Ancient Meitei language
| Ancient Meitei | |
|---|---|
| Old Manipuri | |
| Ariba Meiteilon/Ariba Manipuri (ꯑꯔꯤꯕ ꯃꯩꯇꯩꯂꯣꯟ/ꯑꯔꯤꯕ ꯃꯅꯤꯄꯨꯔꯤ) | |
 Yumbanlol (Yumpanlol), a 6th century collection of Meitei language copper plate inscribed texts, in Meetei script | |
| Ethnicity | various groups of the Meitei confederacy |
| Era | Ancient Kangleipak (early Manipur) |
Sino-Tibetan
| |
Early forms | |
| Dialects |
|
| Meitei script | |
| Official status | |
Official language in | Ancient Kangleipak (early Manipur) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | omp |
| Glottolog | None |
Ancient Meitei (also known as Old Manipuri, Ariba Manipuri, or Areeba Manipuri, Ariba Meiteilon, or Meiteirol Ariba, Archaic Manipuri, or Old Meithei, or Archaic Meithei) is the earliest historical stage of the Meitei language. It was spoken by the various Yek Salai groups of the Meitei confederacy in Ancient Kangleipak (early Manipur) before the emergence of later forms of the language. According to the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, the old period of the language existed till 1675 CE, because there was no significant influence of any other group on the language before that time.
Old Meitei gave rise to Modern Meitei, by passing through its early phases of literary and script usage. In the Tibeto-Burman classification, it is recognized as a distinct linguistic unit. Thus, through its historical development and its tradition of literacy and culture, it has established itself as a significant written language in its own right.