Kiranti | |
---|---|
Ethnicity | Kirati, Yakkha, Limbu, Rai and Sunuwar |
Geographic distribution | Eastern Nepal and India ( Sikkim, Darjeeling, Kalimpong & Bhutan |
Linguistic classification |
Sino-Tibetan
|
Subdivisions |
|
Glottolog | kira1253 |
The Kiranti languages are a major family of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in Nepal and India (notably Sikkim, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and Bhutan) by the Kirati people.
George van Driem had formerly proposed that the Kiranti languages were part of a Mahakiranti family, although specialists are not completely certain of either the existence of a Kiranti subgroup or its precise membership. [1] LaPolla (2003), though, proposes that Kiranti may be part of a larger " Rung" group.
There are about two dozen Kiranti languages. The better known are Limbu language, Sunuwar language, Bantawa language , Chamling language, Khaling language, Bahing language, Yakkha language, Wayu language, Dungmali language, Lohorung language and Kulung language .
Kiranti verbs are not easily segmentable, due in large part to the presence of portmanteau morphemes, crowded affix strings, and extensive (and often nonintuitive) allomorphy.
Overall, Kiranti languages are:
Ethnologue adds Tilung language to Western Kiranti, based on Opgenort (2011).
Opgenort (2005) [2] classifies the Kiranti languages as follows, and recognizes a basic east-west division within Kiranti.
Historical linguists, as early as 2012, do not consider Kiranti to be a coherent group, but rather a paraphyletic one due to lack of shared innovations. [3] Gerber & Grollmann (2018) presented additional evidence supporting the paraphyletic nature of Kiranti. A Central-Eastern Kiranti group is considered to be valid by Gerber & Grollmann (2018), but they consider "Western Kiranti" unclassified within Trans-Himalayan languages. [4]
Independent branches (formerly part of "Western Kiranti") that are unclassified within Trans-Himalayan (Sino-Tibetan):
Grollmann (2023) identifies a Khambu subgroup that consists of three languages, Kulung, Nachiring, and Sampang. Camling may also be a Khambu language. [5]
Sound changes defining each subgroup (Gerber & Grollmann 2018): [4]
Independent branches (formerly part of "Western Kiranti") that are unclassified within Trans-Himalayan (Sino-Tibetan):
The Khambu branch is defined by the following sound changes. [5]
Research on proto-Kiranti includes work on phonology and comparative morphology by George van Driem, [6] reconstructions by Michailovsky (1991) [7] and Sergei Starostin 1994. [8] Michailovsky and Starostin differ by the number of stop series reconstructed (three vs four) and the interpretation of the correspondences.
Opgenort introduces the reconstruction of preglottalized resonants; [9] [10] his reconstruction is generally based on Starostin's four series system. More recently, Jacques proposed a reconstruction of proto-Kiranti verb roots based on Michailovsky's system, [11] and analyzes the other initial correspondences (in particular, the series reconstructed as non-aspirated unvoiced stops by Starostin) as due to morphological alternations and inter-Kiranti borrowing. In addition, he presents a preliminary discussion of the reconstruction of stem alternation and stress patterns on the basis of Khaling and Dumi. [12]
Reconstructions
Kiranti | |
---|---|
Ethnicity | Kirati, Yakkha, Limbu, Rai and Sunuwar |
Geographic distribution | Eastern Nepal and India ( Sikkim, Darjeeling, Kalimpong & Bhutan |
Linguistic classification |
Sino-Tibetan
|
Subdivisions |
|
Glottolog | kira1253 |
The Kiranti languages are a major family of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in Nepal and India (notably Sikkim, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and Bhutan) by the Kirati people.
George van Driem had formerly proposed that the Kiranti languages were part of a Mahakiranti family, although specialists are not completely certain of either the existence of a Kiranti subgroup or its precise membership. [1] LaPolla (2003), though, proposes that Kiranti may be part of a larger " Rung" group.
There are about two dozen Kiranti languages. The better known are Limbu language, Sunuwar language, Bantawa language , Chamling language, Khaling language, Bahing language, Yakkha language, Wayu language, Dungmali language, Lohorung language and Kulung language .
Kiranti verbs are not easily segmentable, due in large part to the presence of portmanteau morphemes, crowded affix strings, and extensive (and often nonintuitive) allomorphy.
Overall, Kiranti languages are:
Ethnologue adds Tilung language to Western Kiranti, based on Opgenort (2011).
Opgenort (2005) [2] classifies the Kiranti languages as follows, and recognizes a basic east-west division within Kiranti.
Historical linguists, as early as 2012, do not consider Kiranti to be a coherent group, but rather a paraphyletic one due to lack of shared innovations. [3] Gerber & Grollmann (2018) presented additional evidence supporting the paraphyletic nature of Kiranti. A Central-Eastern Kiranti group is considered to be valid by Gerber & Grollmann (2018), but they consider "Western Kiranti" unclassified within Trans-Himalayan languages. [4]
Independent branches (formerly part of "Western Kiranti") that are unclassified within Trans-Himalayan (Sino-Tibetan):
Grollmann (2023) identifies a Khambu subgroup that consists of three languages, Kulung, Nachiring, and Sampang. Camling may also be a Khambu language. [5]
Sound changes defining each subgroup (Gerber & Grollmann 2018): [4]
Independent branches (formerly part of "Western Kiranti") that are unclassified within Trans-Himalayan (Sino-Tibetan):
The Khambu branch is defined by the following sound changes. [5]
Research on proto-Kiranti includes work on phonology and comparative morphology by George van Driem, [6] reconstructions by Michailovsky (1991) [7] and Sergei Starostin 1994. [8] Michailovsky and Starostin differ by the number of stop series reconstructed (three vs four) and the interpretation of the correspondences.
Opgenort introduces the reconstruction of preglottalized resonants; [9] [10] his reconstruction is generally based on Starostin's four series system. More recently, Jacques proposed a reconstruction of proto-Kiranti verb roots based on Michailovsky's system, [11] and analyzes the other initial correspondences (in particular, the series reconstructed as non-aspirated unvoiced stops by Starostin) as due to morphological alternations and inter-Kiranti borrowing. In addition, he presents a preliminary discussion of the reconstruction of stem alternation and stress patterns on the basis of Khaling and Dumi. [12]
Reconstructions