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Bahing language

{{short description|Language spoken in Nepal}}

{{Infobox language

|name=Bahing

|region=Nepal

|speakers={{sigfig|11,700|2}}

|date=2011 census

|ethnicity=Bahing

|ref=e18

|familycolor=Sino-Tibetan

|fam2=Tibeto-Burman

|fam3=Mahakiranti (?)

|fam4=Kiranti

|fam5=Western

|fam6=Sunwari

|iso3=bhj

|glotto=bahi1252

|glottorefname=Bahing

|script=

|nation=Nepal

|notice=IPA

}}

Bahing is one of the ethnicities present in Nepal which consist of the following ancestors: Paiwa, Dungmowa, Rukhusalu, Waripsawa, Timriwa, Dhimriwa, Nayango, Dhayango, Khaliwa/Khaluwa, Rendukpa/Rendu, and Rungbu.linked to Rumjatar by Hanßon–Winter 1991 These ancestors spoke the Bahing language. The Bahing language was recorded (census 2021) to be spoken by 14449 people of the Bahing ethnic group in Nepal.[http://www.ethnologue.com/show_map.asp?name=NP&seq=20 Detailed language map of eastern Nepal, see language #4 near the map's north/south center and about 2/3 of the way from east to west] It belongs to the family of Kiranti languages, a subgroup of Sino-Tibetan.

The group Rumdali is also known as Nechali among some of them.

Names

Ethnologue lists the following alternate names for Bahing: Baying, Ikke lo, Kiranti-Bahing, Pai Lo, Radu lo. Procha lo

Geographical distribution

Bahing is spoken in the following locations of Nepal (Ethnologue).

Dialects

According to Ethnologue, Bahing consists of the Rumdali, Nechali, Tolacha, Moblocha, and Hangu dialects, with 85% or above intelligibility among all dialects.

Documentation

The Bahing language was described by Brian Houghton Hodgson (1857, 1858) as having a very complex verbal morphology. By the 1970s, only vestiges were left, making Bahing a case study of grammatical attrition and language death.

Phonology

Bahing and the related Khaling language have synchronic ten-vowel systems. The difference of {{IPA|[mərə]}} "monkey" vs. {{IPA|[mɯrɯ]}} "human being" is difficult to perceive for speakers of even neighboring dialects, which makes for "an unlimited source of fun to the Bahing people".([https://web.archive.org/web/20090214091840/http://www.isrl.uiuc.edu/~amag/langev/paper/deboer01evolvingSound.html de Boer 2002] [https://web.archive.org/web/20080704143113/http://www3.isrl.uiuc.edu/~junwang4/langev/localcopy/pdf/deboer01evolvingSound.pdf PDF])

=Vowels=

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

|+ Vowel phonemes

! rowspan="3" |

! colspan="2" |Front

! colspan="2" |Central

! colspan="4" |Back

colspan=2 |unrounded

!colspan=2 |unrounded

!colspan=2 |unrounded

!colspan=2 |rounded

short

!long

!short

!long

!short

!long

!short

!long

High

|{{IPA link|i}} {{angbr|इ}}

|{{IPA link|iː}} {{angbr|इः}}

|

|

|{{IPA link|ɯ}} {{angbr|उ़}}

|{{IPA link |ɯː}} {{angbr|उ़ः}}

|{{IPA link |u}} {{angbr|उ}}

|{{IPA link |uː}} {{angbr|उः}}

align="center"

!High-mid

|{{IPA link |e}} {{angbr|ए}}

|{{IPA link |eː}} {{angbr|एः}}

|

|

|{{IPA link |ɤ}} {{angbr|ओ़}}

|{{IPA link |ɤː}} {{angbr|ओ़ः}}

|{{IPA link |o}} {{angbr|ओ}}

|{{IPA link |oː}} {{angbr|ओः}}

align="center"

!Low-mid

|{{IPA link |ɛ}} {{angbr|ए़}}

|

|{{IPA link |ʌ}} {{angbr|अ}}

|{{IPA link |ʌː}} {{angbr|अः}}

|

|

|

|

align="center"

!Low

|

|

|{{IPA link |ä}} {{angbr|आ}}

|{{IPA link |äː}} {{angbr|आः}}

|

|

|

|

  • Bahing language has no long vowel /ɛ/.

=Consonants=

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

|+Bahing consonant phonemes

! colspan="3" |

! Bilabial

! Dental

! Apico-
alveolar

! Lamino-
alveolar

! Palatal

! Velar

! Glottal

colspan="3" | Nasal

| {{IPAlink|m}} {{angbr|म}}

|

| {{IPAlink|n}} {{angbr|न}}

|

|

| {{IPAlink|ŋ}} {{angbr|ङ}}

|

rowspan="5" | Plosive/
Affricate

! colspan="2" | implosive

|{{IPAlink|ɓ}} {{angbr|ळ}}

|

|

|

|

|

|

rowspan="2" | voiceless

! unaspirated

| {{IPAlink|p}} {{angbr|प}}

| {{IPAlink|t̪}} {{angbr|त}}

| {{IPAlink|t}} {{angbr|ट}}

| {{IPAlink|t͡s}} {{angbr|च}}

|

| {{IPAlink|k}} {{angbr|क}}

| {{IPA link|ʔ}}

aspirated

| {{IPAlink|pʰ}} {{angbr|फ}}

| {{IPAlink|t̪ʰ}} {{angbr|थ}}

| {{IPAlink|tʰ}} {{angbr|ठ}}

| {{IPAlink|t͡sʰ}} {{angbr|छ}}

|

| {{IPAlink|kʰ}} {{angbr|ख}}

|

rowspan="2" | voiced

! unaspirated

| {{IPAlink|b}} {{angbr|ब}}

| {{IPAlink|d̪}} {{angbr|द}}

| {{IPAlink|d}} {{angbr|ड}}

| {{IPAlink|d͡z}} {{angbr|ज}}

|

| {{IPAlink|ɡ}} {{angbr|ग}}

|

aspirated

| {{IPAlink|bʱ}} {{angbr|भ}}

| {{IPAlink|d̪ʱ}} {{angbr|ध}}

| {{IPAlink|dʱ}} {{angbr|ढ}}

| {{IPAlink|d͡zʱ}} {{angbr|झ}}

|

| {{IPAlink|ɡʱ}} {{angbr|घ}}

|

! colspan="3" | Fricative

|

|

| {{IPAlink|s}} {{angbr|स}}

|

|

|

| {{IPAlink|ɦ}} {{angbr|ह}}

colspan="3" | Trill

|

|

| {{IPAlink|r}} {{angbr|र}}

|

|

|

|

colspan="3" | Lateral

|

|

| {{IPAlink|l}} {{angbr|ल}}

|

|

|

|

colspan="3" | Approximant

| {{IPAlink|w}} {{angbr|व}}

|

|

|

| {{IPAlink|j}} {{angbr|य}}

|

|

  • Bahing has its unique sound /ɓ/ ळ.
  • Nowadays use ट, ठ, ड, ढ, have disappeared or are less used.

Morphology

Hodgson (1857) reported a middle voice formed by a suffix -s(i) added to the verbal stem, corresponding to reflexives in other Kiranti languages.

References

{{reflist}}

External links

  • {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110726151411/http://www.himalayanlanguages.org/?q=language_studies/bahing Himalayan Languages Project]}}

{{Sino-Tibetan languages}}

{{Kiranti languages}}

{{Languages of Nepal}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bahing Language}}

Category:Kiranti languages

Category:Languages of Nepal

Category:Languages of India

Category:Languages of Koshi Province

{{st-lang-stub}}