Takpa language

Last updated
Takpa
Tawang Monpa
དག་པ་ཁ་, dakpakha
Takpa(Tawang Monpa).png
Region India; Bhutan; Lhoka, Tibet
Ethnicity Takpa
Native speakers
9,100 in India (2006) [1]
2,000 in Bhutan (2011); [2] 1,300 in China (2000 census) [3]
Tibetan script
Language codes
ISO 639-3 Variously:
dka   Dakpa
twm   Tawang Monpa
tkk   Takpa
Glottolog dakp1242
ELP
Lang Status 80-VU.svg
Takpa is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

The Takpa or Dakpa language (Tibetan : དག་པ་ཁ་, Wylie : dak pa kha), Dakpakha, known in India as Tawang Monpa, [4] also known as Brami in Bhutan, [5] is an East Bodish language spoken in the Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh, and in northern Trashigang District in eastern Bhutan, mainly in Kyaleng (Shongphu gewog), Phongmed Gewog, Dangpholeng and Lengkhar near Radi Gewog. [6] [7] Van Driem (2001) describes Takpa as the most divergent of Bhutan's East Bodish languages, [8] though it shares many similarities with Bumthang. SIL reports that Takpa may be a dialect of the Brokpa language and that it been influenced by the Dzala language whereas Brokpa has not. [7]

Contents

Takpa is mutually unintelligible with Monpa of Zemithang and Monpa of Mago-Thingbu. [9] Monpa of Zemithang is another East Bodish language, and is documented in Abraham, et al. (2018). [10]

Wangchu (2002) reports that Tawang Monpa is spoken in Lhou, Seru, Lemberdung, and Changprong villages, Tawang District, Arunachal Pradesh.

Phonology

These tables represent the phonemes of the variety of Takpa spoken in China, in Tsona County. [11]

Vowels

Front Central Back
High i i[iː]
y y[yː]
u u[uː]
Mid e[e][eː]ʌ ʌʌː[ʌː]o o[oː]
Low ɛ[ɛ]ɛːɛːa a[aː]ɔɔɔː[ɔː]

Consonants

Bilabial Alveolar Retroflex Pal.-alv. Velars Glottal
Central Lateral Palatals Velars
Stops Voiceless p pt tk kʔʔ
Aspirated ph th kh
Voiced b bd dɡ ɡ
Fricatives Voiceless s sɬ ɬʂʂɕ ɕhh
Voiced z zʑʑ
Affricates Voiceless ts t͡st͡ʂt͡ɕc͡ç
Aspirated tsh t͡sʰtʂht͡ʂʰtɕh t͡ɕʰcçhc͡çʰ
Voiced dz d͡zd͡ʐd͡ʑɟʝɟ͡ʝ
Liquids r rl l
Nasals m mn nɳ ɳŋ ŋ
Semivowel w wj j

Monba is a tonal language, with four contour tones: 55, 53, 35, and 31. [11]

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bumthang language</span> East Bodish language of north-central Bhutan

The Bumthang language ; also called "Bhumtam", "Bumtang(kha)", "Bumtanp", "Bumthapkha", and "Kebumtamp") is an East Bodish language spoken by about 20,000 people in Bumthang and surrounding districts of Bhutan. Van Driem (1993) describes Bumthang as the dominant language of central Bhutan.

The Chali language is an East Bodish language spoken by about 1,398 people in Wangmakhar, Gorsum and Tormazhong villages in Mongar District in eastern Bhutan, mainly around Chhali Gewog on east bank of Kuri Chhu River. Chalikha is related to Bumthangkha and Kurtöpkha.

Nyenkha is an East Bodish language spoken by about 10,000 people in the eastern, northern, and western areas of the Black Mountains. Speakers live primarily between the Tang Chuu to the east and Mangde Chhu to the west, from the town of Trongsa in Trongsa District; along Black River passes in the Trongsa District villages of Taktse and Usar; to in Ridha and Tashiding villages, and Phobji, Dangchu, and Sephu Gewogs and surrounding villages in southeast Wangdue Phodrang District.

The Nupbi language is an East Bodish language spoken by about 2200 people in central Bhutan.

References

  1. ISO change request
  2. Dakpa at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  3. Tawang at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  4. Hammarström (2015) Ethnologue 16/17/18th editions: a comprehensive review: online appendices
  5. Tshering, Karma;van Driem, George (2019). "The Grammar of Dzongkha". Himalayan Linguistics Journal. 7.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. van Driem, George L. (1993). "Language Policy in Bhutan". London: SOAS. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-11-01. Retrieved 2011-01-18.
  7. 1 2 "Dakpakha". Ethnologue Online. Dallas: SIL International. 2006. Retrieved 2011-01-18.
  8. van Driem, George (2001). Languages of the Himalayas: An Ethnolinguistic Handbook of the Greater Himalayan Region. Brill Publishers.
  9. Blench, Roger; Post, Mark (2011), (De)classifying Arunachal languages: Reconstructing the evidence (PDF), archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-05-26
  10. Abraham, Binny, Kara Sako, Elina Kinny, Isapdaile Zeliang. 2018. Sociolinguistic Research among Selected Groups in Western Arunachal Pradesh: Highlighting Monpa . SIL Electronic Survey Reports 2018-009.
  11. 1 2 Huang, 1992, p. 634.