Endangered Language #2 - Mising
Mising is spoken in the Assam state of India by approximately 517,000 people. It is part of the Tani branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Relatives include Damu and Bori. In Assam, the official language is Assamese, with Bengali and Bodo also spoken in the region.
History
The Mishing people have a history of colonization in the area by the British. They migrated from the plains of Northern China to Assam, but it is not known exactly when due to them keeping an oral tradition. Currently, there is an autonomy movement by the Mishing people in Assam. In 2009, there was also an organization formed to create a separate homeland in Upper Assam. Much of the community adopted the official language of Assamese, rather than speaking Mising.
Status
The language is developing (5). Education, from sources, seem to be in the official language of Assamese, rather than in Mising. Outside of the Mising community, there seems to be some revitalization efforts. Resources such as grammars, sociolinguistics profiles, and educational videos exist about the language. Much of the videos are intended for learning the language. There are also English-Mising dictionaries available online.
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