'Olekha
Encyclopedia
Monpa language
Tawang is one of the Monpa languages of the East Bodish family. It is spoken in the Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh, claim by Tibet as a part of Lho-kha Sa-khul. It is quite distinct from non-Eastern Tibetan languages, though it shares many similarities with Bumthang...
, is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken by about 1,000 people in the Black Mountains
Black Mountains (Bhutan)
The Black Mountains is a mountain range located in Bhutan. The current Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park was previously the Black Mountains park. Elevations run up to 15145 ft or 4617 meters. -References:...
of the Wangdue Phodrang and Trongsa District
Trongsa District
Trongsa District is one of the districts of Bhutan. It is the most central district of Bhutan and the geographic centre of Bhutan is located within it at Trongsa Dzong....
s in western Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
. The term 'Ole refers to a clan of speakers.
The language was unknown beyond its immediate area until 1990, and is now the edge of extinction. George van Driem
George van Driem
George van Driem, born 1957, is a linguist at , where he holds the chair of Historical Linguistics and directs the .-Background:George van Driem has conducted field research in the Himalayas since 1983...
described 'Olekha as a remnant of the primordial population of the Black Mountains before the southward expansion of the ancient East Bodish tribes. More recently, Gwendolyn Hyslop, with the agreement of van Driem, has suggested that the 'Olekha is an isolated Tibeto-Burman language heavily influenced by East Bodish.
The distantly related Tshangla language language of eastern Bhutan, also called "Monpa" and predating Dzongkha, also belongs to the Tibeto-Burman languages
Tibeto-Burman languages
The Tibeto-Burman languages are the non-Chinese members of the Sino-Tibetan language family, over 400 of which are spoken thoughout the highlands of southeast Asia, as well as lowland areas in Burma ....
. While 'Olekha is most closely related to the Bumthang language
Bumthang language
The Bumthang language is an East Bodish language spoken by about 36,500 people in Bumthang and surrounding districts in central Bhutan...
, both being East Bodish languages
East Bodish languages
The East Bodish languages are those Bodish languages not covered by the name Tibetan, such as those spoken by the Monpa. They include:*Dakpa*Dzala*Bumthang *Tawang*Black Mountain Monpa .The most divergent is Dakpa...
, Tshangla and related languages form a sister branch not to the East Bodish group, but to its parent Bodish branch
Bodish languages
The Bodish languages, named for the Tibetan ethnonym bod, are the Tibetan languages in a broad linguistic sense, regardless of whether the speakers are considered ethnically Tibetan. Different scholars divide Bodish differently, but the alternate term 'Tibetan' generally excludes East Bodish...
. Thus the ambiguous term "Monpa" risks separating languages that should be grouped together, while grouping languages together that are quite separate.