Learning Apatani language : an easy way to memorize nouns

I don’t speak Apatani, nor do I belong to the Apatani community. But I have recently become interested in the NE language issue as a social anthropologist. Being a stranger to ‘Tanii agun’, I am in a perfect position to apprehend the difficulties of this language as soon as I try learn a couple of sentences… Incidentally I have found that the word structure itself (what is called ‘morphology’ by linguists) can help beginers in the learning process. I hope this post will be useful to others too.

In Tanii, most nouns have 2 syllables : a-ki (dog), ya-ru (ear), etc. The second syllable is considered as the root of the word, and the first syllable as a prefix. In Tanii each root is necessarily preceded by a prefix.

prefix	root
a	ki	dog
ta	bu	snake
men	dii	buffalo
ya	ru	ear

A most interesting feature of Tanii prefixes is that they tend to function as classifiers. It means that a same prefix will apply to words which belong to the same ‘family’

Example :

The most common prefix for four-legged animals (quadrupeds) is SII-.

siibi	monkey
siibin	goat
siibo	bull
siichu	stag, antelope
siidin	small deer
siigun	sheep
siire	boar
siirin	otter
siiti	elephant
siitin	bear
siimyo, siiso, siiyin	3 wild cat species

It does not mean that ALL names of quadrupeds use the prefix SII-. There are in fact many ‘exceptions’ such as ami (cat), patii (tiger), hoggya (clouded leopard) etc. But as a rule a majority of them will do so.

Similarly, the most common prefix for birds is PA-

paje	duck
pakan	swan, goose
paku	pigeon, dove
pamu/pamii	hawk
pari	sparrow
parii	jungle fowl
parsin	jungle fowl (diff. species)
paro	chicken

The ‘exceptions’ are : puha (crow), miichie (kite), pesu (hornbill), etc.

The most common prefix for fishes is NGI- or NGII- (from ngiiyi/ngihi : fish), with very few exceptions

ngilyan	Schizothorax sp.
ngipapi	weed fish (Dorikona)
ngiira	unidentified species
ngiime	unidentified species

A most common prefix for small terrestrial animals such as insects, molluscs, worms, etc. is TA-

tagya	wasp
takhe	tick, flea
takhii	head lice
tami	housefly
tanogogo	snail
tape	leech
tapin	maggot
tarji	centipede
ta:ru	ant
taru:	mosquito
ta:ti	cockroach
tatii	frog

Exceptions : poper (butterfly), gonchi (dragonfly), kowa/kuha (grasshopper), nyanyi (honey bee), rimi (spider), dorgi (earthworm)...

A common prefix for trees, parts of trees, or pruducts obtained from trees is SAN- or SEN- (from sanii = tree), which becomes SAM-/SEM- before m, b, or p letters

sembo	Prunus nepalensis
semmo	Indian wild pear (Pyrus pashia)
sanji	Rhododendron arboreum, a rhododendron species
samper	a wild tree species whose fruit is used as spice
sampe	a tree species of ritual importance during Myoko
sankhii	a tree species whose leaves are used as natural dye
sanko bacho	a tree species
sambii	branch of a tree
sampo	log
santa	plank
sanye	timber

The prefix for words which depict parts of the arm or hand is LA- (from ala = hand)

lapo	upper arm
ladu	elbow
lasin	forearm
langa	wrist
lapu	fist
lachi	finger
lanii	thumb
lahi/layin	finger nail
lapyo	hand palm
lapin	knuckle

Similarly, the prefix for words depicting parts of the leg or foot is LII- (from ali = leg)

liiban	knee
liige	back of the knee
liipya	shin
liinga	ankle
liipyo	foot
liidu	heel
liipyo	sole
liichi	toe
liinii	big toe
liihin/liiyin	toe nail

Note that there is a correspondence between terms of upper and lower members. Thus :

langa (wrist) corresponds to liinga (ankle)

lachi (finger) <=> liichi (toe)

lanii (thumb) <=> liinii (big toe)

lahin/layin (finger nail) <=> liihin/liiyin (toe nail)

lapyo (palm) <=> liipyo (sole)

It means that by knowing the words related to the hand and arms, corresponding terms for leg and foot can be easily deduced.

Most prefixes are of this type, i.e. they give us some clue to understand the meaning of the word to which they are attached. The only prefix which gives no information, hence called ‘neutral prefix’, is A-. It is however a widespread one. It applies in particular to kinship terms (aba, ama, ate, ata, abang, anu, aku, ato, ayo, etc..) or words related to body parts (anying, alyo, ami, amu, aha, etc.), but not only. That is the reason why, in a Tanii dictionary, words whose first letter is A are the most numerous.

I have found that this peculiar feature of Tanii language helps to memorize a great deal of words. We can first get familiarized with the various families, then learn the exceptions. Knowing the most common prefixes also help to grasp the meaning of an unknown word when heard for the first time. But in order to avoid confusion it implies that, once identified, prefixes must be written in various words always using the same spelling.

P. Bouchery, University of Poitiers, France