Dhimalish languages
The Dhimalish languages, Dhimal and Toto, are a small group of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in Nepal, Bhutan, and the Jalpaiguri division of West Bengal, India.
| Dhimalish | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution | India, Nepal |
| Linguistic classification | Sino-Tibetan
|
| Subdivisions | |
| Glottolog | dhim1245 |
Classification
Hammarström, et al.[1] note in Glottolog that Dhimalish is best considered to be a separate Sino-Tibetan branch rather than as a subgroup of Brahmaputran (Sal), and consider Dhimalish as failing to show sufficient Brahmaputran diagnostic vocabulary. Sotrug (2015)[2] considers Dhimalish to be particularly closely related to the Kiranti languages rather than to the Sal languages.
Grollmann & Gerber (2017)[3] consider Lhokpu to have a particularly close relationship with Dhimal and Toto.
Gerber & Grollmann (2018)[4] group Dhimal, Toto, and Lhokpu within Central-Eastern Kiranti.
Comparative vocabulary
Sanyal (1973:77-81) provides a comparative word list of Toto from Sunder (1895)[5] and George Abraham Grierson's Linguistic Survey of India,[6] and Dhimal from Brian Houghton Hodgson.[7][8]
| English gloss | Toto (Sunder) | Toto (Grierson) | Dhimal (Hodgson) | Page no. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| air | bingah | - | - | 77 |
| ass | - | pangbu | - | 77 |
| brother | eh | apu; e | yolla | 77 |
| belly | - | pa-ma | hemang | 77 |
| back | - | ju-ma | gandi | 77 |
| brinjal | bengini | - | - | 77 |
| bird | - | bakhi | jiha | 77 |
| behind | - | no | - | 77 |
| blood | viti | - | - | 77 |
| beat | - | sapu | - | 77 |
| before | - | dongangta | - | 77 |
| bullock | pekah-dambe | - | - | 77 |
| cat | minki | minki | dankha-menko | 77 |
| cock | odangpa | keka | dhangai-kai | 77 |
| come quickly | to-to-wa-wang | le-le | dhi-dhi | 77 |
| cow | - | pika | mahani-pia | 77 |
| daughter | memi-cheng | chai-me | chamdi | 77 |
| devil | - | jishang | - | 77 |
| duck | hangsa | hangsa | hangs | 77 |
| die | - | sipuna | sili | 77 |
| dog | kia | kia | khia | 77 |
| down | - | lijuing | - | 77 |
| door | lafoong | - | duar | 77 |
| eat | - | char | chabi | 77 |
| eye | michu | - | mi | 77 |
| eyebrow | mimu | - | - | 77 |
| elephant | hati | - | - | 77 |
| elder sister | anna | - | - | 77 |
| evening | jilong | - | - | 78 |
| ear | nanoong | - | naha-thong | 78 |
| far | - | hinda-mina | - | 78 |
| fire | meh | megue | mau | 78 |
| forehead | ting-ang | - | - | 78 |
| foot | tang-ba | - | kokoi | 78 |
| father | appa | apa | aba | 78 |
| of father | - | apak | - | 78 |
| two fathers | - | apa-nisa | - | 78 |
| fish | ngya | - | - | 78 |
| fever | haina | - | - | 78 |
| good | - | entana | - | 78 |
| give | - | picha | - | 78 |
| girl | chame | - | - | 78 |
| god | - | iswal | - | 78 |
| go north | enta-vatu | - | - | 78 |
| go east | nuta-vatu | - | - | 78 |
| go south | leta-vatu | - | - | 78 |
| go west | dita-vatu | - | - | 78 |
| go | vatu; hatu | chhapur | hadeli | 78 |
| hair | puring | puring | poshom | 78 |
| he | - | - | wa | 78 |
| he-goat | edang | - | - | 78 |
| horse | onyah | aia | - | 78 |
| high | - | hinda-nina | - | 78 |
| hand | kooe | kui | khur | 78 |
| his | uko | - | oko, wang | 78 |
| head | pudung | pudang | purin | 78 |
| house | - | sa | sa | 78 |
| I | kug-ve | kate | ka | 78 |
| iron | - | chaka | chir | 78 |
| jackfruit | dangse | - | - | 79 |
| jungle bamboo | - | - | - | 79 |
| lips | megoe | - | - | 79 |
| leg | kok-koi | - | khokoi | 79 |
| lime | churai | - | - | 79 |
| man | - | deya | waved | 79 |
| mother | aeu | aio | amma | 79 |
| mouth | noohgung | - | - | 79 |
| monkey | nokka | - | - | 79 |
| milk | yoti | - | - | 79 |
| moon | tari | tari | tali | 79 |
| morning | habkong | - | - | 79 |
| nose | nabboh | - | - | 79 |
| nails | kushing | - | - | 79 |
| near | - | abeto | - | 79 |
| night | lishong | - | - | 79 |
| no | - | ma-koe | - | 79 |
| orange | santra | - | - | 79 |
| our | kongo | - | king | 79 |
| pig | pakka | - | - | 79 |
| pan leaf | parai | - | - | 79 |
| plantain | eungpi | - | - | 79 |
| plantain tree | eungpi | - | - | 79 |
| paddy | mabe | - | - | 79 |
| river | tihana | - | - | 79 |
| rain | vathi | - | - | 79 |
| rice | unku | - | - | 79 |
| rice-beer | eu | - | - | 79 |
| run | - | tui | - | 79 |
| rupee | tanka | - | - | 79 |
| sister | - | ing | rima | 79 |
| sun | sani | chhani | bela | 79 |
| son | chung | chao, chaoa | chau | 79 |
| stand | - | lo-lo | - | 79 |
| star | puima | - | - | 79 |
| salt | ngi | - | - | 80 |
| sit | - | iyung | yongli | 80 |
| tiger | koogah | - | - | 80 |
| thigh | vybe | - | - | 80 |
| thou | - | na-ga | - | 80 |
| tree | singe | - | - | 80 |
| tooth | shitang | - | sitong | 80 |
| tongue | lebek | - | detong | 80 |
| up | - | jujuntaye | - | 80 |
| water | ti | ti | chi | 80 |
| we | - | na-te | kyel | 80 |
| woman | - | mem-bi | beval | 80 |
| wife | - | me | be | 80 |
| who | - | ha | jeti-siti | 80 |
| why | - | ha-ranga | haipali | 80 |
| younger sister | ing | - | - | 80 |
| yes | - | ke | he | 80 |
| you | naga | - | nye | 80 |
| 1 | eoo | che | e-long | 80 |
| 2 | nih-hu | ne | gne-long | 80 |
| 3 | soongu | sung | sum-long | 80 |
| 4 | diu | ji | dia-long | 80 |
| 5 | ngyu | nga | na-long | 80 |
| 6 | tuu | tu | tu-long | 80 |
| 7 | niu | dun | nhu-long | 80 |
| 8 | yau | ge, ne | ye-long | 80 |
| 9 | kuu | gu | kuha-long | 80 |
| 10 | thau | chu-tamba | te-long | 80 |
| 20 | chuniso | nisa | e-long-bisha | 81 |
| 100 | nakai | nga-kai | na-long-bisha | 81 |
See also
- Dhimalish comparative vocabulary list (Wiktionary)
References
- "Glottolog 4.4 - Kenaboi".
- Sotrug, Yeshy T. (2015). Linguistic evidence for madeskā kirãntī. The phylogenetic position of Dhimalish. Bern: University of Bern Master’s Thesis, 22 June 2015.
- Grollmann, Selin and Pascal Gerber. 2017. Linguistic evidence for a closer relationship between Lhokpu and Dhimal: Including some remarks on the Dhimalish subgroup. Bern: University of Bern.
- Pascal Gerber; Selin Grollmann (2018). What is Kiranti? A Critical Account. Bulletin of Chinese Linguistics 11 (2018) 99-152.
- Sunder, D. H. E. 1895. Survey and Settlement of Western Duars in the District of Jalpaiguri, 1889-1895.
- Grierson, George A. 1909. Linguistic Survey of India (Vol. III, Part I, Tibeto-Burman Family: Tibetan Dialects, the Himalayan Dialects and the North Assam Group). Calcutta: Superintendent of Government Printing, India.
- Hodgson, Brian. 1874. Essays on the Languages, Literatures, and Religion of Nepal and Tibet. London: Truebner and Co.
- Hodgson, Brian Houghton. 1880. Miscellaneous Essays relating to Indian Subjects (2 vols.). London: Trübner & Co.
- George van Driem (2001) Languages of the Himalayas: An Ethnolinguistic Handbook of the Greater Himalayan Region. Brill: Boston
- Sanyal, Charu Chandra. 1973. "The Totos: A sub-Himalayan tribe." In The Meches and the Totos, 1-81. Darjeeling: University of North Bengal.