Himalayan Languages Project
Encyclopedia
The Himalayan Languages Project, launched in 1993, is a research collective based at Leiden University
and comprising much of the world's authoritative research on the lesser-known and endangered languages of the Himalayas
, in Nepal
, China
, Bhutan
, and India
. Its members regularly spend months or years at a time doing field research with native speakers. The Director of the Himalayan Languages Project is George van Driem
; other top authorities include Mark Turin
and Jeroen Wiedenhof
. It recruits grad students to collect new field research on little-known languages as the topics for their Ph.D. dissertations.
The Himalayan Languages Project was officially commissioned by the government of Bhutan
to devise a standard romanization of Dzongkha.
Many of the languages studied by the Project are believed to be doomed to extinction in the next few years or decades, and might be lost to human knowledge but for the efforts of the Project.
The Project has completed comprehensive grammars of the following languages:
The Project is currently working on comprehensive grammars of the following languages:
The Project has completed grammatical sketches of the following languages:
The Project is currently working on grammatical sketches of the following languages:
The Project also studied the fall into apparent extinction of the language Kusunda
in Nepal, as its last speakers, who lived in the forest and subsisted by hunting, were absorbed and dispersed into the larger society.
Leiden University
Leiden University , located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands. The university was founded in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, leader of the Dutch Revolt in the Eighty Years' War. The royal Dutch House of Orange-Nassau and Leiden University still have a close...
and comprising much of the world's authoritative research on the lesser-known and endangered languages of the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
, in Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, 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...
, and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Its members regularly spend months or years at a time doing field research with native speakers. The Director of the Himalayan Languages Project is 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...
; other top authorities include Mark Turin
Mark Turin
Mark Turin is a linguist and anthropologist specialised in the Himalayas. After completing his BA in Anthropology and Archaeology from the University of Cambridge , he documented the Thangmi language spoken in Nepal and northern India for his doctoral research through the Himalayan Languages...
and Jeroen Wiedenhof
Jeroen Wiedenhof
Jeroen Maarten Wiedenhof is a senior lecturer at the Department of Chinese Studies at the University of Leiden, and an expert on Sino-Tibetan languages. He is a leading member of both the Himalayan Languages Project and the Leiden School of linguistic theory.-External links:*...
. It recruits grad students to collect new field research on little-known languages as the topics for their Ph.D. dissertations.
The Himalayan Languages Project was officially commissioned by the government of 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...
to devise a standard romanization of Dzongkha.
Many of the languages studied by the Project are believed to be doomed to extinction in the next few years or decades, and might be lost to human knowledge but for the efforts of the Project.
The Project has completed comprehensive grammars of the following languages:
- LimbuLimbu languageLimbu is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken in Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, Kashmir and Darjeeling district, West Bengal, India, by the Limbu community. Virtually all Limbus are bilingual in Nepali....
- DumiDumiDumi is a village in Achham District in the Seti Zone of western Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 1,517 and had 332 houses in the village....
- Dzongkha
- Wambule
- KulungKulungThe Kulung are the people of Rai and Kirant descent, inhabiting Nepal and parts of northeastern India. Their language of the same name is closely related to the fellow Kiranti languages Bantawa and Puma. Alternate names for the language include Khulunge Rai, Kulu Ring, Khulung and...
- Jero
The Project is currently working on comprehensive grammars of the following languages:
- Manchad
- LohorungLohorungLohorung is a caste descend from Mongols, in Nepal having their own language, culture and traditional values. The main land for Lohorung is the upper northern part of Arun Nadi or Koshi River in the district of Sankhuwa Sabha in the north eastern of Nepal...
- Thangmi
- SunwarSunwarSunuwar or Sunwar are one of the indigenous peoples of Nepal and some areas in India. The tribe is influenced by Hinduism. They speak the Sunuwar language...
- Lhokpu
- Sampang
- GongdukGongduk languageGongduk or Gongdu is an endangered Tibeto-Burman language spoken by about 1,000 people in a few inaccessible villages located near the Kuri Chhu river in the Gongdu Gewog of Mongar District in eastern Bhutan...
- Olekha
- Chiling
- Gyal-rong
- LepchaLepcha languageLepcha language, or Róng language , is a Himalayish language spoken by the Lepcha people in Sikkim and parts of West Bengal, Nepal and Bhutan.-Population:...
- Chulung
- DhimalDhimalDhimal or Dhemal is a little known indigenous community of the Terai. They mainly reside in Morang and Jhapa districts of Nepal and Darjeeling district of West Bengal, India...
The Project has completed grammatical sketches of the following languages:
- BumthangBumthang languageThe Bumthang language is an East Bodish language spoken by about 36,500 people in Bumthang and surrounding districts in central Bhutan...
- Byangsi
- Puma
- RabhaRabhaRabha is a little known Scheduled Tribe community of West Bengal and Assam. The language/dialect spoken by the Rabha people is also of the same name. In West Bengal, Rabha people mainly live in Jalpaiguri district and Cooch Behar district. Moreover, almost, 70 per cent of them live in...
- Rongpo
The Project is currently working on grammatical sketches of the following languages:
- Baram
- DuraDuraDura may refer to:* Dura , a Palestinian town in the southern West Bank located eleven kilometers southwest of Hebron in the Hebron Governorate* Dura language, a critically endangered language of Nepal...
- TotoToto languageToto is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken on the border of India and Bhutan, by the tribal Toto people. The Himalayan Languages Project is working on the first grammatical sketch of Toto.-References:*...
The Project also studied the fall into apparent extinction of the language Kusunda
Kusunda
The Kusunda or Ban Raja , known to themselves as the Mihaq or Myahq The Kusunda or Ban Raja ("people of the forest"), known to themselves as the Mihaq or Myahq The Kusunda or Ban Raja ("people of the forest"), known to themselves as the Mihaq or Myahq (The Kusunda or Ban Raja ("people of the...
in Nepal, as its last speakers, who lived in the forest and subsisted by hunting, were absorbed and dispersed into the larger society.
- Himalayan Languages Project official website
- The Kirat Rai Association's Web Portal