Context 29820: Bishnupuriya (Source: Bishnupriya (Manipuri) Speakers in Bangladesh: A Sociolinguistic Survey)

Bishnupuriya

Also Known As:

Bishnupriya, Bisna Puriya, Bishnupria Manipuri

Dialects & Varieties

Rajar Gang
Madai Gang/Madoi Gang

Bishnupriya (Manipuri) Speakers in Bangladesh: A Sociolinguistic Survey

Kim, Amy and Seung Kim. 2008. "Bishnupriya (Manipuri) Speakers in Bangladesh: A Sociolinguistic Survey." SIL international. 100pp.

Vulnerable

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

About Vitality Level

Speaker Number Trends

Speaker Number Trend 0

Almost all members of the community or ethnic group speak the language, and the number of speakers is stable or increasing.

Domains of Use

Domain Of Use 1

Used in most domains except for official ones such as government, mass media, education etc.

Transmission

Transmission -1

All members of the community, including children, speak the language.

-1

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Speakers

Native or fluent speakers:

No results found.

Second-language speakers and learners

No results found.

Semi-speakers or rememberers

No results found.

Children:

No results found.

Young adults

No results found.

Older adults

No results found.

Elders

No results found.

Ethnic or community population

No results found.

Year information was gathered

No results found.

Comments on speakers

In Bangladesh, the Bishnupriya use Bishnupriya within their villages on a daily basis whereas Bangla is used for education and for religion (Bangla and Bishnupriya are both used in the domain of religion). In Assam state (India), Bishnupriya is being taught in government primary schools.

Location and Context

Countries

India; Bangladesh; Myanmar

Location Description

"Currently, Bishnupriya is spoken in Manipur, Tripura, and Assam states in India, in some parts of Myanmar, and in Sylhet division in Bangladesh. There are only a small number of Bishnupriya remaining in Manipur state (in the Jiribam subdistrict) since most Bishnupriya fled Manipur to neighboring lands and countries in the eighteenth century. For those who remained, it was difficult to keep and promote their mother tongue due to the dominant influence of the Meitei people, culture, and language." (p. 11)

Government Support

No results found.

Institutional Support

No results found.

Speakers' Attitude

very positive

Other Languages Used By The Community

Bangla

Number of Other Language Speakers:

all

Domains of Other Languages:

official domains; school; religion

Writing Systems

Standard orthography:

No results found.

Writing system:

Bangla scripts; Devanagri

Other writing systems used:

No results text.

Comments on writing systems:

"Bishnupriya is primarily used for oral communication, but there is also a small, committed group of people who want to promote Bishnupriya in written form. In Bangladesh, there are literary magazines and books that are being published in Bishnupriya and, in Assam state, Bishnupriya is being taught in government primary schools. Also, although Bishnupriya is now written exclusively using the Bangla script, this wasn't always so. According to some, Bishnupriya was written using the Devanagri script prior to the takeover of Manipur by the Meiteis." (p.11)