In linguistics, Khurkhul dialect () is a variety of Meitei language (Manipuri), spoken by the inhabitants of Khurkhul village, located in Imphal West district of Manipur, India, approximately 15–16 km from the state capital, Imphal. It belongs to the Sino-Tibetan language family. According to the 2011 Census of India, Khurkhul population was 6,450 individuals, with a literacy rate of 78.16%. The native speakers are known as Lois, who traditionally identify themselves as Ariba Meitei (“original Meiteis”).
Khurkhul is considered as critically endangered due to the increasing language shift among younger generations towards major languages. However, it continues to be widely used by the older generation in various domains of community life.
The dialect contains distinctive linguistic features, including specialized vocabulary related to kinship terms and colour terms, expressions of gender, linguistic and non-linguistic forms of politeness, and traditional proverbs and taboos. These features provide insight into the social structure, cultural practices, religious beliefs, and worldview of the Khurkhul-speaking community.
Etymology
Several traditions explain the origin of the name Khurkhul. According to one account, the name is derived from Khoiri Khun (khoiri “umbilical cord” + khun “village”), referring to a place associated with the cutting of an umbilical cord during the reign of King Thangcha Khongchomba and Queen Leinung Yaibilok of Sangaithel. Over time, Khoiri Khun is believed to have evolved into the present name Khurkhul.
Another tradition traces the name to Khoiren Khun (khoi “umbilical” + ren “cut” + khun “village”), referring to the place where an umbilical cord was cut using a blade of grass.
A third tradition derives the name from Khutlukhun (khutlu “knee” + khun “village”). It is associated with a story in which a community representative resisted religious conversion by refusing to comply even while kneeling before the authorities. According to this tradition, the name Khutlukhun later developed into Khurkhul.
Classification Khurkhul primarily belongs to the Chakpa sub-group of the Loi group of dialects of Meiteilon (Manipuri), eventually belonging to the Tibeto-Burman language family.
Phonology Vowels Khurkhul has 6 vowel phonemes. + Vowels of Khurkhul FRONT CENTRAL BACK HIGH i u MID e ə o LOW a
Minimal pairs establishing the pure vowels Khurkhul has multiple minimal pairs to make pure vowels. + Minimal pairs establishing the pure vowels of Khurkhul Minimal pairs Contexts Phonemes [pi] : [pe]'tear'; 'a kind of umbrella' [p_] /i/, /e/ [li] : [la]'cane'; 'banana leaf' [l_] /i/, /a/ [kəmbə] : [kambə]'cut'; 'greedy' [k_mbə] /ə/, /a/ [məroi] : [maroi]'vegetable'; 'will not rotten' [m_roi] /ə/, /a/ [lobə] : [lubə]'ripe'; 'deep' [l_bə] /o/, /u/ [koppə] : [kuppə]'curve'; 'cover' [p_bə] /o/, /u/
Positions of pure vowels + Positions of the pure vowels Pure vowels Initial position Middle syllable Final position i inuŋ'inside the house' cin'mouth' Pi'tear' e en'chicken' leŋ'shoulder' Pe'a kind of umbrella' ə əhan'day before yesterday' səŋ'hut' sənabə'to play' a aːdə'there' labə'male' məca'small' u uci'mouse' utʰum'a kind of edible plant' məpu'owner' o ok'pork' lok'cough' tʰəro'lily'
Diphthongs Khurkhul has six notable diphthongs. + Diphthongs of Khurkhul Diphthongs Initial position Middle position Final position ai haipʰet'slightly' Lai'God' əi əi'I' həibə'to say' pʰəi'a seat made out of straw for the rice/curry pot' oi Oi'left' koibə'long way' koi'not frank' əw əwə- əwə'indicating that the speaker wants to take a break during playing' pʰəwra'made of bamboo to dry things like paddy rice, chillies, silk cocoons etc,' pʰəw'paddy rice' ui Uide'not dozing' huibə'wither' kʰui'is narrow' aw aw'a way of saying yes' nawron'the gap between two children' naw'small'
Minimal pairs establishing the diphthongs + Minimal pairs establishing the diphthongs of Khurkhul Minimal pairs Contexts Phonemes [kai] : [kəi]'made of bamboo to carry a dead body'; 'the place to store firewood' [k_] /ai/, /əi/ [lai] : [lei]'God' 'flower' [l_] /ai/, /ei/ [moi] : [məw]'they' : 'affinal woman' [m_] /oi/, /əw/ [loi] : [ləw]'a group of people' 'paddy field' [l_] /oi/, /əw/ [lui] : [law]'difficult' 'shout (IMP)' [l_] /ui/, /aw/ [cui] : [caw]'stain' 'eat (IMP)' [c_] /ui/, /aw/
Consonants + Consonants of Khurkhul + / - Voice Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal -V +V -V +V -V -V +V -V +V Stops: Unaspirate p b t d c k g Stops: Aspirate pʰ tʰ kʰ Fricatives s H Nasals m n ŋ Lateral l Trills r Semi vowel w J
Minimal pairs establishing the consonants + Minimal pairs establishing the consonants of Khurkhul Minimal pairs Contexts Phonemes [paː] : [taː]'eye lash'; 'arrow' [_aː] /p/, /t/ [pui] : [tui]'borrow'; 'fall' [_ui] /p/, /t/ [ka] : [kʰa]'room'; 'south' [k_] /k/, /kʰ/ [cəka] : [cəga]'wheel'; 'place' [cə_a] /k/, /g/ [kəw] : [kʰəw]'ox'; 'throat' [_əw] /k/, /kʰ/ [pʰəw] : [tʰəw]'paddy rice'; 'duty' [_əw] /pʰ/, /tʰ/ [pʰan] : [tʰan]'a kind of stool'; 'bunch of clothes to sell' [_an] /pʰ/, /tʰ/ [nəsi] : [məsi]'today' 'this' [_əsi] /m/, /n/ [nai] : [ŋai]'pun'; 'the kinship relation between the parents of the bride and thegroom'; the social relation between the Khurkhuls and another tribe who exchange necessary support to each other' [_ai] /n/, /ŋ/ [ləw] : [rəw]'paddy field'; 'a kind of fish' [_əw] /l/, /r/ [ləsiŋ] : [məsiŋ]'cotton' 'the fiber in fruits/vegetable' [_əsiŋ] /l/, /ŋ/ [wai] : [jai]'the cover of uncooked rice'; 'a kind of plant used for fishing, i.e. it suffocates the fish for a while' [_ai] /w/, /j/ [wabə] : [pabə]'tire' 'thin' [_abə] /w/, /p/ [joŋ] : [loŋ]'monkey' 'a kind of fishnet used by women' [_oŋ] /j/, /l/ [caː] : [saː]'tea'; 'animal' [_aː] /c/, /s/ [cəŋbə] : [səŋbə]'to enter'; 'free' [_əŋbə] /c/, /s/ [həi] : [təi]'fruit'; 'a kind of frying pan' [_əi] /h/, /t/ [hu] : [ju]'poison'; 'wine' [_u] /h/, /j/ [cadə] : [camə]'out of cent'; 'hundred' [ca_ə] /d/, /m/
Tones Khurkhul has two tones, falling and level. Falling tone is marked by (`) while level tone is unmarked. + Tones of Khurkhul Level tone Falling tone kaŋ (mosquito) kàŋ (a traditional game) i (blood) ì (thatch) tʰaŋbə (to carry) tʰàŋbə (pass on ) tʰoŋ (door) tʰòŋ (bridge) səmbə (to join) sə̀mbə (taking short cut) kʰəŋbə (to get frighten) kʰə̀ŋbə (to know) tabə (to fall) tàbə (to roll)
Grammar
Khurkhul follows Subject Object Verb order. Pronouns + Pronouns of Khurkhul Person Singular Dual Plural 1st Person əi , ijak, jak ibani/imani/əikhoni/khoni‘we two’ əi khoi/khoi/ijakhoi‘we’ 2nd Person nəŋ‘you’ nəbani/noini/nəmaini‘you two’ noi‘you’ pl. 3rd Person ma‘he/she’ moi ni/ məbani‘they two’ moi‘they’
Adjectives
+ Adjectives in Khurkhul Quality Examples Attribute phəcə hui (beautiful dog) Size cau hui (big dog) Colour mubə hui (black dog) Gender hui əmom (female dog)
Postpositions + Postpositions in Khurkhul Post-positions Case Noun-gi Genitive case Noun -də Dative case Noun -də Locative case Noun -nə Instrumental Noun-gə/kə Associative Noun-təgi/ dəgi Ablative Noun-nə Nominative
Adverbs + Adverbs in Khurkhul Examples Roots Adverbial morphemes ca-nə ca-nə(doing something simultaneously) ca- -nə cao-tək cao-tək(very big) cao- -tək na-ri na-ri(slightly painful) na -ri Verb root morphemes Verb root-morphemes ca-ieat-non-future ca-gənieat-future ca-reeat-perfect ca-rieat-progressive ca-roeat-imperative ca-nueat-prohibitive ca-deeat-negation ca-geeat-volition Verbal morphemes + Verbal morphemes with Adjectives Adjectives Verbal morphemes Examples -cao ‘big’ cao-rebig-PERF tombi cao-retombi-big-PERF‘Tombi has grown up.’ -waŋ ‘tall’ waŋ-detall-NEG tombi waŋ-detombi-tall-NEG‘Tombi is not growing.’
Wh-words Wh-words Examples kəna (who) tombə-nə kəna paːmiTomba-NOM Who like‘Who does Tomba like?’ kəri (what) nəŋ kəri caiyou what eat‘What do you eat?’ kaidə (where) tombə kaidə cak caiTomba where food eat‘Where does Tomba eat food?’ keigi (why) nəŋ keigi lairik paiyou why book read‘Why do you read books?’ kəwŋandə (when) tombə kəwŋan(də) lakiTomba when come‘When does Tomba come?’ kəjam (how many) nəŋ pʰiː kəjam saiyou clothes how many make‘How many dresses do you make?’ kəmai(nə) (how) nəŋ pʰiː kəmai (nə) saiyou clothes how make‘How do you make clothes?’ kəidəwnə (why) nəŋ pʰiː kəidəwnə saiyou clothes why make‘Why do you make clothes?’ kəramba (which) nəŋ pʰiː kəramba saiyou clothes which make‘Which clothes do you make?’
Vocabulary + The phatic language in Khurkhul Khurkhul Gloss Chak chariro? (Are you) eating rice? Chak thongiro? (Are you) cooking rice? Phi suiro? (Are you) washing clothes? Tummiro? (Are you) sleeping? Phammiro? (Are you) sitting? Cha thak (l)iro? (Are you) drinking tea? Ensang hek(l)iro? (Are you) plucking vegetables? Kinship terms + Some Kinship address terms Father’s side Gloss Mother’s side Gloss pachi Father Ima Mother ipu Grandfather Ipu Grandfather ipen Grandmother Ipen Grandmother ipanthou Father’s elder brother imanthou Mother’s elder sister imanthou ipanthou’s wife Ipanthou imanthou’s husband ìton Father’s younger brother Inomcha Mother’s younger sister inomcha iton’s wife Ìton inomcha’s husband
Fillers Khurkhul is notable for using certain kinds of filler words during daily conversation. The percentage of usage of such words vary depending on genders, through a study by Tezpur University. + Use of fillers in Khurkhul by the male and female Khurkhul fillers Glosses Male Female Asibai (it/that/those etc.) 100% 100% Keino something 100% 100% Tune that's it 100% 100% Toise that's what 100% 100%
Hedges Khurkhul is found to use hedge words in daily conversation. Women are found to be more frequent in using these words than men, through a study by Tezpur University. + Use of hedges by male and female Khurkhul Hedges Gloss Male Female chumdro? Isn't right? 33% 83% nattro? Isn't it? 50% 83%
Color terms