Bahing language
Bahing | |
---|---|
Region | Nepal |
Ethnicity | Bahing |
Native speakers | 12,000 (2011 census)[1] |
Sino-Tibetan
| |
Official status | |
Official language in | Nepal |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | bhj |
Glottolog | bahi1252 |
ELP | Bahing |
Bahing ancestors named Paiwa, Dungmowa, Rukhusalu, Waripsawa, Timriwa, Dhimriwa, Nayango, Dhayango, Khaliwa/Khaluwa, Rendukpa/Rendu, Rungbu/Rumdali/Diburcha/Thamrocha[2]) is a language spoken by 11,658 people (2011 census) of the Bahing ethnic group in Nepal.[3] It belongs to the family of Kiranti languages, a subgroup of Sino-Tibetan.
The group Rumdali is also known as Nechali among some of them.
Names[]
Ethnologue lists the following alternate names for Bahing: Baying, Ikke lo, Kiranti-Bahing, Pai Lo, Radu lo. Procha lo
Geographical distribution[]
Bahing is spoken in the following locations of Nepal (Ethnologue).
- Northeastern Okhaldhunga District, Sagarmatha Zone: Harkapur, Ragdip, Bigutar, Baruneswor, Okhaldhunga, Rumjatar, Barnalu, Mamkha, Ratmate, Serna, Diyale, and Bhadaure VDC's (Rumdali dialect)
- Mid-southeastern Okhaldhunga District: Ketuke, Moli, Waksa, and Ubu VDC's (Tolocha dialect)
- Southern tip of Solukhumbu District: Necha Batase and Salyan VDC's
- Khotang District
Dialects[]
According to Ethnologue, Bahing consists of the Rumdali, Nechali, Tolacha, Moblocha, and Hangu dialects, with 85% or above intelligibility among all dialects. Bahing is best understood by the most people.
Documentation[]
The Bahing language was described by Brian Houghton Hodgson (1857, 1858) as having a very complex verbal morphology. By the 1970s, only vestiges were left, making Bahing a case study of grammatical attrition and language death.
Phonology[]
Bahing and the related Khaling language have synchronic ten-vowel systems. The difference of [mərə] "monkey" vs. [mɯrɯ] "human being" is difficult to perceive for speakers of even neighboring dialects, which makes for "an unlimited source of fun to the Bahing people" (de Boer 2002 PDF).
Morphology[]
Hodgson (1857) reported a middle voice formed by a suffix -s(i) added to the verbal stem, corresponding to reflexives in other Kiranti languages.
References[]
- ^ Bahing at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ linked to Rumjatar by Hanßon–Winter 1991
- ^ Detailed language map of eastern Nepal, see language #4 near the map's north/south center and about 2/3 of the way from east to west
External links[]
- Kiranti languages
- Languages of Nepal
- Languages of India
- Sino-Tibetan language stubs