East Bodish languages

East Bodish
Ethnicity:	Monpa people etc.
Geographic distribution:	Bhutan
Linguistic classification:	Sino-Tibetan Tibeto-Kanauri ? Bodish East Bodish
Glottolog:	east1469

The East Bodish languages are a small group of non-Tibetic Bodish languages spoken in eastern Bhutan and adjacent areas of Tibet and India. They include:

• Dakpa (Tawang Monpa)
• Dzala
• Nyen, including Mangde and Phobjib
• Chali
• Bumthang
• Kheng
• Kurtöp

George van Driem initially proposed that 'Ole belonged to the group, but later decided that it belonged to a group of its own.^[1]

Although the East Bodish languages are closely related, Tshangla and related languages of eastern Bhutan, also called "Monpa" and predating Dzongkha, form a sister branch not to the East Bodish group, but to its parent Bodish branch.^[2][3] Thus the ambiguous term "Monpa" risks separating languages that should be grouped together, whereas grouping languages together that are quite distinct.^[4] Zakhring is apparently also related, though strongly influenced by Miju or a similar language.^[5]

Internal classification

Languages of Bhutan, including the East Bodish languages

Hyslop (2010) classifies the East Bodish languages as follows.

East Bodish

• Dakpa–Dzala
  • Dakpa
  • Dzala
• (unnamed branch)
  • Phobjip
  • Chali–Bumthang
    • Chali
    • Bumthangic
      • Bumthang
      • Kheng
      • Kurtöp

She regards the Dakpa–Dzala and Bumthangic subgroups as secure, and the placement of Phobjip and Chali as more tentative.^[6]

Lu (2002) divides the "Menba language" (门巴语) into the following subdivisions.^[7] The southern dialect is most likely Tawang Monpa.

• Southern 南部方言: 30,000 speakers
  • Mama dialect 麻玛土语: Mama Township 麻玛乡 (or 麻麻乡), Lebu District 勒布区, Cona County, Lhoka (Shannan) Prefecture, Tibet
  • Dawang dialect 达旺土语: Dawang Township 达旺镇, Mendawang District 门达旺地区, Cona County, Lhoka (Shannan) Prefecture, Tibet
• Northern 北部方言: 5,000 speakers
  • Wenlang dialect 文浪土语: Wenlang Township 文浪乡, Dexing District 德兴区, Mêdog County, Nyingchi Prefecture, Tibet
  • Banjin dialect 邦金土语: Bangjin District 邦金地区, Mêdog County, Nyingchi Prefecture, Tibet

References

1. van Driem, George L. (2011). "Tibeto-Burman subgroups and historical grammar". Himalayan Linguistics Journal 10 (1): 31–39.
2. van Driem, George L. (1994). "Language Policy in Bhutan" (PDF). Bhutan: aspects of culture and development. Kiscadale. pp. 87–105. ISBN 978-1-87083-817-7.
3. van Driem, George (2001). Languages of the Himalayas: An Ethnolinguistic Handbook of the Greater Himalayan Region. Brill. p. 915. ISBN 978-90-04-12062-4.
4. Andvik, Eric E. (2009). A Grammar of Tshangla. Tibetan Studies Library 10. Brill. pp. 4–7. ISBN 90-04-17827-9.
5. Blench, Roger; Post, Mark (2011), (De)classifying Arunachal languages: Reconstructing the evidence (PDF)
6. Hyslop, Gwendolyn (2013). "On the internal phylogeny of East Bodish". In Hyslop, Gwendolyn; Morey, Stephen; Post, Mark W. North East Indian Linguistics 5. New Delhi: Cambridge University Press India. pp. 91–112. ISBN 978-93-82264-72-9.
7. Lu, Shaozun 陆绍尊 (2002). 门巴语方言研究 [A study of Menba (Monpa) dialects] (in Chinese). Beijing: Ethnic Publishing House 民族出版社.