Bahing language

Language spoken in Nepal
Bahing
RegionNepal
EthnicityBahing
Native speakers
12,000 (2011 census)[1]
Language family
Sino-Tibetan
  • Tibeto-Burman
    • Mahakiranti (?)
      • Kiranti
        • Western
          • Sunwari
            • Bahing
Official status
Official language in
Nepal
Language codes
ISO 639-3bhj
Glottologbahi1252
ELPBahing
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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

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).

Dialects

According to Ethnologue, Bahing consists of the Rumdali, Nechali, Tolacha, Moblocha, and Hangu dialects, with 85% or above intelligibility among all dialects.

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).

Vowels

Vowel phonemes
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

Bahing consonant phonemes
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

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

  1. ^ Bahing at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ linked to Rumjatar by Hanßon–Winter 1991
  3. ^ 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

  • Himalayan Languages Project
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Sino-Tibetan branches
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(Himachal, Uttarakhand, Nepal, Sikkim)
Greater Magaric
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(Tibet, Bhutan, Arunachal)Myanmar and Indo-Burmese border
"Naga"
Sal
East and Southeast Asia
Burmo-Qiangic
Dubious (possible isolates)
(Arunachal)
Greater Siangic
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