| Kutang | |
|---|---|
| Kuke | |
| Native to | Nepal |
| Ethnicity | Tamangs[citation needed] |
Native speakers | 29 (2011 census)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | ght |
| Glottolog | kuta1241 |
Kutang, also known asKutang Ghale,Kuke, and Kukay, is a minorTibeto-Burman language ofNepal. Anthropologist Geoff Childs notes that "the term Kukay literally means "Language of Kutang," but it has a double meaning in that the first syllable -ku, for Kutang - is a homonym of the first sylllbe of the Tibetan word for their,kuma. Therefore, Kukay is also interpreted to mean "stolen language," since it incorporates words and phrases from several neighboring languages, including Tibetan."[2]
Kutang is spoken in Dyang, Rana, Bihi, Ghap, Chak, Kwak, and Krak villages ofBihi VDC,Gorkha District,Gandaki Province, Nepal (Ethnologue).
There are three Kutang dialects, Bihi, Chak, and Rana, which have limited intelligibility. The varieties spoken in Chhak and Kwak villages are reportedly similar to each other, and different from the varieties spoken in all of the other villages.
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. | |||||