Tichurong (Nepal) - Language Snapshot
- Jag Bahadur Budha
- Maya Daurio
- Mark Turin
Abstract
Tichurong is an unwritten Tibeto-Burman language spoken by approximately 2,700 people across eighteen villages in the Tichurong valley in the northwestern district of Dolpa in Nepal. It is also known as Poike, Poinke, Rongke, and Tichurongke; it continues to be used in everyday interactions, but differs in usage according to age and gender. It is one of two languages native to the Tichurong valley, the other being Kaike (ISO 639-3 code: kzq and Glottolog Code: kaik1246). Almost all residents of the Tichurong valley also speak Nepali and Tibetan, and some also speak Kaike, making the community decidedly multilingual. Through Nepal’s Language Commission, a sociolinguistic survey of Tichurong was conducted in 2018, and the language is one of 15 recently identified by the Central Department of Linguistics as warranting further research. While Tichurong is unaccounted for in all previous censuses and linguistic surveys, it has been highlighted by linguists studying Kaike. The Nepal Magar Writers Association hosted a study seminar in 2021 facilitated by two linguists to identify prominent phonological and morphological features of the Tichurong language.
Keywords: Tichurong, Tibeto-Burman, Dolpa, Nepal, Poike, Poinke, Rongke, Tichurongke, Kaike
How to Cite:
Budha, J., Daurio, M. & Turin, M., (2021) “Tichurong (Nepal) - Language Snapshot”, Language Documentation and Description 20, 189-197. doi: https://doi.org/10.25894/ldd50
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