Zou language

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Sino-Tibetan language of Burma and India

title: "Zou language" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["kuki-chin-languages", "languages-of-manipur"] description: "Sino-Tibetan language of Burma and India" topic_path: "linguistics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zou_language" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Sino-Tibetan language of Burma and India ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox language"]

Field	Value
name	Zou
altname	Zo
image	Shukla Zoulai.svg
imagecaption	'Zo Lai' in Zolai alphabet
states	Manipur, India
region	Tonzang: Chin State, Chin Hills;

| | ethnicity | Zou | | speakers | | | date | 2012 | | ref | e25 | | familycolor | Sino-Tibetan | | fam2 | Kuki-Chin languages | | fam3 | Northeastern Kuki-Chin languages | | script | Latin, Zoulai alphabet | | iso3 | zom | | glotto | zouu1235 | | glottorefname | Zo | ::

In India: Mizoram and Manipur, Chandel, Singngat subdivision and Sungnu area; Churachandpur districts; Assam. | ethnicity = Zou | speakers = | date = 2012 | ref = e25 | familycolor = Sino-Tibetan | fam2 = Kuki-Chin languages | fam3 = Northeastern Kuki-Chin languages | script = Latin, Zoulai alphabet | iso3 = zom | glotto = zouu1235 | glottorefname = Zo Zou (also spelled Zo and also known as Zokam) is a language of the Northeastern branch of Kuki-Chin languages originating in western Burma and spoken also in Mizoram and Manipur in northeastern India.

The name Zou is sometimes used as a cover term for the languages of all Mizo people (Zo people) i.e., Kukish and Chin peoples, especially the Zomi people.

Phonology

The set of 23 Zou consonantal phonemes can be established on the basis of the following minimal pairs or overlapping words. Besides these 23 Phonemes, 1 consonant is a borrowed phoneme (i.e. /r/), which is found only in loan words, in very rare cases (e.g. /r/ in /rəŋ/ "color"). Along with these consonants, Zou has 7 vowels: i, e, a, ɔ, o, u, ə.

::data[format=table title="Consonant Phonemes"] | Labial | Dental/ Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | Plosive | voiceless | aspirated | voiced | Affricate | Fricative | voiceless | voiced | Nasal | Lateral | Trill | Semivowel | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | () | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ::

::data[format=table title="Vowels"]

Front	Central	Back	Close	Close-mid	Open-mid	Open




::

Orthography

Vowels

a - [a]
aw - [ɔ]
e - [e/ə]
i - [i~j]
o - [o]
u - [u~w]

Consonants

b - [b]
ch - [c]
d - [d]
g - [g]
h - [h], [ʔ] at the end of a syllable
j - [ɟ]
k - [k]
kh - [kʰ]
l - [l]
m - [m]
n - [n]
ng - [ŋ]
p - [p]
ph - [pʰ]
r - [r]
s - [s]
t - [t]
th - [tʰ]
v - [ʋ]
z - [z]

Types of Zo verbs

The Zo verbs can be classified into three types: Stem (1), Stem (2), Stem (3) as given below: ::data[format=table title="Types of Zo Verbs"]

puo-carry	puo?	po-	pua-
::

Numbers

Zomi numbers are counted as follows: ::data[format=table]

Numeral	Zou	English
be̋m	zero	शून्य
khàt	one	एक
nì:	two	दो
thum	three	तीन
li:	four	चार
nga:	five	पाँच
gùh	six	छह
sagí	seven	सात
giét	eight	आठ
kuó	nine	नौ
sàwm, sôm	ten	दस
sàwm leh khàt	eleven	ग्यारह
sàwm leh nì	twelve	बारह
sàwm leh thum	thirteen	तेरह
sàwm leh li:	fourteen	चौदह
sàwm leh nga:	fifteen	पंद्रह
sàwm leh gùh	sixteen	सोलह
sàwm leh sagí	seventeen	सत्रह
sàwm leh giét	eighteen	अठारह
sàwm leh kuó	nineteen	उन्नीस
sàwmnì	twenty	बीस
sàwmthum	thirty	तीस
sàwmli:	forty	चालीस
sàwmnga:	fifty	पचास
sàwmgùh	sixty	साठ
sàwmsagí	seventy	सत्तर
sàwmgiét	eighty	अस्सी
sàwmkuò	ninety	नव्वे
zȁ	hundred	सौ
sa̋ng, tȕl	one thousand	हज़ार
si̋ng, tȕlsàwm, sa̋ngsàwm	ten thousand	दस हज़ार
nuòi, tȕlzà, sa̋ngzà	one hundred thousand, one lakh	लाख
nuòisàwm, sa̋ngtȕl, tȕltȕl	one million	दस लाख
thȅn, vâibêlsié, kráwl	ten million, one crore	करोड़
thȅnzà, kráwl sàwm	one billion, ten crore	अरब
::

Writing systems

Zou is often written in a Latin script developed by Christian missionary J.H. Cope. In 1952, M. Siahzathang of Churachandpur created an alternative script known as Zolai or Zoulai, an alphabetic system with some alphasyllabic characteristics. The user community for the script is growing- Zou cultural, political, and literary organizations began to adopt the script beginning in the 1970s, and more recently, the Manipur State Government has shown support for both Siahzathang and the script.

Linguistic relations

Zou among the Northeastern Kuki-Chin languages is closely related to the Central languages such as the Duhlian (Lusei/Lushai) or Mizo language (endonym in Duhlian or Lushai is Mizo ṭawng), the lingua franca language of Mizoram.

Zou as spoken in India is similar to the Paite language of the Paite, though Zou lacks the word-final glottal stops present in Paite.

Geographical extent

At its largest extent, the geographic area covered by the language group is a territory of approximately 60,000 square miles (160,000 km2) in size, in Burma, India and Bangladesh. However political boundaries and political debates have distorted the extent of the area in some sources.

In Burma

It is used in Chin State, Tiddim, and the Chin Hills. Use of Burmese has increased in the Zo speaking Chin State since the 1950s. Ethnologue reports that Zou is spoken in the following townships of Myanmar.

Chin State: Tonzang, Hakha, and Tedim townships
Sagaing Division: Kalay, Khampat, and Tamu townships

In India

Manipur
- Chandel district: Singngat subdivision and the Sungnu Sachih / Kana area
- Churachandpur district
Mizoram
Assam

In Bangladesh

In Bangladesh it is used by the Bawm people.

References

Haokip, Pauthang. (2011). "Socio-linguistic Situation in North-east India". Concept Publishing Company.
"Zoulai".
(February 2013). "Zou Phonology". Language in India.
"Zou language, script, and pronunciation".
Philip Thanglienmang Tungdim. (2012). "A Descriptive Grammar of the Zo Language".
Thangliènmâng Tungdim, Philip. (2011). "Zo-English-Hindi Kizìlna Lȁibú". Zou Cultural-cum-Literature Society India.
(29 September 2010). "Introducing the Zou Script".
(March 2012). "Script for Zou".
Bareh, Hamlet. (2001). "Encyclopaedia of North-East India: Manipu". Mittal.
(1998). "People of India: Manipur". Anthropological Survey of India by Seagull Books.
Encyclopaedia of South-Asian tribes - Volume 8 - Page 3436 Satinder Kumar - 2000 "According to the 1981 census, 12,515 persons speak the Zou language"
Gopalakrishnan, Ramamoorthy. (1996). "Socio-political framework in North-East India". Vikas Publishing House.
Nang Khen Khup. (2007). "Evaluating the Impact of Family Devotions Upon Selected Families from the Zomi Christian Community of Tulsa". Oral Roberts University.
Shyamkishor, Ayangbam. "In Search of Common Identity: A Study of Chin-Kuki-Mizo Community in India". International Journal of South Asian Studies: A Biannual Journal of South Asian Studies.
Loncheu, Nathan. (2013). "Bawmzos: A Study Of The Chin-Kuki-Zo Tribes Of Chittagong". Akansha Publishing House.
Reichle, Verena. (1981). "Bawm language and lore: Tibeto-Burman area". P. Lang.

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