Kokborok

Kokborok was formerly known as Tipra, with its name being changed in the 20th century. The names also refers to the inhabitants of the former Twipra kingdom, as well as the ethnicity of its speakers.

In addition to Kokborok, the Tipra people speak three other languages: Tripura, Riam chong, and Darlong (and other related languages from Bangladesh and India). Riam chong is spoken mostly by the Halam community and Darlong language spoken by the Darlong people, being related with Kuki-chin alike the Mizo, while Kokborok is related to Tibeto-Burman. Kokborok and Riam chong are very different from each other, but Riam chong and Darlong is also considered one of the native language of Tripura.

Kókborok has been attested since at least the 1st century AD, when the historical record of Tipra kings began to be written down. The script of Kókborok was called "Koloma". The Chronicle of the Borok kings were written in a book called the Rajratnakar. This book was originally written down in Kókborok using the Koloma script by Durlobendra Chontai.

Later, two Brahmins, Sukreswar and Vaneswar translated it into Sanskrit and then again translated the chronicle into Bengali in the 19th century. The chronicle of Tipra in Kókborok and Rajratnakar are no longer available. Kokborok was relegated to a common people's dialect during the rule of the Borok kings in the Kingdom of Tipra from the 19th century till the 20th century.

Kokborok was declared an official language of the state of Tripura, India by the state government in the year 1979.[5] Consequently, the language has been taught in schools of Tripura from the primary level to the higher secondary stage since the 1980s. A certificate course in Kokborok started from 1994 at Tripura University[6] and a post graduate diploma in Kokborok was started in 2001 by the Tripura University. Kokborok was introduced in the Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in the colleges affiliated to the Tripura University from the year 2012, and a Masters of Arts (MA) degree in Kokborok was started by Tripura University from the year 2015.[7]

There is currently a demand for giving the language recognition as one of the recognised official languages of India as per the 8th schedule of the Constitution. The official form is the dialect spoken in Agartala, the state capital of Tripura.[5]

Kokborok is a Sino-Tibetan language of the Bodo–Garo branch.

It is closely related to the Bodo and Dimasa languages of neighbouring Assam. The Garo language is also a related language spoken in the state of Meghalaya and neighboring Bangladesh.

Kókborok is not a single language but a collective name for the several languages and dialects spoken in Tripura. Ethnologue lists Usoi (Kau Brung), Riang (Polong-O), and Khagrachari ("Trippera") as separate languages; Mukchak (Barbakpur), though not listed, is also distinct, and the language of many Borok clans has not been investigated. The greatest variety is within Khagrachari, though speakers of different Khagrachari varieties can "often" understand each other. Khagrachari literature is being produced in the Naitong and Dendak varieties.[8]

Debbarma Kókborok has the phonology of a typical Sino-Tibetan language.

There is a clear cut difference between nouns and verbs. All true verbs are made with a verbal root followed by a number of suffixes, which are placed not randomly but according to definite rules.

Counting in Kókborok is called lekhamung.

There are many Kókborok-speaking tribes in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, Assam, Mizoram and the neighbouring provinces of the country Bangladesh mainly in Chittagong Hill Tracts. There are three main dialects which are not mutually intelligible, though the western dialect of the royal family, Debbarma, is a prestige dialect understood by everyone. It is the standard for teaching and literature. It is taught as the medium of instruction up to class fifth and as subject up to graduate level. The other dialects are Jamatia, Kalai and Noatia.

The first efforts of writing Kokborok were made by Radhamohan Thakur. He wrote the grammar of Kókborok named "Kókborokma" published in 1900, as well as two other books: "Tripur Kothamala" and "Tripur Bhasabidhan". Tripur Kothamala was the Kókborok-Bengali-English translation book published in 1906. The "Tripur Bhasabidhan" was published in 1907.

Daulot Ahmed was a contemporary of Radhamohan Thakur and was a pioneer of writing Kókborok Grammar jointly with Mohammad Omar. The Amar jantra, Comilla published his Kókborok grammar book "KOKBOKMA" in 1897.

On 27 December 1945 the "Tripura Janasiksha Samiti" came into being, and it established many schools in different areas of Tripura.

The first Kókborok magazine "Kwtal Kothoma" was edited and published in 1954 by Sudhanya Deb Barma, who was a founder of the Samiti. "Hachuk Khurio" (In the lap of Hills) by Sudhanya Deb Barma is the first modern Kókborok novel. It was published by the Kókborok Sahitya Sabha and Sanskriti Samsad in 1987. One major translation of the 20th century was the "Smai Kwtal", the New Testament of the Bible in Kókborok language, published in 1976 by the Bible Society of India.

The 21st century began for Kókborok literature with the monumental work, the Anglo-Kókborok-Bengali Dictionary compiled by Binoy Deb Barma and published in 2002 A.D. by the Kókborok tei Hukumu Mission. This is the 2nd edition of his previous ground breaking dictionary published in 1996 and is a trilingual dictionary. Twiprani Laihbuma (The Rajmala – History of Tripura) translated by R. K. Debbarma and published in 2002 by KOHM.

The full Holy Bible in Kokborok language was finally published for the first time in the year 2013 by the Bible Society of India.[12] The Baibel Kwthar is currently the largest work and biggest book published in the language with more than 1,300 pages and is now the benchmark for publications in the language.

The present trend of development of the Kókborok literary works show that Kókborok literature is moving forward slowly but steadily with its vivacity and distinctive originality to touch the rich literature of the rich languages.

Many Tripuri cultural organisations have been working fruitfully for the development of the language since the last century. A list of the present organisations and publication houses are:

• KSS, Kokborok Sahitya Sabha now Borok Kokrwbai Bosong or BKB in short.
• KOHM, Kokborok tei Hukumu Mission
• KbSS, Kokborok Sahitya Sangsad
• HKP, Hachukni Khorang Publishers
• JP, Jora Publication
• DKP, Dey Kokborok Publishers
• KA, Kokborok Academy

There are two Universities in Tripura which provide Kokborok language courses as part of Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate degrees. There are more than 15 colleges in Tripura state where Kokborok is taught as part of the undergraduate courses. Also, there are more than 30 Government schools where Kokborok is taught in the higher secondary school level under the Tripura Board of Secondary Education.[14]

Kók-borok has a script known as Koloma, which is not in popular use. From the 19th century, the Kingdom of Twipra used the Bengali script to write in Kók-borok, but since the independence of India and the merger with India, the Roman script is being promoted by non-governmental organisations. The Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) government made regulations in 1992 and 2000 for adoption of the Roman script in the school education system in its areas.

The script issue is highly politicised, with the Left Front government advocating usage of the Asian Bengali script and all the regional indigenous parties and student organisations (INPT, IPFT, NCT, Twipra Students Federation, etc.) and ethnic nationalist organisations (Kokborok Sahitya Sabha, Kokborok tei Hukumu Mission, Movement for Kokborok etc.) advocating for the Roman script.

Both scripts are now used in the state in education as well as in literary and cultural circles.

• Kokborok literature
• Kokborok drama
• Kokborok day
• Kokborok grammar
• Bodo language
• Dimasa language
• Garo language
• Languages with official status in India

• Pushpa Pai (Karapurkar). 1976. Kókborok Grammar. (CIIL Grammar series ; 3). Mysore: Central Institute of Indian Languages. OCLC 5750101
• Jacquesson, François (2003). "Kókborok, a short analysis". Hukumu, 10th anniversary volume. Kokborok Tei Hukumu Mission. pp. 109–122. OCLC 801647829.
• Binoy Debbarma. 2002. Anglo-Kókborok-Bengali Dictionary. 2nd edition. Agartala: Kókborok Tei Hukumu Mission (KOHM).
• Article in KOHM Anniversary magazine
• KOHM

• Kok Dictionary: Online Kokborok Dictionary

Kokborok test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator