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 (also known as Paiwa, Dungmowa, Rukhusalu, Waripsawa, Timriwa, Dhimriwa, Nayango, Dhayango, Khaliwa/Khaluwa, Rendukpa/Rendu, Rungbu[2]) is a language spoken by 14449 people (census 2021) 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
[edit]Ethnologue lists the following alternate names for Bahing: Baying, Ikke lo, Kiranti-Bahing, Pai Lo, Radu lo. Procha lo
Geographical distribution
[edit]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
[edit]According to Ethnologue, Bahing consists of the Rumdali, Nechali, Tolacha, Moblocha, and Hangu dialects, with 85% or above intelligibility among all dialects.
Documentation
[edit]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
[edit]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".[4]
Vowels
[edit]Front | Central | Back | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
unrounded | unrounded | unrounded | rounded | |||||
short | long | short | long | short | long | short | long | |
High | i ⟨इ⟩ | iː ⟨इः⟩ | ɯ ⟨उ़⟩ | ɯː ⟨उ़ः⟩ | u ⟨उ⟩ | uː ⟨उः⟩ | ||
High-mid | e ⟨ए⟩ | eː ⟨एः⟩ | ɤ ⟨ओ़⟩ | ɤː ⟨ओ़ः⟩ | o ⟨ओ⟩ | oː ⟨ओः⟩ | ||
Low-mid | ɛ ⟨ए़⟩ | ʌ ⟨अ⟩ | ʌː ⟨अः⟩ | |||||
Low | ä ⟨आ⟩ | äː ⟨आः⟩ |
- Bahing language has no long vowel /ɛ/.
Consonants
[edit]Bilabial | Dental | Apico- alveolar | Lamino- alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m ⟨म⟩ | n ⟨न⟩ | ŋ ⟨ङ⟩ | ||||||
Plosive/ Affricate | implosive | ɓ ⟨ळ⟩ | |||||||
voiceless | unaspirated | p ⟨प⟩ | t̪ ⟨त⟩ | t ⟨ट⟩ | t͡s ⟨च⟩ | k ⟨क⟩ | ʔ | ||
aspirated | pʰ ⟨फ⟩ | t̪ʰ ⟨थ⟩ | tʰ ⟨ठ⟩ | t͡sʰ ⟨छ⟩ | kʰ ⟨ख⟩ | ||||
voiced | unaspirated | b ⟨ब⟩ | d̪ ⟨द⟩ | d ⟨ड⟩ | d͡z ⟨ज⟩ | ɡ ⟨ग⟩ | |||
aspirated | bʱ ⟨भ⟩ | d̪ʱ ⟨ध⟩ | dʱ ⟨ढ⟩ | d͡zʱ ⟨झ⟩ | ɡʱ ⟨घ⟩ | ||||
Fricative | s ⟨स⟩ | ɦ ⟨ह⟩ | |||||||
Trill | r ⟨र⟩ | ||||||||
Lateral | l ⟨ल⟩ | ||||||||
Approximant | w ⟨व⟩ | j ⟨य⟩ |
- Bahing has its unique sound /ɓ/ ळ.
- Nowadays use ट, ठ, ड, ढ, have disappeared or are less used.
Morphology
[edit]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
[edit]- ^ 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
- ^ (de Boer 2002 PDF)
External links
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