Puma language
{{Short description|Language of Nepal}}
{{for|the language spoken in the Solomon Islands|Teanu language}}
{{Infobox language
|name=Puma
|nativename=पुमा
|pronunciation={{IPA|pum|ˈpumaː|}}
|region=Khotang district and Udayapur district, Nepal
|speakers={{sigfig|6,690|2}}
|date=2011 census
|ref=e18
|familycolor=Sino-Tibetan
|fam2=Tibeto-Burman
|fam3=Mahakiranti (?)
|fam4=Kiranti
|fam5=Central Kiranti
|fam6=Southern
|iso3=pum
|glotto=puma1239
|glottorefname=Puma
}}
Puma (Puma: पुमा Pumā) is a Kiranti language spoken by about 4,310 people (Central Bureau of Statistics report 2001) in Sagarmatha Zone, Nepal. The actual population may be somewhat higher. The same term ‘Puma’ refers both to the people and the language they speak [Sharma 2014].
The Himalayan Languages Project has produced the first grammatical sketch of Puma. Like other Kiranti languages, Puma has a maximum syllable form of (C) (G) V (C) (C) for open syllables and (N) C V C for closed syllables, where ‘G’ is a glide and ‘N’ is a nasal (Sharma 2014:92].
Locations
Puma is spoken in Diplung, Mauwabote, Devisthan, Pauwasera, and Chisapani VDC's of southern Khotang District, and in Beltar and Saunechour VDC's of Udayapur District, Nepal. It is also spoken in Ruwa Khola valley to Buwa Khola, and southward across the Dudh Koshi.
Education
Puma language is taught in 14 schools of Barahapokhari and Jantedhunga Rural Municipalities of Khotang district in Nepal since 2020.{{cite news |last1=Rai |first1=Dambarsin |title=बराहापोखरी र जन्तेढुंगा गाउँपालिकामा पुमा भाषा पढाइ हुने |url=https://ekantipur.com/pradesh-1/2020/12/19/160838056461133620.html |access-date=8 December 2021 |agency=Kantipur |date=19 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211208035032/https://ekantipur.com/pradesh-1/2020/12/19/160838056461133620.html|archive-date=8 December 2021}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- Sharma, Narayan Prasad. "Morphosyntax of Puma, a Tibeto-Burman language of Nepal." PhD diss., SOAS, University of London, 2014. https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/18554/1/Sharma_3615.pdf
- Rai, Tara Mani.2017. A sociolinguistic Survey of Puma language: A Tibeto-Burman language. Central Department of Linguistics, TU.https://portal.tu.edu.np/downloads/Puma_2023_09_30_11_22_35.pdf
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20071026120523/http://www.uni-leipzig.de/~ff/cpdp/index.html The Chintang and Puma Documentation Project (DoBeS)]
- ELAR archive of [http://elar.soas.ac.uk/deposit/0268 Documentation of Puma]
{{Sino-Tibetan languages}}
{{Kiranti languages}}