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Lepcha language
Lepcha language, or Róng language (Lepcha: ᰛᰩᰵᰛᰧᰵᰶ; Róng ríng), is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken by the Lepcha people in Sikkim, India and parts of West Bengal, Nepal, and Bhutan.
Lepcha is spoken by minorities in the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal, as well as parts of Nepal and Bhutan. Where it is spoken, it is considered to be an aboriginal language, pre-dating the arrival of the Tibetan languages (Sikkimese, Dzongkha, and others) and more recent Nepali language. Lepcha speakers comprise four distinct communities: the Renjóngmú of Sikkim; the Támsángmú of Kalimpong, Kurseong, and Mirik; the ʔilámmú of Ilam District, Nepal; and the Promú of southwestern Bhutan. Lepcha-speaking groups in India are larger than those in Nepal and Bhutan.
The Indian census reported 50,000 Lepcha speakers, however the number of native Lepcha speakers in India may be closer to 30,000.
Since the 1650s, Lepcha has been an endangered language due to the encroachment of Lepcha spheres of life by Tibetan and later Nepali. By 1951, 72% of Lepchas were bilingual in Lepcha and Nepali, the latter of which had become the lingua franca of the community. No monolingual Lepcha speakers were recorded, and 20% of Lepchas could only speak Nepali. Transmission of Lepcha to younger generations has been hindered by primary schools teaching exclusively in Nepali, leading to Lepcha only being learned later in life.
Marriages into Nepali-speaking families, central government promotion of Hindi and an increasing interest in English among the younger generations have also been cited as significant pressures against Lepcha.
Lepcha is difficult to classify, but George van Driem (2001) suggests that it may be closest to the Mahakiranti languages, a subfamily of the Himalayish languages.
Lepcha is internally diverse, showing lexical influences from different majority language groups across the four main Lepcha communities. According to Plaisier (2007), these Nepali and Sikkimese Tibetan influences do not amount to a dialectal difference.
Roger Blench (2013) suggests that Lepcha has an Austroasiatic substratum, which originated from a now-extinct branch of Austroasiatic that he calls "Rongic".
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Lepcha language
Lepcha language, or Róng language (Lepcha: ᰛᰩᰵᰛᰧᰵᰶ; Róng ríng), is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken by the Lepcha people in Sikkim, India and parts of West Bengal, Nepal, and Bhutan.
Lepcha is spoken by minorities in the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal, as well as parts of Nepal and Bhutan. Where it is spoken, it is considered to be an aboriginal language, pre-dating the arrival of the Tibetan languages (Sikkimese, Dzongkha, and others) and more recent Nepali language. Lepcha speakers comprise four distinct communities: the Renjóngmú of Sikkim; the Támsángmú of Kalimpong, Kurseong, and Mirik; the ʔilámmú of Ilam District, Nepal; and the Promú of southwestern Bhutan. Lepcha-speaking groups in India are larger than those in Nepal and Bhutan.
The Indian census reported 50,000 Lepcha speakers, however the number of native Lepcha speakers in India may be closer to 30,000.
Since the 1650s, Lepcha has been an endangered language due to the encroachment of Lepcha spheres of life by Tibetan and later Nepali. By 1951, 72% of Lepchas were bilingual in Lepcha and Nepali, the latter of which had become the lingua franca of the community. No monolingual Lepcha speakers were recorded, and 20% of Lepchas could only speak Nepali. Transmission of Lepcha to younger generations has been hindered by primary schools teaching exclusively in Nepali, leading to Lepcha only being learned later in life.
Marriages into Nepali-speaking families, central government promotion of Hindi and an increasing interest in English among the younger generations have also been cited as significant pressures against Lepcha.
Lepcha is difficult to classify, but George van Driem (2001) suggests that it may be closest to the Mahakiranti languages, a subfamily of the Himalayish languages.
Lepcha is internally diverse, showing lexical influences from different majority language groups across the four main Lepcha communities. According to Plaisier (2007), these Nepali and Sikkimese Tibetan influences do not amount to a dialectal difference.
Roger Blench (2013) suggests that Lepcha has an Austroasiatic substratum, which originated from a now-extinct branch of Austroasiatic that he calls "Rongic".