Chamling language

Chamling
Rodong
चाम्लिङ
The word "Chamling" written in Devanagari script
Native toNepal
India (Sikkim, Darjeeling, Kalimpong)
Bhutan (southern areas)
EthnicityRodung Chamling
Native speakers
77,000 in Nepal (2011)[1]
Sino-Tibetan
Devanagari[2]
Language codes
ISO 639-3rab
Glottologcaml1239
ELPCamling
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Chamling is one of the Kirati languages spoken by the Chamling(Rodung) one of the Rai subgroup (Dikhalichha, Mulihachha, Ditumachha, Mansungcha, Lipuhochha, Malekungchha, Maidhung, Kherasung, Rakhomi, Horosungchha, Bhijaichha, Hodorichha, Yayochha, Pitruchha etc) of Nepal, India and Bhutan. Alternate renderings and names include Chamling, Chamlinge and Rodong.[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.[3] Chamling has SOV word order.

History

The Chamling language is one of the languages of the ancient Kiranti culture, which existed well before vedic period 3500–5000 in South Asia.[4] Important versions of the Mundum — the main religious text forming the religious foundation of the Kirant Mundum religion and the cultural heritage of the various Kirati people — are composed in Camling; such versions are distinctive to the Camling-speaking tribes and a guide to their distinctive religious practices and cultural identity.[5]

Distribution

The Chamling language is used by small communities in eastern Sagarmatha Zone, in central Khotang District, Bhojpur District and scattered areas in northern Udayapur District and a few more districts of eastern Nepal, the southeastern neighbour Indian state of Sikkim, the hill city of Darjeeling, Kalimpong in the Indian state of West Bengal and the kingdom of Bhutan.[3]

Demographics

Despite its geographic prevalence, the actual number of Chamling speakers is estimated to be 10,000, spread across small tribes and villages.[3] Many members of the Chamling ethnic and tribal communities are no longer fluent in the Chamling language, which is taught only in remote areas in the Udayapur District.[3] Like Bantawa, Chamling is an endangered language. Many people in these areas speak a variety of Chamling that is mixed with the Nepali language, which is the official language of Nepal.[3] Most Chamling-speaking people are Hindus or practitioners of Kiranti Mundum.

Phonology

Consonants

[6] Labial Dental Alveolar Dorsal Glottal
Nasal voiced m n ŋ
voiced aspirated mʱ nʱ
Plosive/
Affricate 		voiceless p t ts k
voiceless aspirated pʰ tʰ tsʰ kʰ
voiced b d (dz) (ɡ)
voiced aspirated bʱ dʱ (dzʱ) (ɡʱ)
Rhotic r rʱ
Fricative f s h
Approximant w l lʱ j

Vowels

front central back
high i u
mid e (ə) o
low a (ɒ)
  • Voice
  1. Phuima = pluck
  2. Toma = see, experience
  3. Ityu = brought from above
  4. Dhotyu-cyu' = assembled them
  5. Bhuima = pound
  6. Doma = close
  7. Idyu = gave him
  8. Dhodyu-cyu = stabbed them[7]

Bound Morphemes

chamling example word morphological rule
plural suffix /-ci/ "challa-ci" = my brothers N —> N + plural /-ci/
"his" /m-/ "m-tõ" = his ha1. ir N —> /m/ + N
"my" /a-/ "a-nicho" = my sibling N —> /a/ + N
"your" /kap-/ "kap-tõ" = your hair N —> /kap/ + N

[6]

Chamling uses many bound morphemes, many of which denote possession or the change of possession of something.

Phrase Structure Rules

NP —> (D) N
VP —> (NP) (A) (Adv) V (Adv)
CP —> C S
S —> NP {VP, NP, CP}
ex:

anga

my

D

a-khim

my house

N

hinge

be

V

anga a-khim hinge

my {my house} be

D N V

"I have a house"

This is 3. an example of a sentence that is formed by an NP and a VP. The NP contains a determiner and a noun, and the VP contains a verb.

ex:

a-challa-ci

my brothers

N

oda

here

V

paina

not

Adverb

a-challa-ci oda paina

{my brothers} here not

N V Adverb

"my brothers are not here"

This is an example of a sentence that is formed by a NP and a VP. The NP contains a noun and a VP contains a verb and an adverb.

ex:

khamo

your

D

nung

name

N

de?

what

N

khamo nung de?

your name what

D N N

"what is your name?"

This is an example of two NP's forming a sentence. One NP contains "khamo nung" ("your name") and the second NP contains "de" ("what").

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Chamling at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ "Chamling". Ethnologue. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e Ethnologue report on Camling
  4. ^ Cemjoṅga, Īmāna Siṃha (2003). History and Culture of the Kirat People. Kirat Yakthung Chumlung. ISBN 99933-809-1-1.
  5. ^ Monika Bock, Aparna Rao. Culture, Creation, and Procreation: Concepts of Kinship in South Asian Practice. Page 65. 2000, Berghahn Books.
  6. ^ a b Ebert, Karen (1997). Camling (Chamling). Mulnchen: LINCOM Europa.
  7. ^ Phonology - The Rosetta Project Archived 23 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine

8.Rai, Tara Mani and Sizar Tamang (2014) A sociolinguistic survey of Chamling: A Tibeto-Burman language.https://cdltu.edu.np