| Kiranti | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution | Eastern Nepal andIndia (Sikkim,Darjeeling,Kalimpong &Bhutan |
| Ethnicity | Kirati,Yakkha,Limbu,Rai andSunuwar |
| Linguistic classification | Sino-Tibetan
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| Subdivisions |
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| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | kira1253 |
TheKiranti languages are a major family ofSino-Tibetan languages spoken inNepal andIndia (notablySikkim,Darjeeling,Kalimpong, andBhutan) by theKirati people.
George van Driem had formerly proposed that the Kiranti languages were part of aMahakiranti family, although specialists are not completely certain of either the existence of a Kiranti subgroup or its precise membership.[1] LaPolla (2003), though, proposes that Kiranti may be part of a larger "Rung" group.
There are about two dozen Kiranti languages. Among the better known areLimbu,Sunuwar,Bantawa,Chamling,Khaling,Bahing,Yakkha,Wayu,Dungmali,Lohorung, andKulung.
Kiranti verbs are not easily segmentable, due in large part to the presence ofportmanteaumorphemes, crowdedaffix strings, and extensive (and often nonintuitive)allomorphy. Thus their relationship to each other has been a subject of debate.
Overall, Kiranti languages are classified:
Ethnologue addsTilung language to Western Kiranti, based on Opgenort (2011).
Opgenort (2005)[2] classifies the Kiranti languages as follows, and recognizes a basic east-west division within Kiranti.
Historical linguists, as early as 2012, do not consider Kiranti to be a coherent group, but rather aparaphyletic one due to lack ofshared innovations.[3] Gerber & Grollmann (2018) presented additional evidence supporting the paraphyletic nature of Kiranti. A Central-Eastern Kiranti group is considered to be valid by Gerber & Grollmann (2018), but they consider "Western Kiranti" unclassified withinTrans-Himalayan languages.[4]
Independent branches (formerly part of "Western Kiranti") that are unclassified within Trans-Himalayan (Sino-Tibetan):
Grollmann (2023) identifies aKhambu subgroup that consists of three languages,Kulung,Nachiring, andSampang.Camling may also be a Khambu language.[5]
Sound changes defining each subgroup (Gerber & Grollmann 2018):[4]
Independent branches (formerly part of "Western Kiranti") that are unclassified within Trans-Himalayan (Sino-Tibetan):
The Khambu branch is defined by the following sound changes.[5]
Research on proto-Kiranti includes work on phonology and comparative morphology byGeorge van Driem,[6] reconstructions by Michailovsky (1991)[7] andSergei Starostin 1994.[8] Michailovsky and Starostin differ by the number of stop series reconstructed (three vs four) and the interpretation of the correspondences.
Opgenort introduces the reconstruction of preglottalized resonants;[9][10] his reconstruction is generally based on Starostin's four series system. More recently,Jacques proposed a reconstruction of proto-Kiranti verb roots based on Michailovsky's system,[11] and analyzes the other initial correspondences (in particular, the series reconstructed as non-aspirated unvoiced stops by Starostin) as due to morphological alternations and inter-Kiranti borrowing. In addition, he presents a preliminary discussion of the reconstruction of stem alternation and stress patterns on the basis ofKhaling andDumi.[12]
Reconstructions
Sino-Tibetan branches | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WesternHimalayas (Himachal, Uttarakhand,Nepal,Sikkim) |
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| EasternHimalayas (Tibet,Bhutan,Arunachal) | |||||
| Myanmar and Indo- Burmese border |
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| East andSoutheast Asia |
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| Dubious (possible isolates) (Arunachal) |
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| Proposed groupings | |||||
| Proto-languages | |||||
Italics indicates single languages that are also considered to be separate branches. | |||||
| Official language | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Indigenous languages |
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