Para or Para Naga (autonym: Jejara; also called Bara, Parasar), is an unclassified Naga language of India and Burma. It is not close to other Naga languages which it has been compared to, though Para Naga, Long Phuri Naga, and Makuri Naga may be closest to each other, with Para the most distinct. Barkman (2014) notes that Para Naga could possibly be an Ao or Tangkhulic language. Saul (2005) classifies Para Naga as an Ao language. Hsiu (2021) classifies Para as a sister of the Central Naga (Ao) languages.[2]

Para
Jejara
Jaijairai
Pronunciation[dʑɨ́dʑɨ̀ɹɨ̀]
Native toBurma
EthnicityPara Naga
Native speakers
1,500 (2004)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3pzn
Glottologpara1302
ELPPara

Para is spoken in 7 villages of Leshi Township, Hkamti District, Sagaing Region, Myanmar.

The Para Naga varieties share 83%–93% lexical similarity.[3] Para is 23%–25% lexically similar to Long Phuri Naga and 17%–19% to Makuri Naga.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Para at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Hsiu, Andrew (2021). "Kuki-Chin-Naga". Sino-Tibetan Branches Project. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  3. ^ a b "Myanmar". Ethnologue: Languages of the World. 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-10-10.
  • Barkman, Tiffany. 2014. A descriptive grammar of Jejara (Para Naga). MA thesis, Chiang Mai: Payap University.
  • Saul, J. D. 2005. The Naga of Burma: Their festivals, customs and way of life. Bangkok, Thailand: Orchid Press.