2012/11/23 by Amos Teo · 7 citations
Social Sciences · #Multilingual Education and Policy #Swearing, Euphemism, Multilingualism #South Asian Studies and Conflicts #Linguistics #Geography #History
paper · pdf · doi:10.1017/s0025100312000254
published in Journal of the International Phonetic Association 42(3), 365-373 (Cambridge University Press)
openalex publication_date 2012/11/23 · openalex created_date 2022/05/12 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Sumi (also known by its exonym ‘Sema’) is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken in Nagaland, North-east India. It is one of the major languages of the state, with an estimated 242,000 speakers living primarily in Zunheboto district, as well as in the major cities of Kohima and Dimapur. Bradley (1997) places Sumi (referred to as Sema), among the ‘Southern Naga’ languages, which include Angami (also known as Tenyidie) and Ao, in contrast to the ‘Northern Naga’ languages such as Konyak and Nocte. Burling (2003) offers a more conservative classification, placing Sumi (referred to as Simi) in an ‘Angami-Pochuri’ group containing Angami, Chakhesang (Chokri and Kheza) and Mao. Four main dialects of Sumi have been identified: the Western dialect, the Eastern dialect, the Chizolimi dialect, and the Central dialect. The Central dialect is the standard dialect used in published works of Sumi (Sreedhar 1976: 4–5).