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ZO
LANGUAGE
http://globalrecordings.net/show_language.php/3795
Zo language belongs to Kuki-Chin
group of Tibeto-burman family of languages. Zo language is Tonal language
and agglutinating type. Haidawi dialect is the original mother
tongue of the Zos,Khodai,Khuongnung/Simte and Thangkhal are the dialects.
There were 15,966 Zou speakers as per 1991 census
India.In the Chin Hills of Myanmar it is estimated that the number of Zo
speakers to 80,0000 to 1,00,000 the estimate is based on the number of
villages inhabited by the Zos.
http://www.joshuaproject.net/peopctry.php
ZOU
http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=zom
http://www.language-museum.com/z/zome.php
According to the legendary tales
the Zous had their own script written on animal-skin in ancient
times,unfortunately the animal skin was stolen and eaten by a dog.Thus, the
script was lost forever.
Literature did not exist untill the arrival of Christian
Missionaries in the beginning of the 1950s.Untill then, everything was
based on oral tradtions.The Missionaries brought about many changes in the
way of life including the literature.They introduced the Roman Alphabet
amognst the Tedim-Chins and the Lusheis(Mizos) which disseminated
throughout the Kuki-Chin-Mizo cultural realms.
http://www.rosettaproject.org/live/search/detailedlanguagerecord?ethnocode=ZOM
GOSPEL RECORDINGS * LANGUAGE RECORDINGS
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{Zo and Zou terminology
have one and the same connotation }
Script and development of literature and its
problems.
Zo language belongs to Kuki-Chin group of
Tibeto-burman family of languages. Zo language is Tonal
language and agglutinating
type. Haidawi dialect is the original mother tongue of the
Zos,Khodai,Khuongnung/Simte and Thangkhal are the dialects.
There were 15,966 Zou speakersas per 1991 census India.In
the Chin Hills of Myanmar it is estimated that the number of Zo speakers to
80,0000 to 1,00,000 the estimate is based on the number of villages inhabited
by the Zos.
According to the legendary tales the Zous had their own script written on
animal-skin in ancient times,unfortunately the animal skin was stolen and
eaten by a dog.Thus, the script was lost forever.
Literature did not exist untill the arrival of Christian
Missionaries in the beginning of the 1950s.Untill then, everything was based
on oral tradtions.The Missionaries brought about many changes in the way of
life including the literature.They introduced the Roman Alphabet amognst the
Tedim-Chins and the Lusheis(Mizos) which disseminated throughout the
Kuki-Chin-Mizo cultural realms.
The Zous adopted it gradually as they were converted into
Christianity.
The earliest books written in Zou language were ‘ A brief history of Zou’
1962 A.D. the first Bible was written in the year 1967 A.D. the Constitution
of ZSP 1968 A.D., Na thei siem tai mah?Katholik Thungetna leh Labu,Zo
Laisiengthou 1983 A.D.There were many publications in the form of books and
journals which were brought out by the MGP,ZCC,MEP,ZSP and Catholic Church
during the period between 1985 to 1995 and again from the period 1995 to 2000
saw the development of Zou literature to its height which was recognised by
the Government of Manipur upto Class IX & X.
During the 1980s Pu. SiehZaThang invented a new form of
script which has great affinity to the Bengali alias Manipuri script for the
use of the Zou society.This script is not popular even 20 years after it was
invented. At times the manner of discovery as told by the author in the Zou
vernacular lessons ‘Zou lai suichienna’ amounts to superstitions in this age
of reason and logic;
supplanted by the Christian ethics and concepts. More research in the field
of proper Zou script is the need of
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