Gender in Simte
Descriptive analysis of animate gender markers, honorific polysemy, and grammatical classification
Abstract
Simte is one of the Kuki-Chin languages spoken mostly in Churachandpur and Pherzawl districts of Manipur. This paper describes the gender markers in Simte. The gender markers for [+human] are '-pa' for masculine and '-nu' for feminine gender. Whereas the gender markers for [-human, +animal] are '-tal' for masculine and '-pi' for feminine. Neuter gender is expressed lexically, such as 'naupaŋ' for child. The morphemes 'pu' and 'pi' exhibit multiple functional roles: maternal/paternal grandfathers and grandmothers, honorific terms of social respect, and designations for male and female authorities in society.
1. Introduction
Simte is one of the Kuki-Chin language family inhabiting the North-Eastern part of India. They are predominantly concentrated in Churachandpur and Pherzawl districts of Manipur (Hangluah, 2019). According to Singh and Suantak (2011), scores of the Simte population are also scattered across Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Assam.
According to the 2011 Census, this tribe constitutes a total population of 6,728. Language endangerment is evident in this case, as intergenerational transmission is largely restricted to specific social domains, such as familial and religious (e.g., church) settings. Although the language is incorporated into the educational system as a medium of instruction up to Class X under the Board of Secondary Education, Manipur, its visibility remains limited due to the absence of promotion through print media. This lack of broader institutional and media support raises concerns about the language's long-term vitality and sustainability.
The tribe was officially recognized as one of the Scheduled Tribes by the Government of India in 1956 (vide S.R.O. 24774, Gazette of India, Part II, Section III, No. 316A, New Delhi, 29th October, 1956; Ching, 2012).
Manipur hosts more than 29 languages, where bilingualism and code-switching are prominent within Kuki-Chin communities (Chelliah, 2015; Haokip, 2011). This dynamic often results in language convergence, where varieties with fewer speakers are subsumed by structurally similar languages possessing higher political and economic prestige. Due to code-switching and code-mixing, younger Gangte speakers are shifting toward Thadou, and younger Simte speakers toward Paite.
2. Methodology
The present study was carried out through fieldwork in Pamjal Village and Joutung Village in the Pherzawl district of Manipur. More than 10 native speaker informants aged between 45 and 55 were interviewed, and the elicited data was cross-examined across different age groups within the community. Published journals, historical monographs, and electronic materials were accessed for secondary comparative data.
3. Literature Review
According to Corbett (1991:1), 'gender' originates from the Latin 'genus' (via Old French 'gendre'), signifying 'kind' or 'sort'. Classical Indo-European grammars classify nouns into three primary genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter (Lyons, 1968:283).
Grierson (1904) described gender marking across Kuki-Chin languages such as Thadou, Paite, and Lushai (Mizo), noting universal employment of '-pa' for masculine human and '-nu' for feminine human. For non-human animates, however, morphological divergence emerges: Thadou, Vaiphei, and Gangte exhibit '-cal' (masc) and '-pi' (fem), whereas Zou, Paite, Simte, and Tedim exhibit '-tal' (masc) and '-pi' (fem) (Haokip, 2009; Cing, 2017; Singh, 2009).
While previous etic studies by Naorem Brojen Singh (2009) and Connie Champeon (2019) cataloged these morphemes, the present investigation provides an emic analysis of their functional and semantic distributions.
4. Gender in Simte
Like other Kuki-Chin languages, Simte does not exhibit arbitrary grammatical gender; gender is determined semantically based on natural meaning (cf. Haokip, 2009). Lexically, 'pa' signifies 'father' and 'nu' signifies 'mother'. Both morphemes have grammaticalized into bound suffixes marking gender categories.
4.1 Gender Markers for Animate [+human]
For human beings, '-pa' marks masculine gender, and '-nu' marks feminine gender, suffixed directly to nominal stems and agentive participles:
''The washer man has arrived.''
''The washer woman has arrived.''
''My male neighbour and I go to the market.''
''My female neighbour and I go to the market.''
4.2 Gender Markers for Animate [-human, +animal]
For animals, masculine is denoted by '-tal' (stud/male) and feminine by '-pi' (dam/female):
''The male dog (stud) bit one person.''
''The female dog (bitch) has delivered puppies.''
''I was already awake when the rooster crowed.''
''When will the hen lay eggs?''
4.3 Functions of the Gender Markers 'pu' and 'pi'
The morphemes 'pu' and 'pi' fulfill multiple socio-pragmatic and grammatical roles in Simte:
A. Kinship Terms: 'ka-pu' ('my grandfather', paternal/maternal) and 'ka-pi' ('my grandmother').
B. Honorific Terms: Suffixed to nouns to indicate deference toward respected elders (e.g. 'hausa-pu' = village chief; 'hausa-pi' = chief's wife/female leader).
C. Institutional Authority: Denoting persons holding public authority, as in 'lamkai-pu' (male leader) and 'lamkai-pi' (female leader).
''My grandfather is 80 years old.''
''Although my grandmother is of age, she is still healthy.''
''The male chief instructs the villagers to clean the village.''
''The female leader invites all womenfolk to participate in community work.''
4.4 Neuter and Common Gender
In emphatic or contrastive discourse contexts, speakers may optionally double-mark gender by attaching '-pa' or '-nu' to an already intrinsically gendered noun, as in 'pasal naupaŋ-pa' ('the male boy child') vs. 'numei naupaŋ-nu' ('the female girl child').
Table 1: Intrinsically Gendered Lexical Items in Simte
| Masculine Lexeme | Meaning | Feminine Lexeme | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| pasal | male / husband | numei / zi | female / wife |
| taŋval | unmarried young man | nuŋa:ʔ | unmarried young woman |
| pagoŋ | widower | meigoŋ | widow |
| gaŋ | uncle (aunt's husband) | ni | paternal aunt |
4.5 Word Formation Processes for Gendered Nouns
1. Affixation: Productive prefixation and suffixation across kinship and occupations, as in 'pa-thaŋ' ('Uncle Thang'), 'nu-lun' ('Aunt Lun'), 'annhuan-pa' ('male cook'), and 'innphiat-nu' ('female sweeper').
2. Compounding: Combining a neutral base noun with a gender marker: 'naupaŋ' ('child') + 'pa' ➔ 'naupaŋ-pa' ('boy'); 'houtu' ('teacher') + 'nu' ➔ 'houtu-nu' ('female teacher').
3. Reduplication: While neighboring Hmar exhibits affectionate gendered reduplication (e.g. 'tu-tu' for male infant, 'nu-nu' for female infant), Simte does not employ reduplicative morphology for gender identification.
5. Conclusion
In Simte, natural gender is overtly marked through suffixation rather than arbitrary grammatical categorization. The basic stems 'pa' (masculine) and 'nu' (feminine) serve human referents, while '-tal' (masculine) and '-pi' (feminine) are selected for animal animates.
The honorific and kinship polysemy of 'pu' and 'pi' underscores the integration of social hierarchy, respect for elders, and community governance within grammatical morphology.
As an endangered language of southern Manipur with fewer than 7,000 speakers, documenting these nuanced morphological paradigms is crucial for preserving the linguistic heritage of the Kuki-Chin family.
6. Abbreviations
1SG: First Person Singular • 2SG: Second Person Singular • 3SG: Third Person Singular • ADV: Adverbial • CAUS: Causative • COP: Copula • DECL: Declarative • DEF: Definite Marker • ERG: Ergative Case • F: Feminine • LOC: Locative • M: Masculine • NEG: Negation • NMZ: Nominalizer • PFV: Perfective • PL: Plural • PURP: Purposive • Q: Interrogative Particle • REFL: Reflexive • SEQ: Sequential Marker.
References & Archival Sources
- Champeon, Connie. (2019). Simte Writers’ Handbook. U.S.A: Bibles International.
- Chelliah, Shobhana L. (2015). 'Is Manipur a linguistic Area?' Journal of South Asian Languages and Linguistics, 2(1), pp. 87–109.
- Ching, G. (2012). History and Culture of Simte. Ph.D. Thesis, Department of History, Manipur University, Imphal.
- Cing, Z.N. (2017). A Descriptive Grammar of Teddim Chin. Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Linguistics, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong.
- Corbett, Greville G. (1991). Gender. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Grierson, George A. (1904). Linguistic Survey of India: Volume III, Part III. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
- Hangluah, T.K.L. (2019). 'The Simte.' In 60 Diamond Jubilee Simte Tribe Council Souvenir, pp. 16–17. Churachandpur: STC Publication.
- Haokip, Pauthang. (2009). 'Noun Morphology in Kuki-Chin languages.' Language in India, Vol. 9:11, pp. 109–129.
- Haokip, Pauthang. (2011). 'The Language of Manipur: A Case Study of The Kuki-Chin Languages.' Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area, Vol. 34.1, pp. 85–118.
- Lewis, M. Paul, Simons, Gary F. & Fennig, Charles D. (2013). Ethnologue: Languages of the World (17th ed.). Dallas: SIL International.
- Lyons, John. (1968). Introduction to Theoretical Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Singh, Naorem Brojen. (2009). Simte Grammar. Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Linguistics, Manipur University, Imphal.
- Singh, S.K. & Suantak, K.S.K. (2011). Linguistic Ecology: Manipur. Guwahati: EBH Publishers.
Cite This Publication
@article{kapginlian2024gender,
title = {Gender in Simte},
author = {Kapginlian, H. and Lyngdoh, Saralin A.},
journal = {V\={a}k Manthan},
volume = {10},
number = {2},
pages = {28--36},
year = {2024},
issn = {2426-2149},
url = {https://lianhangluah.com/papers/gender-in-simte.pdf}
}