Chamling language

Chamling is one of the Kiranti languages spoken by the Kiranti of Nepal, Bhutan and India. Alternate renderings and names include Chamling, Chamlinge Rai 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.

"Chamling" redirects here. For the lake in Tibet, see Como Chamling.

Chamling
Rodong
Native toNepal, India, Bhutan
Native speakers
77,000 in Nepal (2011)[1]
Sino-Tibetan
Language codes
ISO 639-3rab
Glottologcaml1239[2]

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 Mundhum — the main religious text forming the religious foundation of the Kirant Mundhum 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 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 Mundhum.

Phonology and voice
  • Phonology

Consonants

Bilabial Labio-
dental		 Dental/
Alveolar		 Velar Glottal
Stop (voiceless) p t
Nasal m n (ɳ)
Fricative f ʃ ɦ

Vowels

front central back
high i u
mid e o
low a
  • 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[6]

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

[7]

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}

examples:

Chamling "anga a-khim hinge"
interlinear gloss my my house be
parts of speech D N V
English "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.

Chamling "a-challa-ci oda paina"
interlinear gloss my brothers here not
parts of speech N V Adverb
English "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.

Chamling "khamo nung de?"
interlinear gloss your name what
parts of speech D N N
English "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. Chamling at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Camling". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  3. 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. Phonology - The Rosetta Project Archived 23 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Ebert, Karen (1997). Camling (Chamling). Mulnchen: LINCOM Europa.
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