Bumthang language
| Bumthang | |
|---|---|
| Region | Bhutan |
Native speakers | 20,000 (2011)[1] |
| Tibetan script | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | kjz |
The Bumthang language (Dzongkha: བུམ་ཐང་ཁ་; Wylie: Bum-thang-kha; also called "Bhumtam," "Bumtang(kha)," "Bumtanp," "Bumthapkha," and "Kebumtamp") is an East Bodish language spoken by about 36,500 people in Bumthang and surrounding districts in central Bhutan.[2][3] Van Driem (1993) describes Bumthangkha as the dominant language of central Bhutan.[3]
Related languages
Historically, Bumthangkha and its speakers have had close contact with speakers of Kurtöpkha, Nupbikha and Khengkha, nearby languages of central and eastern Bhutan, to the extent that they may be considered part of a wider collection of "Bumthang languages."[4][5][6]
Bumthang language is largely lexically similar with Khengkha (92%), Nyenkha (75%–77%), and Kurtöpkha (70%–73%); but less so with Dzongkha (47%–52%) and Tshangla (Sharchop) (40%–50%).[2] It is either closely related to or identical with the East Bodish language of the Tawang Monpa of India and China.[2]
See also
References
- ↑ Bumthang reference at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Bumthangkha". Ethnologue Online. Dallas: SIL International. 2006. Retrieved 2011-01-18.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 van Driem, George L. (1993). "Language Policy in Bhutan" (PDF). London: SOAS. Retrieved 2011-01-18.
- ↑ Schicklgruber, Christian (1998). Françoise Pommaret-Imaeda, ed. Bhutan: Mountain Fortress of the Gods. Shambhala. pp. 50, 53.
- ↑ van Driem, George (2007). "Endangered Languages of Bhutan and Sikkim: East Bodish Languages". In Moseley, Christopher. Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages. Routledge. p. 295. ISBN 0-7007-1197-X.
- ↑ van Driem, George (2007). Matthias Brenzinger, ed. Language diversity endangered. Trends in linguistics: Studies and monographs, Mouton Reader 181. Walter de Gruyter. p. 312. ISBN 3-11-017050-7.
External links
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