- Camling language
-
Camling Spoken in Nepal. India, Bhutan Native speakers 10,000 (date missing) Language family Sino-Tibetan- (Tibeto-Burman)
- Mahakiranti
- Kiranti
- Central Kiranti
- Southern
- Camling
- Southern
- Central Kiranti
- Kiranti
- Mahakiranti
Language codes ISO 639-3 rab This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. The Camling or Chamling language is one of the Kiranti languages spoken by the Kiranti and Rai peoples of eastern Nepal. Alternate names include Chamling, Chamlinge Rai and Rodong (which means "Kiranti").[1] It is closely related to the Bantawa (some Bantawa-speaking communities call their language "Camling") and Puma languages of the Kiranti language family in eastern Nepal, and it belongs to the broader Sino-Tibetan language family.[1]
Contents
History
The Chamling language is one of the languages of the ancient Kiranti culture, which existed well before the arrival of Vedic civilisation in South Asia.[2] Important versions of the Mundhum — the main scripture forming the religious foundation of the Kiranti Mundhum religion and the cultural heritage of the various Kiranti tribes — are composed in Camling; such versions are distinctive to the Camling-speaking tribes and a guide to their distinctive religious practices and cultural identity.[3]
Prevalence
The Camling language is used by small communities in the Sagarmatha Zone, Khotang District, Bhojpur District and scattered areas in Udayapur District and a few more districts of eastern Nepal, the southeastern neighbour Indian state of Sikkim, the hill city of Darjeeling in the Indian state of West Bengal and the kingdom of Bhutan.[1] Despite its geographic prevalence, the actual number of Camling speakers is estimated to be 10,000, spread across small tribes and villages.[1] Many members of the Camling ethnic and tribal communities are no longer fluent in the Camling language, which is taught only in remote areas in the Udayapur District.[1] Like Bantawa, Camling is an endangered language. Many people in these areas speak a variety of Camling that is mixed with the Nepali language, which is the official language of Nepal.[1] Most Camling-speaking people are Hindus or practitioners of the ancient Kiranti Mundhum religion.
Phonology and voice
- Phonology
Bilabial Labio-
dentalDental/
AlveolarVelar Glottal Nasal m n (ɳ) Fricative f ʃ ɦ - Voice
- Phuima = pluck
- Toma = see, experience
- Ityu = brought from above
- Dhotyu-cyu' = assembled them
- Bhuima = pound
- Doma = close
- Idyu = gave him
- Dhodyu-cyu = stabbed them[4]
See also
- Languages of Nepal
- Languages of Bhutan
References
- ^ a b c d e f Ethnologue report on Camling
- ^ Cemjoṅga, Īmāna Siṃha (2003). History and Culture of the Kirat People. Kirat Yakthung Chumlung. ISBN 9993380911.
- ^ Monika Bock, Aparna Rao. Culture, Creation, and Procreation: Concepts of Kinship in South Asian Practice. Page 65. 2000, Berghahn Books.
- ^ a b Phonology - The Rosetta Project
External links
- Joshua Project - Facts and Lists of Camling-speaking peoples
- Global Recordings - Camling language recordings
- Camling Phonology at The Rosetta Project
Languages of Bhutan Tibeto-Burman BodishTibetanTshangla (Sharchop)
Indo-Aryan Categories:- Language articles with undated speaker data
- Kiranti languages
- Nepalese culture
- Languages of Nepal
- Languages of India
- Languages of Bhutan
- Endangered Sino-Tibetan languages
- (Tibeto-Burman)
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