Thakali language

{{Infobox language

|name=Thakali

|nativename=थकाली

|states=Nepal

|region=

|ethnicity={{sigfig|11,700|2}} Thakali (2021 census)

|speakers={{sigfig|4,220|2}}

|date=2002–2021 census

|ref=e27

|familycolor=Sino-Tibetan

|fam2=Tamangic

|fam3=Gurung–Tamang

|fam4=Gurungic

|dia1=Thakali

|dia2=Tangbe

|dia3=Tetang

|dia4=Chuksang

|lc1=ths|ld1=Thakali

|lc2=skj|ld2=Seke

|glotto=thak1245

|glottoname=Thakali

|glotto2=seke1240

|glottoname2=Seke

|glottorefname2=Seke (Nepal)

|ELP2=5688

|ELPname2=Seke (Nepal)

|script=Devanagari (modern){{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eSGmZBO_WDQC&q=thakali+%22tibetan+script%22&pg=PA417|title=The Thakali: A Himalayan Ethnography|first=Michael|last=Vinding|date=January 10, 1998|publisher=Serindia Publications, Inc.|isbn=9780906026502|via=Google Books}}
Tibetan script (historical){{Cite web | url=http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/kailash/pdf/kailash_09_01_02.pdf | title=Impression management and economic growth: the case of the Thakalis of Dhaulagiri zone | first=Andrew E. | last=Manzardo | website=himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk}}

| map2 = Lang Status 60-DE.svg

| mapcaption2 = {{center|{{small|Thakali is classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger}}}}

}}

Thakali is a Sino-Tibetan language of Nepal spoken by the Thakali people, mainly in the Myagdi and Mustang Districts. Its dialects have limited mutual intelligibility.

Seke (Serke, Tangbe, Tetang, Chuksang) is sometimes considered a separate language. Other names and dialect names are Barhagaule, Marpha, Panchgaunle, Puntan Thakali, Syang, Tamhang Thakali, Thaksaatsaye, Thaksatsae, Thaksya, Tukuche, Yhulkasom.{{Cite web|url=http://www.language-archives.org/language/ths|title=OLAC resources in and about the Thakali language|website=www.language-archives.org}} Seke (Serke) is spoken in the villages of Tangbe, Tetang, Chuksang, Chaile, and Gyakar in Mustang District, northern Nepal. Martine Mazaudon has documented the Tangbe dialect of Seke as spoken by an expatriate speaker in Paris.Mazaudon, Martine. 2023. The name of the Se(r)ke language and the reconstruction of a final -s in proto-TGTM (Tamangish). 26th Himalayan Languages Symposium, 4-6 September 2023. Paris: INALCO. Honda (2002) also documented two other dialects of Seke, Tetang and Chuksang.Honda, Isao. 2002. Seke phonology: a comparative study of three Seke dialects. Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area 25(1): 191-210.

Geographical distribution

Thakali is spoken in the middle of the Kali Gandaki River valley and in the upper part of the Kali Gandaki Gorge (also known as Thak Khola), in Mustang District, Gandaki Province. The Thakali area is bounded by Annapurna Himal on one side and Dhawalagiri Himal on the other, with Tatopani village in the south and Jomsom in the north (Ethnologue).

The Tukuche dialect is spoken from Tukuche to Thaksatsae, in 13 villages: Tukuche, Khanti, Kobang, Larjung, Dampu, Naurikot, Bhurjungkot, Nakung, Tithi, Kunjo, Taglung, Lete, Ghansa. Many live outside the area.

Seke is spoken by Gurung of Chuksang, Tsaile, Tangbe, Tetang, and Gyakar villages of Mustang District, Dhawalagiri Zone. There are only 700 native speakers of this language, 100 of whom live in New York City. Reportedly, half of the New York City speakers live in the same apartment building.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/07/nyregion/rare-languages-seke-vlashki-wakhi.html|title=Just 700 Speak This Language (50 in the Same Brooklyn Building)|last=Freytas-Tamura|first=Kimiko de|date=2020-01-07|work=The New York Times|access-date=2020-01-08|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web|url=https://gothamist.com/news/dazzling-map-shows-nycs-incredible-linguistic-diversity|title=Dazzling Map Shows NYC's Incredible Linguistic Diversity|first=Christopher|last=Robbins|date=2019-12-03|website=Gothamist|language=en|access-date=2020-02-12}}{{Cite web|url=https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2020/01/09/endangered-language-alliance-seke-nepal-new-york-city/|title=There's New Hope For Endangered Languages In NYC|date=2020-01-09|language=en-US|access-date=2020-02-12}}