃim], 'salt'
The alveolar palatal africates [dz] is free varitation with the alveo-palatal fricative [z] before high back unrounded [U] and mid central rounded [I], e.g.v
[dzUksai] ~ [ʓUksai], 'couple' [dzriman] ~ [ʓrIman], 'drowsily'
The bilabial aspirated plosive [ph] is free variation with labio-dental fricative [f] before high back unrounded [U] and mid central rounded [I], e.g.
[phUI] ~ [fUI] 'to come' [phin] ~ [fIn], 'to closely fixed on another'
The bilabial aspirated plosive [bh] is free variation with bilabial fricative [β] before high back unrounded [U] and mid central rounded [I], e.g.
[bhIl] ~ [βIl], 'force' [bhINan] ~ [βlNan[, 'speedly'
The alveolar plosive [th] is free variation with dental fricative [θ] before high back unrounded [U] and mid central [I], e.g.
[thUpsa] ~ [θUpsa], 'to cause to dance' [thIr] ~ [θIr], 'to split up'
The alveolar plosive [dh] is free variation with dental fricative [ð] before high back unrounded [U] and mid central [I]. e.g.
[dhIkdhIk] ~ [ðIk ðIk], 'fully matured as young girl' [dhIt] ~ [ðIt], 'expression of dislike'
The glotal stops [ʔ] is free variation with alveolar plosive [t] intervocally e.g.
[tsiʔa] ~ [tsita], 'lays egg' [brʔa] ~ [brata], 'feel shy'
The alveolar trill [r] is varied with syllabic [ŗ] before [U] and [I], e.g.
[rIʔ] ~ [ ŗIʔ], 'to shift' [rUʔ] ~ [ ŗUʔ], 'to make bathe'
The alveolar [l] is varied with syllabic [ļ] before [U] and [I] e.g.
[plIk] ~ [pļ k], 'to make untie' [glIkan] ~ [gļ kan]
The bilabial glidez [w] is varied with central vowel [o] intervocally, e.g.
[aoa] ~ [awa], 'shouts' [praoE] ~ prawE], 'calling'
Central vowel [o] is free variation with high back unrounded vowel [U] before high vowel [i] and [u], e.g.
[nokini] ~ [nukini], 'domestic, home’s' [todzi ~ [tudzi], 'fowls excrata'
Front low vowel [E] is varried with high front vowel [i] intervocally, e.g.
[mEtsik] ~ [mitsik], 'wife' [nEdzuN] ~ [nidzuN], 'honey bee'
Following are the permitted sequences in Rabha:
Generally in Rabha all two consonant clusters are used midially. Only the two consonant clusters of which the second members are /r/ and /l/ are used initially. There is no use of clusters in the final except in few disyllabic words. For example:
/ p p / : / khappur / 'being weeping like face' / p ph / : / dapphay / 'about to burry' / p t / : / dapta / 'patch' / p th / : / gipthay / 'pengolin' / p k / : / apkay/ 'to keep in order' / p l / : / plik / 'to become untie' / daplak / 'flat' / p r / : / prUn / 'goat' / tepra / 'short-statured'. / p ts / : / haptsi / 'mud' / p tsh / : / raptshaN / 'unity' / ph l / : / phlaw-phlaw / 'breaking into two picces at one blow' / sophla / 'cork'. / ph r / : / phraw phraw / 'shining or twinkling at night' / sephra / 'mouse' / b b / : / babba / 'term of surprise' / b d / : / habday / 'to repent' / b l / : / bloNan / 'denoting trushing entrance' / thobla / 'cluster' / b r / : / bra / 'to shy' / sabra / 'child' / b z / : / nabzi / 'tick' / bh r / : / bhroN- bhroN / 'growing luxariantly' / t k / : / setkawra / 'falcon' / t kh / : / tsetkhaw / 'to split up with force' / t l / : / tlIk. tlIk / 'denoting broken into pieces' / khOtlON / 'brain' / t r / : / trOk / 'to jump' / natra / 'tick' / t tsh / : / tshettshra / 'lazi' / th l / : / bothla / 'a float to a fishing line' / th r / : / thrao / 'generation group' / d d / : / zadda-bodda / 'dull and senseless' / d k / : / mudkOr / 'an ear ornament' / d l / : / bOdlON / 'black beetle'. / d r / : / drItan / 'gradually and instantly (movement)' / badra / 'garden' / dh r / : / dhrop-phaN / 'the banyan tree' / k p / : / pukpur / 'to be torn into pieces' / k ph / : / tshakphar / 'itch' / k t / : / tsaktur / 'to scoop out' / kth / : / bOkthay / 'navel' / k k / : / bOkkay / 'white' / k l / : / thakla / 'worn out' / k r / : / krIN / 'to sound' / makra / 'monkey' / k ts / : phOktsak / 'meal prepared under bamboo pipe' / k tsh / : / baktshOk / 'name of a clan'. /phaktsh-thap / 'astringent taste'. / kh l / : / pakhlem / 'hastily' / kh r / : / khra / 'itch' / khakhri / 'wine-pot' / g l / : / gloksa / 'one draught' / goglak / 'big and round' / g r / : / grIp / 'to cover' / zagraha / 'southern' / g z / : pagza / 'thing' / gh r / ; ghrIm / 'forest' / m p / : / hampa / 'cotton' / m ph / : / tshamphar / 'earthen pot' / m b / : / dImbay / 'shoot' / m t / : / kOmteN / 'a kind of tree' / m th / : / pamthe / 'a kind of fruit' / m d / : / lamdin / 'plain area' / m k / : / kamkay / 'two persons' / m n / : / gOmnay / 'musical pipe' / m l / : / hamlay / 'to repent' / m r / : / mreo / 'to feel burning sensation', / tImrIk / 'to put of finishing touch' / m ts / : / pramtsi / 'dew' / m tsh : / ghimtshu / 'flatulent spadix of the Ekra reed' / nemtshpian / 'extremely' / m dz / ; / hamdzar / 'Jhum cultivation field' / n t / : rontuk / 'goddess of wealth' / n th / : / ganthay / 'bell' / n d / : / banda / 'end point' / n dh / : / kendhap / 'brid -cathcing net' / n n / : / kanni / 'of body' / n ts / : / zintsi / 'reed' / n tsh / : / bantsha / 'piece of bamboo' / n z / : / ganzek / 'insect' / N d / : / roNda / 'name of a sub-tribe' / N k / : / kaNka / 'knife' / N kh / : / khiNkhi / 'Jujube' / N g / : / guNgar / 'phlegm of the nose' / N gh / : / taNghOn / 'huge stick' / N n / : / poNna / 'steamed cake' / N ts / : / paNtsuN / 'jack fruit' / N tsh / : / gONtshar / 'a kind of insect' / N dz / : / phuNdzi / 'ash' / l p / : / dzElpok / 'loose and lazy' / l b / : / golbEN / 'a variety of frog' / l t / : / doltEN / 'to swing' / l d / : / galdari / 'loquaeious' / l k / : / kElkay / 'to rend' / l m / : / zhalma / 'spider-net' / l l / : /zolla / 'stupid' / l tsh / : / ailtsha/ 'lazy' / l h / : / tsalhaga - malhaga / 'expert in talking' / r p / : / kharpak / 'a kind of tree' / r ph / : / gOgOrphON / 'a kind of bird' / r b / : / bIrbaN / 'a low bambo platform' / r t / : / pErta / 'laziness' / r th / : / darthuN / 'to run' / r d / : / bardam / 'fire place' / r dh / : / mErdhana / 'slimy' / r k / : / sirkEN / 'tumour on the head' / r kh / : / kErkha / 'medicinal herb' / r g / : / urgi / 'to bow' / r gh / : / nagarghEt / 'a variety of duck' / r m / : / gErmON / 'tickle' / r n / : / dhOrna / 'bambo or wood support on a thatched house' / r r / : / tsharran / 'around' / r ts / : / partsuN / 'storm' / r tsh / : / bartshiN / 'glow worm' / r dz / : / khardzi / 'alkali' / ts l / : / tslao tslao / 'clod by clod' / ts r / : tsrIt / 'to splash' / bitsray / 'to search' / tsh b / : / batshbakrEN / 'a kind of plant' / tsh t / : / pEtshta / 'support at the bottom of earthen pot' / tsh th / : / baitshthap / 'to thrash' / tsh ak / : / / bhEtshakula / 'a kind of bird' / tsh m / : / khutshmakrON / 'hair arranging instrument' / tsh n / : / khOtshnE / 'turban' / tsh l / : / tshlIpan / 'blow of sharp weapon' ; / khatshlaN / 'native cigarette' / tsh r / : / tshrIN / 'fibre' / dz l / : / khadzlEk / 'to be of alkaline taste' / dz r / : / dzrIm / 'sensational feeling' / dzh r / : / dzhrit -dzhrat / 'imitative word' / h l / :/ kahlay / 'to scream' / h r / : / hrat / 'a shout of frightening'
/ k pl / : / tshakplEk / 'reddish white' / k ph l / : / kokphlak / 'to beat to death' / k t l / : / tektlEk / 'to strike against' / k t r / : / toktram / 'to girgle'. / k ts r / : / boktsrao / 'whitish' / k tsh r / : / phaktshtur / 'ash coloured' / k tsh th / : / phaktshthap / 'astringent feeling' / k tsh g / : / aktshgEr / 'blackish' / k tsh l / : / tshaktshlay / 'to lick' / g d r / : / nogdroN / 'whole houses' / m p l / : / dhamplay / 'to swim' / m p r / : / hamprEN / 'straw used as thatch' / m ph l / : / pamphlak / 'plank of wood' / m ph r / : / phUmphra / 'agitated, annoyed' / m b l / : / tsEmblaw / 'in a bursting manner' / m p r / : / khEmbraN / 'a kind of insect' / m t r / : / tsamtroN / 'instrument in handloom used for embroidery'. / m tsh p / : / nEmspiyan / 'extremely' / m tsh r / : / tsamtshroN / 'to sit keeping leg straight'. / n t l / : / tsEntElEN / 'tumerind.' / n t r / : / kIntri / 'the head' / n d l / : / bandlak / 'having no top portion' / n d r / : / bandra / 'bachelor' / n ts l / : / tsantslay / 'to smooth' / n ts r / : / tsEntsray / 'to shout' / n tsh l / :/tshanshli / 'sharpening implement' / n z r / : / khanzram / 'wild potato' / N k l/ : / ghuNkla / 'bamboo poles used as gate' / N k r / : / haNkray / 'to scream' / N kh r / : / maNkhram / 'crematory ground' / N g l / : / zaNglaN / 'ghost' / N tsh r / : / raNshri / 'evening' / N z l / : / kuNzluN / 'curved' / r k r / : / parkrop / 'to split up as (bamboo)' / r tsh r / : / bErtshri / 'a rafter of roof'
2.2.5.1 Initial /o/ is replaced by /u/ when it is followed by /i, u/ e.g.
nok (house) + i > nuki, 'at home' khok (basket) + dur > khukdur, 'a fish container'
2.2.5.2 / ɔ O/ variated freely with /o/ before / ɔ (O) a o e/ e.g.
to (bird) + pak > topak ~ tOpak, 'butterfly' o(that) + khre > okhre ~ Okhre 'thus'
2.2.5.3 /e / is optionally replaced by /i/ when it is followed by /i u/ in the environment with intervention of any single consonant.
e (this) + tshi > itshi, 'here' nE-ka(bee)+dzuN > nEdzuN ~ nidzuN, 'honey bee'
2.2.5.4 The vowel except /a u I / of the prefix are assimilated according to the syllabic vowels (first in the case of multisyllabic words) of following roots.
t (v) + ki, ‘to fall’ > tiki, 'to' t (v) + khEN, ‘to live’ > tEkhEN ~ thEkhEN, 'to save' k (v) + tsOn ‘to dress up’ > kOtsOn 'to dress up others' t (v) + ro (to be long > toro 'to lengthen' t (v) + nu (to sit) > tunu, 'to make sit' Exception : On the otherhand in the case of /a/, it is replaced by /I/ in the prefix regularly. e.g k (v) + tsha (to eat) > kItsha ~ khItsha, 'to feed' t (v) + ba (to carry on back) > tIba ~ dIba, 'to load on back' In the case of /u i/ it is replaced by /a/ in the root optionally. e.g. t (v) + mUr (to be small) > tUmUr ~ tUmar, 'to make small' k (v) + trIN (to teach) > kItrIN ~ kItraN, 'to taught'
2.2.5.5 The consonant except /m n r/ of the prefix are assimilated according to the nature of consonant, i.e. aspiration, despiration, voicing, non-voiving in the on set of main verbs. e.g
k (v) + tsOn (to dress up) > kOtsOn, 'to make dress up' k (v) + dzOk (to be free) > gOdzOk, 'to make free' t (v) + phuN (to be filled up) > thuphuN, 'to fill up' t (v) + bhON (to meet) > dhObhON, 'cause to meet' t (v) + phUtsha (to dance) > thUphUtsha ~ thUphtsha 'to cause one dance'
2.2.5.6 The non-voiced consonants are termed as ‘voiced’ when it is followed by the voiced consonant. e.g.
bak (boar) + dzi > bagdzi, 'boar’s excreta' bak (boar) + ni > bagni ~ bagNi, 'boar’s' khap (to weep) + dzo >khabdzo, 'wept'
2.2.5.7 The nasal /n/ of a suffix is termed ‘as’ the other homogenious according to the place of articulation of the coda of the preceeding words, e.g.
khap (to weep) + no > khapmo ~ khabmo, 'to be weep' tsham (to wait) + na >tshamma ~ tshama, 'to be wait' man (to find) + no> manno ~ mano, 'to be found'
2.2.5.8 The adjacent consonants are mutually assimilated even when they are not a regular phenomenon. e.g.
pan (tree) + tsu (high) > pamtsu, 'silk cotton tree' bEn (how) + tsuN (big) > bEntuN ~ bintuN, 'how large' tsiN (we) + bE (nom. marker) > tsimbE ~ tsimE, 'we' (nom.) tsu (wine) + tuk (earthen pot) > tsutsuk ~ tsudzuk, 'wine pot'
Following are the types and structure of syllables in Rabha. Basically Rabha is monosyllabic language, however, bi-syllabic and multisyllabic sequences are also seen in particular cases.
v : / i / 'it', / u / : 'he/she' vv : / ao / 'cry', 'shout' / oi/ 'Hello' vc : / aN / 'I', 'me' / In/ 'to say' cv : / ba / 'bamboo' , / ki / 'dog' cvv : / kay / 'man' ,/kui/ 'bettle nut' cvc : / tsiN / 'we' ,/kak/ 'to bite' vvc : / eis / 'term of hatred' ccv : / khra / "itching", / bra / "to feel shy" cvvc : / bIis / 'age' ccvv : / prao / 'to call', / bray / 'to lick out' ccvc : / krON / "horn", /grIm / 'jungle' ccvvc : Rare.
The above mentioned mono syllabic structures may be used in bisyllabic structure. However the following two structures are used only in bisyllabic words.
vcc : / aks-kho / 'blackish' cvcc : / phOks-tur / 'greyish'
The same syllabic structure may be seen in different syllabic division. e.g.
Syllabic Structure bisyllabic monosyllabic v v : / i- ?O / 'to it' / ao / 'shouting' cvv: / sa- ?a / 'eats' / kay / 'man' vvc: / i-? On / 'to it (emphasis)' / eis / 'term of hatred / cvvc : / ki- ?an / 'the dog itself' / bIis / 'age' ccvv : / khra-?O / 'ringworm' / prao / 'to call'
In bisylabic words, the maximum of seven phonemes may be used: e.g.
cvc - ccvv : / laN-grOy / 'gibbon' cvc-ccvc : / ham-prEN / 'thatch -grass' ccvv-cvv : / brao-kay / 'burning sensation' ccvc-cvv : / sram-kay / 'brittle' ccvc-cvc : / prap-tsEp / 'to be alkaline' cvcc-cvc : / phaks-thap / 'feeling of astringent taste'
In Rabha multisyllable, syllables ranging from three to eleven may be used in a single word. For example: cvc-cvc-cvc-cv-cvc-cv-cv-cv-cv-cvc-vc: /nuk-bar-zIn-khI-tak-tho-tsa-na-ta-mIn-an/ 'their pretending to fall in love with each other is not worth looking in dramatic performance' (emphasis) N. B.- In such words maximum 27 phonemes can be accomodated.
Length is not a distinctive feature of Rabha phoneme.
Basically Rabha is a non-stressed language, but the stressed syllables have retained its importance in Rabha. Stress-less syllables generally deletes. However stress shifting is a peculiarity of Rabha phonology.
(i) Contrast in open stress. Inital stress Final stress / pára / / pará / 'blooms' / zára / 'mad' / zará / 'runs away' (ii)Contrast in closed stress / áNtsa / 'cloth'/ / raNtsá / 'not carry' / Úmba / 'husband' / Imbá / 'said' (iii)Stress equally falls in poly syllabic words: / ábáláká / 'wild herbs' / tóndáléNká / 'wood peeker' (iv)Deletion of stressless sylable: / tsáripák / ~ / tsarpák /, 'life, soul' / thÚphÚtsá / ~ / thUptsá /, 'to cause to dance'
Tone is not prominent in most of the Rabha dialects except Kocha. Due to syllabic stress, the tone shift has become the common feature in Rongdani and Maitori dialects. However three tones are marked in Rabha language.e.g.
(i) high(raising) (ii) mid (neutral) (ii)low(falling) / tshó / 'to burn' / tshŌ / 'mosquito' / tshÒ / 'to spite' / tshám / 'mortar' / tshām / 'grass' / tshằm / 'to wait' / tshí / 'to die' / tshī / 'blood' / tshì / 'to smooth' / mán / 'to crawl' / mān / 'honour' / mằn / 'to get' etc.
Juncture is a distinct feature of Rabha phonology. Two types of junctures namely, open juncture and close juncture is found in Rabha.
Open juncture close juncture / zap-ra / / zapra / ‘to take the hand fan’ 'to be surprised' / na-tshia / / natshia / 'fish dies' 'pays affection' / ha-bay / / habay / 'to plough' 'the Pati Rabhas' etc.
The nouns are either monomorphic or polymorphic. A noun consists of a root and optionally one or more affixes. There are three types of noun roots viz. simple, compound and derived.
(a) The simple noun root consists of single morpheme e.g.
bidi 'grandmother' ken 'seed' tatshi 'hand' ki 'dog' nok 'house'
(b) The compound noun roots are formed by adding specific adjectives or nouns or verbs to generic nouns.
miNku 'cat'+ mUlkai 'small' = miNku-mUlkai 'small cat' miNku 'cat' + tsuNkai 'big' = miNku-tsuNkai 'big cat' nen 'cloth'+ thakla 'worn-out' =nen-thakla 'worn out cloth' nen 'cloth'+ tseNkloN 'narrow' = nen-tseNkloN 'narrow cloth' atshu 'atshu paddy' + ha 'land' = atshuha 'atshu field' nu 'to sit' + ha 'land' = nuha 'low land or marshy' kara 'upper, upstream' + ha 'land' = karaha 'upper parts of any place i.e. the East' dzaktsi 'left hand' + ha 'land' = dzaktsi ha 'the left side i.e. the north'. ha 'land' + tsu 'to be high' = hatsu 'high land' i.e. hill rampar 'wind' + tsuN 'to be big' = partsuN 'the bigger wind i.e. the storm' pan 'tree' + the 'fruit' = pamthe, 'the fruit holding tree i.e. the wood palm' pan 'tree' + tsuN 'to be big' = paNtsuN 'the big tree i.e. jackfruit' aya 'mother' + tsuN 'to be senior' = aytsuN 'elder mother i.e. paternal aunt' aphe 'star' + dzisraN 'tailed' = aphe dzisraN 'the tailed star i.e. the comet' tatshi 'finger' + dzibra 'mother' = tatshi dzibra 'the mother finger i.e. thumb' tatshikhu 'finger'+ tshabra 'child' = tatshikhu-tshabra 'little finger' kutlai 'tongue' + tshabra 'child, little' = kutlai tshabra 'the little tongue i.e. uvula' taka 'money' + dzibra 'mother' = taka dzibra 'the mother money i.e. capital' taka 'money' + tshabra 'child' =taka tsabra 'the child money i.e. interest' to 'bird / fowl' + maba 'male' = toba 'cock' to 'bird, fowl' + madzu 'female' = todzu 'hen' to 'bird fowl' + tshabra 'child' = totshabra 'chicken' ki 'dog' + bhonta 'male' = kibhonta 'male dog' prUn 'goat' + khatshi 'catrasted' =prUn khatshi 'he-goat' etc.
(c) Derivation of noun: The derived roots are formed with derivative suffixes. The verbal nouns and agent nouns are derivative constructions.
(i)Verbal noun: These are formed by adding the suffix –kai to the verb roots.
tsoN 'to start' + kay = tsoNkay 'starting' bom 'to swim' + kay = bomkay 'swimming' bhan 'to travel' + kay = bhankay 'travelling' batshay 'to select' + kay = batshaykay 'selection' dzeptshu 'to translate' + kay = dzeptshukay 'translation' etc.
(ii)Agent noun :The singular agent noun is formed by adding –ba suffix to the root verbs .
reNba 'one who goes' cf. reN 'to go' kharba 'one who does' cf. khar 'to do' kalamba 'one who is sick' cf. kalam 'to be ill'
Again, the plural is formed by adding the plural marker- bataN to the root verbs.
kharbataN 'those who do' ribibataN 'those who come'
(iii)Suffixed noun: As in other languages, in Rabha, there is a system that is very prominent in noun formation i.e., in Rabha, Noun can either be formed by addition of nominals (secondary) or verbal (primary) suffixes or by compounding two or more words.
Illustrations :
-tsi (in the sense of the liquidity as well as spreadness) :
nuken 'eye' + tsi = nuksi 'tear'
pha 'to rain' +tsi = phatsi 'rain drop'
raN 'heavenly body' + tsi = raNtsi 'juice'
khardzi 'alkali powder' + tsi = khartsi 'alkali'
sona 'gold' + tsi = sonatsi 'golden' etc.
-dzi (in the sense of dirty and uncleaness) :
nuken 'eye' + dzi = nukdzi 'morbid secretions of the eye'
phakham 'tooth' + dzi = phadzi 'dirt of the teeth'
tsapha 'sole' + dzi = tsadzi 'dust of the feet'
na 'fish' + dzi = nadzi 'entrailes of fish' etc.
-men (in the sense of hair or mane) :
dzikhar 'annus' + men = dzimen 'tail, candal finn'
rikhu 'penis' + men = rimen 'pubic hair of male organ'
tshuthay 'vagina' + men = tshumen 'pubic hair of female orgen'.
nuken 'eye' + men = numen 'eye hair' etc.
-dam ( in the sence of a place or centre) :
bar 'fire' + dam = bardam 'fire place'
bok 'belly/intestine' + dam=bokdam 'belly part'
kIn 'outer surface of the body' + dam = kIndam 'back',
ha 'earth' + dam = hadam 'place, venue'
pra ‘to give birth +dam = pradam 'motherland' etc.
- thay (in the sense of centre) :
bok 'belly' + thay = bokthay 'naval'
tshu 'femal organ' + thay = tshuthay 'vagina'
tsapha 'sole' + thay = tsaptahy 'calf' etc.
- giri (in the sense of presiding or ownership etc) :
kay 'man' +giri = kaygiri 'owner'
tsay 'song' +giri = tsaygiri 'song composer, lyrist'
pardam 'garden' + giri = pardamgiri 'gardener' ruN 'boat' + giri = ruNgiri 'sailor, ferry man'
-kai (relating to action i.e. verbal noun and gerund) :
tsoN 'to start' + kai = tsoNkai 'starting'
bom 'to swim' + kai = bomkai 'swimming' etc.
- tshini (in the sense of relate, connected etc.) :
bhit 'civilized' + sini = bhetshini 'civilization'
that 'ethicic' + sini = thatshini 'culture ethnicity'
dzOk 'to free' + sini = dzOktshini 'freedom' etc.
- grIm (in the sense of breeding place, abundancy etc) :
pan 'tree' + grIm = pangrIm 'jungle'
may 'paddy' + grIm = maygrIm 'paddy field'
mi 'vegetable' + grIm = migrIm 'kitchen garden'
dzi 'excrection' + grIm= dzigrIm 'a place for refuge, dustbin etc.'
(d) Noun formation by addition of sub-morpheme: Moreover, there is a system of noun formation by addition of sub-morpheme, which is very prominent and interesting. It is formed by addition of some particles denoting to generic, class, species etc before the main words. This system may be called sub-morpheme (generic term).e.g.
ma (denoting animals) :-
ma+tsha = matsha 'tiger'
ma+da = mada 'bear',
ma+kra = makra 'monkey'
ma+tshu = matshu 'cow' etc.
na (denoting fish):
na+tshan = natshan 'small variety of fish'
na+rak =narak 'big variety of fish',
na+mOtso = namOtso 'a variety of fish' etc.
to (denoting birds) :
to+kha =tokha 'crow'
to+raN=toraN 'kite',
to+khur=tukhur 'dove' etc.
ha (denoting earth or soil) :
ha+ tsu=hatsu 'hill'
ha+dzek=hadzek 'mountain',
ha+dabur=hadabur 'powder of soil' etc.
raN (denoting sky or celestial objects) :
raN + tshaN=raNtshaN 'sun',
raN+gre = raNgre 'moon',
raN+khop = raNkhop 'cloud',
raN+par= rampar 'wind' etc.
tsi (denoting water, river etc.) :
tsi+ka=tsika 'water',
tsi+ka+dara = tsikadara 'rivulet',
tsi+mandi = tsimandi 'name of a river i.e. Dudhnoi river' etc.
tsho (denoting insects) :
tsho+tsheN = tshotsheN 'house fly',.
tsho+drap =tshodrap 'big variety of fly i.e. gnat' etc.
no ~ nok ( house items):
nok+phak = nokphak 'post of the house',
nok+ dar = nokdar 'wall of the house'
no+gOr =nogOr 'pig sty' etc.
kho ~ khok (denoting basket) :
khok +dur = khukdur 'fish keeping basket',
kho+phalak = khophlak, 'rabbish throwing basket etc.'
khO (denoting hair, skull) : khO + tloN = khOtlON ‘brain’
khO+ro= khOro 'hair' ,
khO+prON = khOprON ~ khoprON 'turban',
khO+tshumakrON = khutshumakroN 'hair pin' collected from the spines of porcupine etc.
khu (denoting mouth or beak):
khu+ tsem= khutsem 'mouth',
khu+tsar 'lip', khu+men= khumen 'moutache',
nuk (denoting eye view) :
nuk+ken = nukken ~ nuken 'eye',
nuk+tsi =nuktsi 'tear',
nuk +dam = nukdam 'eye brew' etc.
bok (denoting parts of bellly) :
bok + dam= bokdam 'stomach',
bok+thay= bokthay 'naval',
bok+tshuk=boktshuk 'abdomen' etc.
dzi (denoting excreta) :
dzi+ makhar=dzimakhar ~ dzikhar 'annus or back side',
dzi+pithay= dzipthay 'buttock',
dzi+men= dzimen 'tail' etc.
Pronouns show the distinction of person. As in other languages, in Rabha, pronouns fall into three groups, viz. personal pronouns, demonstrative pronouns and interrogative pronouns.
A three-way distinction of person is made in personal pronouns i.e. first person, second person and third person.
Thus the singular and plural forms of personal pronoun in Rabha are given below:-
Singular Plural I person aN "I" tsiN 'we' *ame *tsime II Person naN 'you' naroN 'you' III person o 'he/she' oroN 'they' *It is used only in nominative case: (see 2.3.1.6)
The plural forms in demonstrative pronouns in Rabha are as following.
Singular Plural o 'he / she' oroN 'they' (human) obizan 'those' (non-human) e 'it / this' ebizan 'these' (non-human) i 'it / this' ikay / ibizan (non-human)
The interrogative pronouns are listed below:-
ato 'what' ana 'why' bitshi 'where' bedo 'when' tsaN 'who' bekay 'which' bekhare 'how' bentsek 'how much' tsaNi 'whose'
Examples of more proximate and more remote demonstrative pronouns are given below:
e.g. hekay 'this' (very proximate)
ekay 'this' (proximate)
okay 'that' (very remote)
hokay 'that' (remote)
Reflexive pronoun : Reflexive: for a reflexive sentence in Rabha, 'kakay-na kakay' is used.
e.g. dapheN (be) kakayna kakay thitshiki-ba. 'Dapheng killed himself'.
The second occurance of 'Kakay' can be dropped in Rabha.
e.g. dapheN kakayna thitshiki-ba. 'Dapheng killed himself'.
Reciprocal pronoun : In Rabha 'ina-una' occurs as the reciprocal.
e.g. oroNbe ina-una nukbardzo. 'they have fallen in love with each other'
Rabha has a marker –dzIn which occurs with the verb and it functions as a verbal reciprocal marker.
e.g. oroNbe ina-una nukbar-dzIndzo. 'They have fallen in love with each other'.
Rabha does not have any grammatical gender. In Rabha, adjectives, verbs, personal pronouns do not show any gender distinction.
However, there are some terms, which can be labelled as unique masculine and unique feminine e.g.
Unique masculine: malora 'having one testicle', 'impotent', phatra 'flatter' mitca bhaura 'hen pecked' etc.
Unique feminine: lautshi 'free and frank lady', bukila 'a girl appointed for nursing children' baygor, 'naughty girl' metsha maba 'a women who behaves like a man' etc.
On the other hand, there are numerous common gender or neuter gender, e.g. kay 'human being', bay 'god/goddess', tupu 'snake', kana 'blind' etc.
Kinship terms in Rabha are also common gender, e.g. tsabra 'child, offspring', subra 'grand child', nebra 'parent-in-law' etc.
Some common genders are derived from nouns and adjectives e.g. maura 'orphan', numila 'youngest' etc.
Some compounds and idioms also have common gender e.g. tsuNba roNba 'the respected person' subra thebra 'posterity' etc.
All the classifiers and pronominal adjective referring to animate objectives are also not affected by gender distinction e.g. tshaksha 'one(man)', kamiN 'two (men)', metham 'three (men)'
Some kinship terms are classified into masculine and feminine using mutsha 'male' and mitsa 'female' e.g.
masculine feminine
sabra mutsha 'son' sabra mitsa 'daughter'
subra mutsha 'grand son' subra mitsa 'grand daughter'
Some non-human animate nouns are classified into feminine and masculine gender using maba 'male' and madzu 'female' e.g.
masculine feminine
matshu maba 'bull' matshu madzu 'cow'
bak maba 'boar' bak madzu 'sow'
In Rabha quite few feminine forms are found replacing ‘-a’ of the masculine stem by ‘-i’ or ‘-ni’, e.g.
mesculine feminine
beNa 'deaf' beNi 'deaf woman'
leNra 'lamb' leNri 'lamb woman'
tepra 'dwarf' tepri 'dwarf woman'
dzara 'mad' dzari 'mad woman'
Rabha makes gender distinction of a few borrowed professional terms by using a pair of words attributively e.g.
masculine feminine
daktar babu 'doctor' daktar rani 'lady doctor'
tsokidar babu 'watch man' tsokidar rani 'wife of watchman'
Similarly, Rabha makes gender distinction of quite a few nouns by attributively using 'giri' or 'buda' in the masculine and 'budi' or 'mari' in the feminine e.g.
masculine feminine
tsaygiri 'lyrist' tsaybudi 'woman lyrist'
roNgiri 'hero' roNbudi 'heroin'
Another peculiar device of gender distinction in Rabha is the employment of different sets of words denoting masculine and feminine of the same species. e.g.
masculine feminine
babra 'father' dzibra 'mother'
dzudzu 'grand father' bidi 'grand mother'
Rabha manifests only two numbers- singular and plural. There is nothing like dual number in Rabha.
The plural morpheme in Rabha could be conceived as ‘taN’, which has three allmorphs such as 'rON', 'bidzan' and 'nani'. These may be illustrated as follows.
-taN : It mostly occurs with human nouns referring to class, profession, kinship terms and derived agentive nouns e.g.
Singular Plural
kamla 'labourer' kamlataN 'labourers'
mastar 'teacher' mastartaN 'teachers'
Singular Plural
dzibra 'mother' dzibrataN 'mothers'
nutshibra 'sister in law' nutshibrataN 'sister-in-laws'
Singular Plural
reNba 'goer' reNbataN 'goers'
tshaba 'eater' tshabataN 'eaters'
Singular Plural
makra 'monkey/rascal' makrataN 'rascals'
matshu 'cow/idiot' matshutaN 'idiots'
-rON : It is mostly used after personal pronouns and human names to convey the sense of "the person named and others" and also with kinship terms’
Singular Plural
ram 'Ram' ramrON 'Ram and others'
sita 'Sita' sitarON 'sita and others'
bibi 'elder sisiter' bibirON 'elder sister'
momo 'brother' momorON 'brothers'
-bidzan : It is used mostly to non-human nouns and sometimes it is used for human nouns too, but in a non-respectable sense e.g.
Singular Plural
to 'bird' to bidzan 'birds'
pan 'tree' panbidzan 'trees'
bay 'god' bay bidzan 'gods'
tsika 'water' tsikabidzan 'waters'
rao 'word' raobidzan 'words'
nani :- It is suffixed to nouns of any category to express the sense of plurality across class affiliation. e.g.
kaynani 'human beings and the like species' matshunani 'cow and the like' tsikanani 'water and other liquid'
If an NP consists of a noun alone, the plural marker is added to the noun; if the NP consists of a noun and an adjective the plural marker is suffixed to the adjective as follows :
tobidzan 'birds' (N-pl) sabra-mutsha-taN 'male children i.e. sons' (N-adj-pl) Kay-tsuNba-taN 'aged men' (N-adj-pl) Kay-mul-taN 'minor men i.e. boys and girls' (N-adj-pl)
When an NP consists of (i) a noun and a numeral meaning of two or above, or (ii) noun and another noun of multitude, there is no need to pluralise the head nouns. In such constructions the head nouns always remain in the singular form which are identical with the root forms.
In the presence of a co-occuring numeral, it is not at all necessary to suffix any plural morpheme to the head noun . e.g.
Kam-iN-kay 'two persons' (class-two-man) matshu-maN-aniN 'two cows' (cow-class-two) kho-niN-nen 'two pieces of cloths' (class-two-cloth)
mrIkan pakdza 'all things' (all-things) ha mrIkan 'whole land' (land-all) bIra nok 'some houses' (some-house)
Rabha also obtains plural sense by reduplication of pronouns and adjectives referring to or co-occuring with the head nouns. For example:
tsaN tsaN 'who (are the people)' bekay bekay 'which (items)'
pidan pidan nok 'new houses' nemkay nemkay tshabra, 'good boys'
Like nouns, pronouns also manifest two numbers- singular and plural. However plural markers are differed according to its forms i.e. personal or demonstrative pronouns. Illustration
Singular Plural
naN 'you' narON 'you' (pl.)
o 'he /she' orON 'they'
e 'this person' erON 'these persons'
But in the case of the first person it is not affixed. The plural form is an underived stem. e.g.
Singular Plural
aN 'I' tsiN 'we'
Singular Plural
e/ ekay 'this thing' ebidzan /ekay bidzan 'these things'
o/okay 'that (those) things' obidzan/okay bidzan 'those things'
When some adjectives are used as nouns, they also take plural suffixes when necessary e.g.
Singular Plural pidan 'new one' pidan bidzan 'the new things' nemkay 'good one' nemkay bidzan 'the good persons' thokay 'tasty one' thokay bidzan 'the tasty things'
It is a typical case of Rabha that two plural suffixes described above could be suffixed one after the other. Generally bidzan comes at the end. This is used only to refer to some persons in a more dignified and honored way, in a collective sense.
e.g. rabhataNbidzan 'all the respectable Rabhas' narONbidzan 'all of you'(respectable one).
There are as many as ten cases in Rabha, viz. Nominative, Accusative, Instrumental, Sociative, Dative, Ablative, Intrusive, Genitive, Locative and Allative. These cases and case markers are discussed below:
(i)The Nominative is the case of the surface object of a sentence and usually it is unmarked. For e.g.
naN(/) may tsha?a 'you eat rice'
However if there is an expression of emphasis or definiteness, the Nominative case is marked with –an or –be respectively e.g.
naNan may tshanata "It is you who ate rice"
obe mia ribastanatamUn "it is he who did not come yesterday"
Thus, inclusive emphatic -ba and exclusive emphatic -tshan are also marked optionally in the sense of Nominative case.
(ii)In Accusative case -O is marked compulsorily to indirect object and optional to direct object. e.g.
aN tsika (-O) nambamUn. 'I asked for water'.
aN uni bibraO nambamUn. 'I wanted his sister.'
(iii)The Instrumental case in Rabha is marked with -pake or -tsaki (in passive) e.g.
aN kaNka pake pan tana 'I cut tree with a knife'. u naN tsaki rIm matshadzo 'He has been caught by you'.
(iv)The Associative case is also marked with -pake e.g.
aN naN pake phUtshano. 'I will dance with you'. tsiN kamla pake hal baya. 'We plough by servent'.
(v) The Dative case in Rabha is marked with –na,–ma,-Na phonologically. e.g.
una khirtsa kani. 'tell him a story'. ekay golapma rabanata 'this is brought for Golap' aN bakNa hadar rakhuita. 'I am providing food to the pig'.
Morever in the sense of conjunctive –na~ma~Na~a suffixes are added with verb roots , e.g.
aN prIna nama
'I want to buy'
aN reNa nameta
'I wish to go'
(vi)The Ablative case in Rabha is marked by addition of postposition -para to the genitive markar. e.g.
trIndamini para riba 'Come from school'.
(vii) The intrusive case in Rabha is marked with -teka or-tokoro e.g.
pathar tokoro reNatamUn 'he went through the field'. aN gariteka reNo 'I will go by bus'.
(viii)The genitive case in Rabha is marked with -i or –ni,- mi, -Ni e.g.
uni taka 'his money'. aNi tshoN 'my village'.
However -ini also denotes Genitive case in the sense of belongingness e.g.
tshoNini kay 'man of the village i.e. villager'. grImini to 'bird of the forest i.e. wild birth'.
(ix)The Locative case in Rabha is marked with -i, -ti, -si suffixes or kataN,, digi post positions. e.g.
noki> nuki 'at home'. nok digi 'inside the house'. aN kataN 'in or with me'. usi 'there'. bisi 'where'.
(x)By suffixing -na with locative markers the Allative case is formed, e.g.
aN nukina reNatamUn "I went home". trINdamina reN "go to school".
The classifiers classify nouns on the basis of the qualities of the object that is identified by the noun. The qualities include the physical shape, size, state etc. the classifier occurs with the numeral. The suffixed numeral precedes or follows the noun.
e.g .
kay tshaktsha or tshaktsha kay 'a man'
matshu maNniN or maNniN matshu 'two cows'
All the enumerated classifiers in Rabha are presented below:
The human nouns take the classifiers tshak-adding to the numerals. Exception : kam-for ‘two’ and me-for ‘three’e.g.
kay tshaktsha 'one man'
kay kamiN 'two men'
kay metham 'three men'
kay tsaktshetsha 'four men'
e.g.
miNku maNtsha 'one cat'
ki maNniN 'two dogs'
bak maNtshetsha 'four pigs'
e.g. PIdatsha mai 'a kind of rice' PIdaniN mai 'two kinds of rice'
e.g. kui phaNniN 'two bittle nut trees' ba phaNtsha 'one bamboo tree'
e.g. pana tsaktsha 'one leave of bittle' pana tsakniN 'two leaves of bittle'
e.g. potso kentsha 'one mango seed' paNtsuN kentsha 'one seed of jack fruit'
e.g. apel thetsha 'one apple' apel theniN 'two apples'
e.g. nen khotsha 'one sheet of cloth' kaotsha khotsha 'one sheet of paper'
e.g. khoro tiNtsha 'one hair' khoro tiNniN 'two hair'
e.g. tsika thoktsha 'a drop of water' nuktsi thokniN 'two drops of tears'
e.g. kay tholniN 'two groups of people' gabur tholtham 'three groups of bachelors'
e.g. mai dopniN 'two paddy containers' mai doptham 'three paddy containers'
e.g. u-be dhumuktsha bhondzo 'he was late a moment'
e.g. haba-tsha ra 'work for a session'
Non-derived verbs in Rabha can be categorized into (a) Acting verb and (b) Adjectival verb.
This category is again divided into (i) Transitive verb and (ii) Intransitive verb
(i)Transitive verb: tsha 'eat' natshi 'love' nam 'want' kak 'bite' kani 'inform' tsi 'see' prI 'buy' kay 'plant' pay 'carry / lift' tsho 'burn' dzao 'fry' (ii) Intransitive verb : tshi 'die' reN 'go' doN 'suffice' tsaN 'happen / become' mini 'laugh' ki 'fall' bukhi 'feel hunger' niNgi 'be tired' pha 'rain' ba 'conceive' bra? 'feel ashamed' phap 'over-flow'
The verbs which take the form of adjectives in Rabha are as following:
natshi 'adore' > natshikay 'adorable' nem 'to be good' > nemkay 'good' tuN 'to be hot' > tuNkay 'hot' tsuN 'to be big' > tsuNkay 'big' ri 'to be heavy' > rikay 'heavy' tseN 'to be light' > tseNkay 'light' tsIk 'to be cold' > tsIkkay 'cold'
Derived verbs in Rabha are categorized into (a) Denominative verb (b) Onopoetic/Reduplicating verb and (c) Causative verb.
Denominative verbs are formed from nouns and adjectives without adding any suffixes.e.g.
dzi 'to excrete' rutshu 'to urinate' par 'to flower' the 'to bear fruit'
These verbs are formed from onomatopoetic sounds. e.g.
hoN 'to bark' keNkay 'to scream in pain' pukplak 'to boil(water)'
Causative verbs can mainly be categorized into kV- type and tV- type. e.g.
kV- type: tson 'dress up' > kotson 'to make someone dress up' trok 'jump' >kotrok 'to make someone jump' tsuN 'to be big' >kutsun 'to make something be big' tu 'put in mouth' >kutu 'feed' tV- type: nay 'be bright'> tInay 'to cause to be bright' ro 'lengthen' > toro 'to cause to lenghten' kiri 'to be afraid' >tikiri 'to frighten' mun 'to be ripe' > tumun 'to cause to ripe'
These verbs are formed by the process of compounding. e.g.
rI 'to move' > rIba 'to come' rI 'to move' > rIdzam 'to walk' ra 'to take' > raba 'to bring' ra 'to take' > raN 'to carry' ra 'to take' > rakhu 'to give / deliver'
In Rabha, tense is broadly divided into three categories i.e.
Present Past Future
The above-mentioned three kinds of tenses can be subdivided again as:
This is sub-divided into four kinds. Examples of each are given below:
(i) Present indefinite tense: by addition of –a~-wa~-ya. e.g. aN mai tsha?a 'I eat rice'. kai tshiya 'man dies'. (ii) Present continuous tense: by addition of –eta~-ita~-yet~-weta~-ta. e.g. aN mai tshayeta 'I am eating rice' u haba bIreta 'he is joining in the work'. (iii) Present perfect tense: by addition of –dzo. e.g. aN mai tshadzo 'I have eaten rice'. u trINdamina reNdzo 'he has gone to school'. (iv) Present imperfect tense: by addition of –nata~-mata~-Nata~-ata. e.g. miyanipara dodan mela tshaNata 'Dodan festival is being started from yesterday'. mianipara raN phanata 'It is raining since yesterday'.
Past tense in Rabha is expressed in six different senses. Examples are given below:
(i) Simple past tense:by addition of –bamUn. e.g. aN mia nukina reNbamun 'I went home yesterday'. u mai tshabamun 'he ate rice'. (ii) Past indefinite tense: by addition of –a + mUn. e.g. rondona tsondonana kara bItshar aniN tsuNamUn 'Rondona was two years older to Chondona'. tIkaNkali rabhataNba tsoko-maiko rUNe towamUn 'The Rabha used to indulge in drinking in ancient times'. (iii) Past continuous tense: by addition of –eta + mUn. e.g. aN miya trINdamina reNetamUn 'I was going to school yesterday'. roben tsai tsairuNetamUn 'Roben was singing a song'. (iv) Past perfect tense: by addition of –dzo + mUn . e.g. miya naN ribapake aN mai tshadzomUn 'yesterday when you arrived I had taken my meal'. maya phari naN praobai aNi nukhar rImdzomUn 'The day before yesterday when you called me I had slept'. (v) Past imperfect tense: by addition of –nata~-mata~-Nata + mUn. e.g. 16/2/02 karalni para 18/3/02 karal tsukana aN kalame dami ki to Natamun 'I had been lying on bed from 16/2/02 to 18/3/02 because of illness'. (vi) Used as subjunctive mood: by addition of –no~-mo~-No + mUn/phaN. e.g. naN ribadoNbe aN reNomUn 'If you had come I would have gone'. raN phadoNbe mai nemophaN 'If it rained the paddy plants would be fine'.
It is sub-divided into three kinds:
(i) Simple future tense: by addition of –no~-mo~No~o. e.g. aN dzaday nukina reNo 'I shall go home in future'. gaphuN raN phano 'It will rain tomorrow'. (ii) Future continuous tense: by addition of e + toNo .e.g. aN gaphuN relteka reNe toNo 'I will be going by train tomorrow'. oroN gaphung phuNi pathari hal bay toNo 'they will be ploughing in the field tomorrow morning'. (iii) Immediate future tense: by addition of –na~-ma~-Na~-a. e.g. aN mai tshana 'Let me eat rice'. tsiN reNa 'Let us go'.
Imperative: may tsha 'Eat rice'
may tatsha 'Don’t eat rice'
Optative: may tshakhan 'Let rice be eaten'
baian naNo natshikhan 'Let God be kind on you'
Declarative:
Possessive: aN miya may tshanatamUn 'I ate rice yesterday'
Negative: an miya may tshatsanatamUn 'I did not eat rice yesterday'
Exclamatory: ha manday ! kaytshabra entsok natshiya 'How sweet the baby is !'
Interrogative: naNi ata mUn 'What is your name?'
There is no verbal concord or agreement in respect of number, gender or person. Same tense and aspect markers are used in all the cases i.e. numbers, genders and persons e.g.
(i) in the case of number(sg./pl.):
aN/tsiN may sa-a 'I / we eat rice'
naN/naroN may sa-a 'You / you(pl) eat rice'
u/oroN may sa-a 'He eats rice / they eat rice'
(ii) in the case of Gender(masc./fem./neu.):
aya may sa-dzo 'Mother has eaten rice'
baba may sa-dzo 'Father has eaten rice'
tsham tshi-dzo 'The grass has withered'
(i) By addition of –e in the sense of infinitive. e.g.
aN mai tshaye hatina reNo 'I shall go to bazar after eating rice'
(ii) By addition of – na~-ma~-Na~-a in the sense of infinitive. e.g.
gari tsOlaybay tsOko rUNa lagitsa 'one should not be drunken while driving'.
Adjectives may be classified into two types viz. primary and derived. In Rabha , most of the adjectives can precede or follow the noun.
(i) The primary adjectives are mostly loan words e.g.
dhOni kay 'rich person' cf. dhoni 'rich(Assamese)'
lubhia kay 'greedy person' cf. lubhia 'greedy(Assamese)'
gyani kay 'wise person' cf. gyani 'wise(Assamese)'
Morever some primary adjectives of unknown origin are found in Rabha of:e.g.
dUmbay 'tender'
maytsam 'old'
(ii) The derived adjectives are derived by adding adjectival suffix -kay to verbal roots. e.g.
tshi 'to die' > tshikay 'dead'
nay 'be bright' > naykay 'bright'
tsuN 'be big' > tsuNkay 'big'
ro 'be long' > rokay 'long'
buda 'be old' > budakay 'old(agewise)'
There are some of derived adjectives which are inseparable in nature.
These are formed by addition of pi- and ka- prefixes:
pidan 'new,'
piri, 'raw,' 'tender'
pithiN 'unripen',
kara 'upper'
kama 'lower'
katira 'not straight'
kapha 'near'
naynay 'bright' tsiktsik 'cold' brakbrak 'sunny' tsaNtsaN 'moonly'
tsakkay 'red' > tshakrONkay 'reddish' bokkay 'white' > bokshlekkay 'whitish'
In Rabha, most of the adjectives can precede or follow the noun
(i) Adjectives following the head noun: e.g. to kuli akkay tshidzo 'the black hen is dead' ame kay rokayna nukNata 'I have seen a tall man' (ii) Adjective preceding the head noun : e.g Akkay to kuli tshiodzo 'the black female fowl is dead'
Thus the adjectivializer –kay occurs when the adjective modifies a noun.
-kay occurs as a gerundiaval marker too. e.g.
parkina reNkay nema 'visiting park is good'
In certain set of collocations (fixed phrases) the adjective in Rabha occurs only to the right of the head noun. e.g
bhet tsakkay 'lotus' raitshuN tshakkay 'onion'
However, if the adjective precedes the noun , it has the meaning of the specific colour modifying noun e.g.
bokkay raitshuN 'onion which is white' tsakkay raitshuN 'onion which is red'
The adjective does not exhibit agreement with the modifying noun in Rabha.This is expected because verbs in Rabha too do not carry any agreement marker. There are two types of adjectives in Rabha—(i)verbal adjectives and (ii)deverbal adjectives.
verbal adjectives permit the adjectival comparative marker –raN which is equivalent to –er of English and the superalative marker –tshraN which is equivalent to –est of English.e.g.
u tsithoa 'she is beautiful' u nirmaina kara tsithoraNa 'she is more beautiful than Nirmai' rita tsharkayna kara tsithotshraNa 'Rita is the most beautiful amongst all'
There are some adjectives which do not permit an adjectival comparative or superlative marker e.g.
pidan 'new' maitsam 'old' dImbai 'tender' buda 'old' pithiN 'raw'
In Rabha an adverb of time or place or manner occurs in the initial position of the verb phrase to the left of the verb or direct object.
For eg: kaymUltaN iyantshan gurinata 'the children have slept just now' mekhograk tshruk-tshruk dhaNatamUn 'the thief entered silently' mitsatshabra bidzan gaphuN okay kamio trIprIno 'the girls will finish that work tomorrow'
These adverbs can even occur in the initial position of a sentence:
For eg: yantshan kaymUltaN gurinata 'the children have slept just now' tshruktshruk mekhograk dhaNatamUn 'the thief entered silently' gaphuN mitsatshabra bidzan okay kamio tIprIno 'the girls will finish that work tomorrow.'
TuNtuN 'warmly' Taptap 'quickly' These reduplication of adverbs may be contracted by addition of –an: mrIkmrIk>mrIkan 'totally' tshruktshruk>tshrukan 'silently and quickly' By addition of –aN suffixes some adverbs are derived from nouns. e.g. mUnaN mUnaN 'silently' cf. mUn 'mind' tshaktshaN 'alone' cf. tshaktsha 'one person' By addition of –ay, -i, -bay some adverbs are derived from nouns and adjectives.e.g. kaphay 'nearly' cf. kapha 'near' dzhanbay 'far' cf.dzhanba 'at distance' nuki 'at home' cf.nok 'home'
All the syntactic constructions, whether active or passive are impersonal in Rabha.e.g.
aN raNo 'I shall carry' naN aNo raNo 'you will take me with you'
However, each and every syntactic construction with or without a subject may be reconstructed in the passive by the following two methods:
In this method, passive construction is done by replacing the case of the subject (nominative by possessive) and adding tsaN "to become", an auxiliary verb to the verb phrase.e.g.
aNi ikayo raNkay tsaNo 'it will be carried by me' naNi aNo raNkay tsaNo 'I shall be brought by you'
Replacing nominative by instrumental is another method of passive construction. The object of the active voice moves to the subject position and a compound (subordinate) verb –matsha "to compel" i.e. reflexive sense added after the main verb of the active construction to generate a passive construction. e.g
aNtsaki name garaymatshano 'you will be scold by me' naNtsaki ame raNmatshano 'I shall be compelled to carry by me'.
An intransitive verb may also be used in passive voice when the subject in the active is unknown and the sufferer i.e. the subject in the passive is compelled by others to cause his action. e.g.
ekhre Inkay tsaNata 'it was said so' ube ekhre Inmatshanata 'he was called so'
The passive voice of an active verb in the imperative and operative mood is formed by conjunctival construction compounding with some auxiliary verbs.e.g.
Active : naN noko tsIp 'you shut the door' Passive : naNo noko tsIptaketa 'you are asked to shut the door'
The passive sense is often expressed periphrastically by means of verbal compounds. e.g. ,/p>
u rImmatshadzo 'he has been caught' nana nathoa 'it is melodious to listen'
The assertive negative constructions, which are formed by compounding two verbs of opposite sense to signify interrogation or suspicion or doubt, are always impersonal.e.g.
Impersonal: ube reNa reNkhutsa 'has he gone or hasn’t he' Active: ube reNdzo doNba 'perhaps he is gone'
Some agglutinated passives are also found in Rabha where -e is suffixed to the main verb root/stem to which –tsa is again added. In other words this is done by double affixation.e.g.
(ube) nekini nuktsa 'he is not seen by eyes' ame bUlpake dzaNtsa 'it is not possible for me by force'.
In Rabha, words are formed using different morphological processes viz. derivation, compounding, reduplication and contraction. Examples are given below to illustrate the various processes in Rabha.
(a) By addition of –kai in gerundial senese.e.g.
tsuN 'to be big' > tsuNkai 'big'
ri 'to be heavy' > rikai "heavy"
(b) By addition of –bakai / bataN in agentive sense.e.g.
nukbar 'to fall in love' > nukbakai 'beloved'
phar 'to sell' > pharbataN 'sellars'
nem 'good' + ratshoN 'pride' = nemratshoN 'thanks' ha 'earth' + tshoN 'village' = hatshoN 'country' ha 'earth' + tsu 'to be high' = hatsu 'hill'
ram 'road' : ram ram 'through the road' tsaN 'who' : tsaN tsaN 'who and who' tuNbur 'warm' : tuNbur tuNbur 'warmly'
tap tap 'quickly' : tapan 'instantly' tuNbur tuNbur 'warmly': tuNbubur 'warmness'.
In Rabha question word occurs in situation i.e. in the same position as the constituent (word or expression) that is being questioned.e.g.
parmai-be beNa reNo 'where will parmai go?'
However, the question word can be moved to the left to the initial position of the sentence or to the right of the verb + aux. e.g.
beNa naN reNo 'where will you go?'
In Rabha, expression for 'what' has two forms ata and ato e.g.
naNi Umbani ata muN 'what is your husband’s name?'
ata can be reduplicated.e.g.
naroNbe ata ata hadam tsinata 'which places have you seen?'
ato occurs when the question word does not modify a noun phrase.e.g.
naNi Umbani muNbe ato 'what is your husband’s name?' name ato bobayeta 'what are you speaking?'
ato can also be reduplicated.e.g.
naroNbe ato ato bobaybamuN 'What did you discuss?'
In Rabha Yes / no question markers occur postverbally.e.g.
ibe matshana 'is this a tiger?'. ibe matsha dowana doNtsa 'is this a tiger or not?'
In Rabha the negative markers are -tsa and ta-.
-tsa occurs to the right of verb stem followed by tense and aspect markers in declarative sentences.e.g.
naN mutshana kaotsha rakhutsadzo. 'You have not given the book to the person'. u (be) tshatsa 'he does not eat'.
The negative marker in imperative sentences is ta- and it occurs to the left of the main verb. e.g.
naN tareN '(You) don’t go'. naroN tariba '(you) don’t come'.
Reflexive: for a reflexive sentence in Rabha, kakay-na kakay is used.e.g.
dapheN (be) kakayna kakay thitshiki-ba. 'Dapheng killed himself'.
The second occurance of kakay can be dropped in Rabha. e.g.
dapheN kakayna thitshiki-ba. 'Dapheng killed himself'
Reciprocals: In Rabha 'ina-una' occurs as the reciprocal.e.g.
oroNbe ina-una nukbardzo. 'they have fallen in love with each other'
Rabha has a marker –dzIn that occurs with the verb and it functions as a verbal reciprocal marker.e.g.
oroNbe ina-una nukbar-dzIndzo. 'They have fallen in love with each other'.
In Rabha, comparative degree is expressed by addition of suffix –raN with adjectival verb. e.g.
ikaybe ukayna kara tsuNraNkay pakdza / ikay pakdzabe ukayna kara tsuNraNa 'this object is bigger than that'. uni kalamkay ketsha nemraNdzo 'His illness is (more) improved to some degree'.
superlative degree is expressed by addition of suffix -tshraN with adjectival verb. e.g.
mOina khuraNgan nathotshraNa 'Singing of Maina bird is the most melodious' uni kalamkay gotaynan nemtshraNdzo 'His illness is cured to the fullest'.
In Rabha some post-positions are used in single or in reduplication with noun/ pronoun/adjective/gerunds/adverbs in expressing equatives sense. e.g.
–ganda:(kay): bay ganda nuka 'looks like god' rabhataN ganda ganda tata 'seems to be Rabha (tribes)'. tshiloN gandakay hadam aro bitshi mano 'There is no place like Shillong'. –rIp(tshani): bayrIp tshayrIp '(behave )like god' gotshani / tsaktshani: tshabra gotshani / tshaktshani natshikay 'filial affection' gota: Umba gota (Umba) toNbayan 'in presence of husband(self)' thIN thIN: babra thIN thIN nukeba 'even seeing one’s father' -gudu gudu/khe khe: ube doNa gudu gudu / khe khe katha kania 'He seems to tell the truth' tekabay: tetekabay reNdoN gaphuN tekabay bara 'if it goes on this day, likely to return by the next day'
To provide emphasis to a noun phrase or verb phrase in a sentence almost same emphatic particle can be added to the noun phrase or verb phrase. Some of the emphatic particles in Rabha are marked in the following sentences: e.g.
-tshe: nasthimaitshe tsika ghatina reNo. 'Only Nasimai will go to the river bank'. Nasthimai tsika ghatinatshe reNo. 'Nasimai will go to the river bank only'. nasthimai tsika ghatina reNotshe. 'Nasimai will only go to the river bank'. -an: Nasthimai-an tsika ghatina reNo. 'Nasimai herself will go to the river bank'. Nasthimai tsika ghatina-an reNo. 'Nasimai will go to the river bank particularly'. Nasthimai tsika ghatina reNo-an. 'Nasimai will go to the river bank surely'. -ba: aN-ba trINdamina reNo. 'I also will go to school'. aN trINdamina-ba reNo. 'I will go to school also'. aN trINdamina reNo-ba. 'I will also go to school'. -tshan: naN-tshan trINdanina reNtsanata. (lit. Only you have not gone to school.) 'All are present in school except you'. naN trINdanina-tshan reNtsanata. (lit. You have not gone only to school.) 'You have gone everywhere except to school'. naN trINdanina reNtsanata-tshan. (lit. You have only not gone to school.) 'You have gone everything except to school'
| Rabha | English |
|---|---|
| Dzlktshay miba / Umba / banday mitsik / manday tshabra mitsa tshabra mutsha dada phOdzObra bibi dzinON dzanON mOmO baba (babra) aya (dzubra) dzudzu budi / bidi tshubra mutsha tshubra mitsa dzudzutsuN buditsuN / biditsuN dzudzu therON budi / bibi therON tshubra therON bang bang tshitshi amaN phadzON madzON aytsuN mama mani namtsakbra / bhagini namthay / bhagina bhatidzi bhatidza | couple husband wife daughter son elder brother younger brother elder sister younger sister (female speaker) younger sister (male speaker) younger brother / sister father mother grand father grand mother grand son grand daughter grand grand father grand grand mother fore father fore mother great grand child paternal uncle (father’s yr. brother/mother’s yr. sister’s husband) paternal aunt (father’s yr. brother’s wife) maternal aunt (mother’s yr. sister) father’s el. brother/mother’s el. sister’s husband father’s el. brother’s wife mother’s el. sister maternal uncle (mother’s el./yr. brother, father’s el./yr. sister’s husband) father’s el./yr. sister, mother’s el. / yr. brother’s wife yr./el. sister’s daughter (male speaker) yr./el. sister’s son (male speaker) yr./el. brother’s daughter (m. speaker) yr./el brother’s son (male speaker) |
Tshakkay 'red' bOkkay 'white' akkay 'black' bhaykay 'yellow' khentsreNkay 'green' raNtser 'blue'
akho/aktshokho 'bluish black' bantho 'purple' kOmOla 'orange colour' phakra 'variegated colour' tshakplek 'pale-white colour' phuktshtura 'smoke-like colour' bhaytshram 'light yellow' tshakrON 'redish' laha rON 'deep brown' ha rON 'earth-like colour' magur matshia 'copper-like colour, skin colour'.
kan 'body' tIkam 'head' kapal 'fore-head' kumpak 'nose' nuken 'eye' nuken-tshabra 'pupil of the eye' nukman 'eye-lash' nukdam 'eye brow' khOro 'hair' tIkamkhoN 'skull' tala 'crown of the head' phaydam 'cheek' nukhaN 'face' khutsar 'lip' khuthulay 'tongue' phakham 'teeth' phakON 'gum' khumen 'beard' tOkkraN 'neck' kiNdzuN 'bone' pikha 'heart' bodOm 'belly' nu 'breast' tsheN 'waist' tatshi 'hand' buktshuk 'abdomen' khapak 'chest' thaloN 'spleen' tshun 'heart' dzimakhar 'anus' tatshikhu 'fingers of the hand' tsatsakor 'nail' tatheN 'foot' tshibON 'thigh' tatheNkhu 'fingers of the foot' khOrthap 'skin' nakOr 'ear' kIndam 'back'
matek-metek 'vessels' thal 'dish' tsuriya 'a kind of vessel' kargha 'iron pan' kUmbay 'pitcher' kOtsOpat 'ladle' phoNka 'cook-shed' khuri 'bowl' may 'boiled rice' mi 'curry' khartsi mi 'curry prepared with alkali' thutsi mi 'curry prepared with mustard oil' mi raNtsiN 'juice of curry' bamtsi mi 'curry prepared with rice powder' may-phakay 'rice boiled in bamboo tube' phoktsak 'cake boiled in bamboo tube' poNna 'rice or cake boiled by steaming' phap 'cake or powder for fermentation of rice beer'
baytshan 'sunday' tshagritshan 'monday' tsIktshitshan 'tuesday' phuphaktshan 'wednessday' tshItitshan 'thursday' khItshantitshan 'friday' khIraotshan 'saturday'
purkona 'the universe' raNtshaN 'sun' raNgre 'moon' aphe 'star' raNmandi 'sky' raNkhop 'cloud' memaNpur 'palace of the king of death, hell' rONpur 'heaven' hitimolan 'milky-way' raNgrephrao 'moon-light' aphe-bhonta 'bright-star, Venus' tshiktshi 'Mars' tshanipak 'Mercury' raNtshini aphe 'evening star' phuNini aphe 'morning star' aphe dzibra 'pole-star' aphe-dzitsraN 'commet' bardzamba 'shooting star' totshabra 'a collection of small stars' tsOkobuNi 'a collection of three stars' tshat buinini maNkhram 'the constellation' bItshamUta/hamandi 'Earth' gIti/tshi rata 'new moon' purmay/nay rata 'full-moon' raNggre tshabra 'half moon' raNtsrit 'planet' raNtsrit tshani 'satellite' raNkundi 'horizon' raNmuluk 'solar system' raNtshraN/raNphe 'celestial bodies'
matshu 'cow' mitsi 'buffalo' ki 'dog' miNku 'cat' prUn 'goat' goray 'horse' prUnbhela 'sheep' huti/hiti 'elephant' matsha 'tiger' mada 'bear' makra 'monkey' hulu makra 'gibbon' kerkota 'squirrel' newal 'mongoose' mOtso 'rat' gadha 'ass' maruk 'wild cat' tamana 'fox' phethe 'porcupine' maktsOk 'deer' matha 'iguana' tshatsha 'hare' bak 'pig' tupu 'snake' lUbak 'frog' ut 'camel' baduli 'bat' ganday 'rhinoceros' lokra 'wolf' huda 'otter' khutshuN 'tortoise' ginal 'crocodile' tshiNgho 'lion'
rampar 'air, wind' tsika 'water' partsuN 'storm' raNdzigar 'hail-storm' phatsi 'rain' parmanduri 'cyclone' baybadzi/baytera 'thunderbolt' bImbrak 'thunder' kuhuri 'fog' pramtsi 'dew' hadzek 'mountain' hatsu 'hill' tila 'hillock' tambrON 'river' dzhOra 'stream' pangrIm 'forest' bar 'fire' ha 'soil' rONka 'rock' haNtseN 'sand' haptsi 'mud' barkhuntsi 'smoke' hadUrkay 'earthquake' tsi-dzimari 'sea' tsikadzibratsuN 'ocean' hatshidam 'desert' bana 'flood' dubi 'lake' handar 'dark' naynay 'light, bright'
pan/phaN 'tree' leowa 'creeper' pOtso 'mango' paNtsuN 'jackfruit' khiNkhi 'jujube' tsentreN 'tamarind' dzambur 'orange' rekphaN 'banana tree' mOnthOl 'papaya' lempOtso 'guava' thekreN 'a kind of sour fruit' pantshan 'sal tree' tshigun 'teak tree' pata 'jute tree' pantsu 'silk cotton tree' mandre 'coral tree' dakhOr 'purging cassia' atak 'a kind of tree' phephaN 'fig tree' dhop 'banyan tree' tsipri 'wood apple' ba 'bamboo' badzON 'a kind of bamboo' batrai 'a kind of bamboo' bhurka 'a kind of bamboo'
nen 'clothes' rUphan 'skirt' kambuN 'sheet/scarf' gamtsha 'long and broad waist cloth of man' khopON 'turban for men' khodabaN 'cloth weared round the head by women' tsheNkanen 'cloth enclosed round the waist by man' bOktsali 'half shirt' patsara/phali 'thin wrapper of man' tsola 'shirt' gundzi 'guensey' pentuluN 'long pant' aNtsa 'thin boby wrapper' butshil 'blouse' nambri 'ear-ornament' tshaNkha 'bracelet' hantsa 'necklace' rubakmala 'seven tiered chain used round the waist by woman folk' nukum/nakaputi 'nose ornament' khutshumakrON 'hairpin' kantabadzu 'armlet' tsatshikOm 'ring'
aN 'I' tsiN 'we' naN 'you'(sg) narON 'you'(pl) o/u 'he / she' orON 'they' okay 'that' ubidzan 'those' itshi 'here' utshi 'there' beN/bitshi 'where' ekay 'this' ibidzan 'these' bekay 'which' tsaN 'who' ata 'what' tsaNi 'whose' bitshina 'to where' tsaNa 'to whom' tsaNba 'somebody' dzaba 'someone'
nema 'good' nemtsa 'bad' tsuNa 'big' mula 'small' tshoNa 'short' rowa 'long' paraNa 'thin' tsadela 'thick' kaniya/kanikay 'near' dzhana 'far' datsi 'false' raka 'harrd' raya 'soft' takray/tsUpan 'few / little' paNa/paNkay 'many/much' pidan 'new' maytsam 'old' tuna 'hot' tsIka 'cold' tseNa 'light' preNa 'straight' beNkra 'bend'
bentsek 'how many' entsek 'this much' ontsok 'that much' nemekhare 'properly' nemtsakhare 'badly' anare 'slowly' dzakhre 'like this' okhre 'like that' karaN 'on, above' kamaN 'under' pimuN 'inside' badziN 'outside' bedo 'when' bedoba 'sometime' barmatshi 'always' mUnaN-mUnaN 'silently' tap-tap 'hastily, quickly' dzela 'when' ola 'then' tegap 'nowa-a-days' gaphuN 'tomorrow' miya 'yesterday' maya 'previous day' tsuniN 'the day after tomorrow' bruniN 'on the forth day' tikaN 'before' raptshraN/grip-grIp 'together' dzaduN-dzaduN 'sometimes'
| English | Rabha | |
|---|---|---|
| 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 200 300 400 500 900 1000 | Zero One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve Thirteen Forteen Fifteen Sixteen Seventeen Eighteen Nineteen Twenty Twenty one Twenty two Twenty three Twenty four Twenty five Twenty six Twenty seven Twenty eight Twenty nine Thirty Thirty one Thirty two Thirty three Thirty four Thirty five Thirty six Thirty seven Thirty eight Thirty nine Forty Forty one Forty two Forty three Forty four Forty five Forty six Forty seven Forty eight Forty nine Fifty Fifty one Fifty two Fifty three Fifty four Fifty five Fifty six Fifty seven Fifty eight Fifty nine Sixty Sixty one Sixty two Sixty three Sixty four Sixty five Sixty six Sixty seven Sixty eight Sixty nine Seventy Seventy one Seventy two Seventy three Seventy four Seventy five Seventy six Seventy seven Seventy eight Seventy nine Eighty Eighty one Eighty two Eighty three Eighty four Eighty five Eighty six Eighty seven Eighty eight Eighty nine Ninety Ninety one Ninety two Ninety three Ninety four Ninety five Ninety six Ninety seven Ninety eight Ninety nine One hundred Two hundred Three hundred Four hundred Five hundred Nine hundred One thousand | tha / antha tsha / gOtsha niN / anniN tham / antham tsetsa / antsetsa tOla / antOla krob / ankrob tshiya / antshiya gin / angin biN / anbiN tshatha / antshatha tshatsha / antshatha tsha tshaniN / antshatha niN tshatham / antshatha tham tshatsetsa / antshatha tsetsa tshatOla / antshatha tOla tshakrob / antshatha krob tshatshiya / antshatha tshiya tshagin / antshatha gin tshabiN / antshatha biN niNtha / anniNtha niNtsha / anniNtha tsha niNniN / anniNtha niN niNtham / anniNtha tham niNtsetsa / anniNtha tsetsa niNtOla / anniNtha tOla niNkrob / anniNtha krob niNtshiya / anniNtha tshiya niNgin / anniNtha gin niNbiN / anniNtha biN thamtha / anthamtha thamtsha / anthamtha tsha thamniN / anthamtha niN thamtham / anthamtha tham thamtsetsa / anthamtha tsetsa thamtOla / anthamtha tOla thamkrob / anthamtha krob thamtshiya / anthamtha tshiya thamgin / anthamtha gin thambiN / anthamtha biN tsetsatha / antsetsatha tsetsatsha / antsetsatha tsha tsetsaniN / antsetsatha niN tsetsatham / antsetsatha tham tsetsatsetsa / antsetsatha tsetsa tsetsatOla / antsetsatha tOla tsetsakrob / antsetsatha krob tsetsatshiya / antsetsatha tshiya tsetsagin / antsetsatha gin tsetsabiN / antsetsatha biN tOlatha / antOlatha tOlatsha / antOlatha tsha tOlaniN / antOlatha niN tOlatham / antOlatha tham tOlatsetsa / antOlatha tsetsa tOlatOla / antOlatha tOla tOlakrob / antOlatha krob tOlatshiya / antOlatha tshiya tOlagin / antOlatha gin tOlabiN / antOlatha biN krobtha / ankrobtha krobtsha / antshatha tsha krobniN / ankrobtha niN krobtham / ankrobtha tham krobtsetsa / ankrobtha tsetsa krobtOla / ankrobtha tOla krobkrob / ankrobtha tOla krobtshiya / ankrobtha tshiya krobgin / ankrobtha gin krobbiN / ankrobtha biN tshiyatha / antshiyatha tshiyatsha / antshiyatha tsha tshiyaniN / antshiyatha niN tshiyatham / antshiyatha tham tshiyatsetsa / antshiyatha tsetsa tshiyatOla / antshiyatha tOla tshiyakrob / antshiyatha krob tshiyatshiya / antshiyatha tshiya tshiyagin / antshiyatha gin tshiyabiN / antshiyatha biN gintha / angintha gintsha / angintha tsha ginniN / angintha niN gintham / angintha tham gintsetsa / angintha tsetsa gintOla / angintha tOla ginkrob / angintha krob gintshiya / angintha tshiya gingin / angintha gin ginbiN / angintha biN biNtha / anbiN tha biNtsha / anbiNtha tsha biNniN / anbiNtha niN biNtham / anbiNtha tham biNtsetsa / anbiNtha tsetsa biNtOla / anbiNtha tOla biNkrob / anbiNtha krob biNtshiya / anbiNtha tshiya biNgin / anbiNtha gin biNbing / anbiNtha biN tshathatha / antshathatha niNthatha / aniNthatha thamthatha / anthamthatha tsetsathatha / antsetsathatha tOlathatha / antOlathatha biNthatha / anbiNthatha tshathathatha / antshathathatha |
The lexicon of Rabha language may be categorized broadly into four types, viz. a) Indigenous, b) Homogeneous, c) Heterogeneous, and d) Unclassified. Selected specimens of each category are given below.
kay 'man', bay 'god or goddess', tsay 'song', tsaN 'who', ato 'what', trIp trIp 'silently', dON dON 'speedily', drI drI 'slowly', ao 'to scream', prao 'to call', now 'to rumour' etc.
ka-: kara 'up,over', kama 'down, below', kapha 'near', kaluk 'under'; pi-: pithin 'unripe', pitshak 'ned', piri 'tender', pithar 'pure'; -kay: tsithokay 'handsome', nathokay 'melodious', aokay 'screaming'; ra 'take': raba 'to bring', rakhu 'to give', raN 'to take away', ratsham 'to keep'; rI 'to shift, to move': rIba 'come', rIdzIm 'to walk', rIaN > reN 'to go' may 'paddy' + dzham 'store house' > maydzham 'granary' par 'flower' + dam 'place' > pardam 'garden' nok 'house' + dar 'wall' > nokdar 'wall' tsay 'song' + rUN 'to drink' > tsayrUN 'to sing' etc.
ha 'earth, soil', may 'paddy', aN 'I', tshiN 'we', mini 'to laugh', ba 'to carry on back', mun 'to be ripe', tshIN 'to ask', tsha 'one', niN 'two', tham 'three', tsham 'mortar', nok 'house'etc.
ki 'dog' cf. Mishing: iki 'dog'
Umba 'husband' cf. Manipuri: mIba, Tibetan: Uwo 'husband'
dzap 'fan, to fan' cf. Karbi: bijap 'fan',Tibetan:yap 'to fan'
ruwa 'poisonous fruit' cf. Karbi: ruwa 'poisonous fruit'
phap 'medicated powder for brewing rice beer' cf. Karbi: thap 'medicated powder for brewing rice beer'etc.
kay 'man' cf. Tai-Phake: kai 'man' nu 'breast,milk' cf. Tibetan: numa 'breast' u /o 'she / he' cf. Tibetan: O 'he / she' gur 'to sleep' cf. Tibetan: g-yur 'to sleep' ki 'dog' cf. Chinese: Kiwen 'dog' tshi 'blood' cf. Chinese: xiwet 'blood' pur 'to fly' cf. Chinese: piwar 'to fly' etc.
pudza 'worship'(puja), haNtshi 'duck' (hangsha),tshirgi 'heaven'(swarga), tshatsha 'rabbit'(shasha), kUmbai 'pitcher' (kumbha) etc.
akhay 'popcorn' (akhoi), aya 'mother' (ai), atha 'gum' (etha / atha), parOk 'pigeon' (paro) etc.
boka 'foolish' (boka), pOrta 'benefit' (porta), bhari 'heavy, great' (bhari), pala 'drama' (pala), thakur 'gentleman, lord' (thakur) etc.
tsarkha 'spinning wheel' (charkha), hapta 'week' (haptah), tshOsta 'cheap' (sasta), paka 'rigid, strong' (pakka), haitar 'sacrificing sword' (hathiyar 'arms') etc.
dzunthi 'galloping trap' cf. Munda :jati tari 'high land' cf. Munda; tariya deNga 'cannoe' cf. Khasi: dieng hapa 'wild cat' cf. Malay: hapa pagla 'mad' cf. Malay: gila etc.
keratshin cf. 'kerosene', gilatsh cf. 'glass', tsitipin cf. 'safetypin', baktsho cf. box, elatari cf. electric, lOmbar cf. number etc.
tabitsh 'amulet' (tabij), kaotsha 'paper' (kagoz), khOpOr 'news' (khobor), beram 'sick, disease' (be-aram), hadzar 'thousand' (hajar), raha 'means, way' (rah), killa 'fort' (killah), dzamat 'conference, council' (jamiyat) etc.
nu 'milk': nu 'breast, milk' ha 'soil' + pitsi 'egg' > haptsi 'clay' ha 'soil' + tshoN 'village' > hatshoN 'land, kingdom' hamdzar 'jhuming field' + par 'flower' > hampa 'cotton' mayruN 'uncooked rice' + tUk 'earthen pot' > ruNtUk / runtuk 'goddess of rice i.e. Lakshmi' to 'cock' + tIkam 'head' > totIkam 'feast of the marriage i.e. marriage'
tsaytsak 'poem', tsayktsok 'poet' cf. tsay 'song' raotsak 'prose' cf. rao 'voice, sound' nuktshini 'scenery' cf. nuk 'to see' tsungIr 'sir, gentleman', tsuNraha 'desire' cf. tsuN 'to be large, to be big'
nem 'good' + phuN 'morning' > nemphuN 'goodmorning' dzibra 'mother' + hatshON 'land' > dzibra hatshoN 'motherland' barkha 'fire'+ hatsu 'hill' > barkhahatsu 'volcano' cf. Sanskrit: agneyagiri khuraN 'speech' + dzibra 'mother' > khuraNdzibra 'mother tongue' cf. Sanskrit: matribhasha etc.
bish 'poison'(Sanskrit) + pantsak 'medicine' > bish-pantsak 'poison' prUn 'goat' + bhela (Assamese:bhera’sheep’) > prUn bhela 'sheep' be- 'less' (Arabic) + kOr 'character'>baygOr 'characterless girl' nuken 'eye' + lubhiya 'greedy'(Assamese) > nuken lubhiya 'greedy person' etc.
In Rabha, discourse content dependent structure can be observed in some of the following aspects: These aspects are: (i) Cursing, (2) Blessing, (3) Love-affairs, (4) Sorrow (5) Child- language.
In Rabha society, there are some magico-religious rites in which the priest curses the deities or witches during the propitiation process. As, for example, in the hymn of propitiating ‘tIkar’ i.e. the responsible witch is cursed as following:
tshoiti tshoiti tini tshot rakhuita naNo bhalaN bhalaN teremtana lagia nahole mOhapapina kino mOhakalina kino
Such cursing is done when a witch affects a person. Therefore the priest taking an oath (tini tshot) commands the witch to either heal the affected person or to suffer from great sin (Mahapap) or to fall into the doom (Mahakal).
However, some set of idioms and phrases are also used in Rabha as cursing (in case of human). e.g. markharaNkay 'calling untimely death' caused by epidemic.
laNatsharaNkay 'calling untimely death' caused by langa deity.
This Discourse is found in traditional Rabha wedding ceremonies and in caring a child. For example, when a child behaves in an unusual manner (grudge), the elders convey their affection by addressing ONe mao tshona (to the females child) or ONe babuN (to the male child) as such
name tebe dObON dObON mai tshana lagiya, kherena lagiya, nukhaN tshare toNa lagiya.
This is said along with kissing which means 'O dear of the dearest! , now you should take full amount of rice, play with joy and charm'.
Discourse of blessing in traditional Rabha wedding ceremonies is found in the ‘mantras’ of the priest as following:
eroNi dzora parok dzora tsaNkhan eroNi dzora moina dzora tsaNkhan eroNi dzora tukhur dzora tsaNkhan ruk ruk Umba mitsik nok pati tshakhan tshawa poro tsaNkhan tshoto poro tsaNkhan ha poro tsaNkhan Umba mitsik mili go- poro tsaNkhan Umba mitsik mili gai-poro tsaNkhan Umba mitsik mili budhi-giri tsaNkhan Umba mitsik mili man-giri tsaNkhan Nok pati tshay mela tshamdzay ratshoNtshare toNkhan nidzana kayna neme tereme Ine naNo tsheoman khareta he tshirgini ritshi thakur !
In the above piece of 'mantra', all the underlined words are indicative of the blessings by the priest to the bride and bridegroom.
Discourse in Rabha is found in the traditional songs related to love affairs. e.g.
pamtsu paro tsutshia mUndar paro tsutshia ram tshiruk pal
In the above song, the spring birds attract some kind of flowers, which symbolises lovers and beloved.
Discourse of sorrowness is also found in Rabha. e.g. O ayare "oh! Mother" O babare "oh! Father"
agiranina kidzokgo name birmaraina kidzokgo name nidarainina kidzokgo name dandraina kidzokgo name teni para naNobe nuketsaro tsime. naNi tshona khuraN natsadzok tsime naNi ganthi khuraN natsadzok tsime
'you are now in eternal sleep, laid on the bed of death, soon you will be cremated. From today onwards we‘ll see you no-more, your worldly voice will no more be heard , your worldly talking will no more be heard.'
Child language is another aspect where discourse is found.e.g. “ha manday tshonakay!
tupur tapar nukhar reNdzo
aNi bomay;
atshuk-bitshuk tsoNkomoti
bitshina phuN;
dzanbaini hatsu phatshaN
atshu grimi toN.
'oh! My dear, you are in sleep, in my lap,irritating insect, where, gathered, hill of far away, stay in the field of atshugrim i.e. paddy field'
Grammar of discourse in Rabha is evident in some of the poems which may be called the poetic blunder. Such poetic blunder is clearly found in the popular songs of Rajen Pam, Sangeet Natak Academy awardee(folk-artist).
e.g. mayadini para ribay tsiNi tshoNina dziri dziri ato kriNe reNa bedo name boNo una bentsok dzana reNa laginowa ana name tsiNo bobaytsa.
The underlined words, in the above extract are wrongly used by the composer in order to give certain poetic effect. Grammatically mayadini and tsiNo should be mayani and tsiN pake respectively.
Another instance of poetic blunder is found in a popular traditional song composed by Rabha Kristi Sangha.
O aya naNbe bitshina dzardzokre naN toNtsabayan naNi tshabra bidzanbe praNdzok bitshina dzardzokre
In the above extract the word naNbe is name from the grammatical point of view.
Discourse semantics in Rabha is found in some of the dramatic dialogues. For example, to create a situation for drunker, there is the use of Hindi words as given below:
tsikraN(male character, drunker): Oi budzi, tsokotshe budzi tsoko botol, rUNona?
'dear sister-in-law, here is a bottle of wine, lets drink, will you?'
nodai(female character): botol-thotol nahi mareNga.
'you go to hell with your bottle of wine'
('dodan-bir' play composed by Prasanna Pam in 1957)
In order to create humor effect, dialogues with mixed languages are applied by some playwrights. e.g. balabhadra(country gentleman): te akharna lagino? Nobab ribadoNbe…
'how should we behave to your nobab?'
phota(invaders follower):adap, adap, adap 'ceremonious term of address for the Mugal emperor'
balabhadra:hadap, hadap, hadap(wrong imitation) phota: toynal kakNo, tselabuk matshano 'you’ll be punished by sword or whip' ( in the drama: roNgir portshuram, scene-iv, written by Dr. U. R. Hakacham in 1998)
In the above dialogue, humorous effect is brought by the use of hadap instead of adap in the speech of balabhadra as well as in the speech of phota who uses tselabuk in place of tsabuk.
Copyright CIIL-India Mysore