Khams Tibetan

Khams Tibetan
Khams Tibetan
Kham-Hor
Khampa
Region	China, Bhutan
Native speakers	(1.4 million cited 1994)
Language family	Sino-Tibetan Tibeto-Kanauri ? Bodish Tibetic Khams Tibetan; ; ; ;
Writing system	Tibetan alphabet
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Variously:; khg – Khams; kbg – Khamba; tsk – Tseku
Glottolog	kham1299
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Khams Tibetan (Wylie: Khams skad, THL: Khamké) is the Tibetic language used by the majority of the people in Kham, which is now divided between the eastern part of Tibet Autonomous Region, the western part of Sichuan, and the northwestern part of Yunnan, China. It is one of the five main spoken Tibetic languages, the other four being Central Tibetan language, Amdo, Ladakhi and Dzongkha. These Tibetic languages share the same written script, but their pronunciations, vocabularies and grammars are different. These differences may have emerged due to geographical isolation of the regions of Tibet. Khams Tibetan is used alongside Standard Tibetan and Amdo Tibetan in broadcasting Khams Tibetan is not mutually intelligible with other Tibetic languages.

Like Central Tibetan, Khams Tibetan is a tonal language.^{[citation needed]}

Khampa Tibetan is also spoken by about 1,000 people in two enclaves in eastern Bhutan, the descendants of pastoral yak-herding communities.^[3]

Dialects

There five dialects of Khams Tibetan proper:

Central Khams, spoken in Dêgê County and Chamdo
Southern Khams, spoken in the Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. There are several subdialects due to the mountainous terrain, as well as contact with neighboring language communities for trade.
Northern or Northeastern Khams, spoken in Nangqên County and Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture
Eastern Khams, spoken in Kangding
Hor, or Western Khams, spoken in Nagqu Prefecture
The Gêrzê dialect is sometimes considered Western Khams

These have relatively low mutual intelligibility, but are close enough that they are usually considered a single language. Khamba and Tseku are more divergent, but classified with Khams by Tournadre (2013).

Several other languages are spoken by Tibetans in the Khams region: Dongwang Tibetan language and the Rgyalrong languages.^[4]

References

^ George van Driem, Languages of the Himalayas, p 892
^ Khams at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Khamba [1] at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Tseku at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
^ van Driem, George L. (1993). "Language Policy in Bhutan" (PDF). London: SOAS. Retrieved 2011-01-18.
^ N. Tournadre (2005) "L'aire linguistique tibétaine et ses divers dialectes." Lalies, 2005, n°25, p. 7–56 [1]

External links

A Bibliography of Tibetan Linguistics
A grammar of the Tibetan Dege (Sde dge) dialect (Introduction) - Häsler, Katrin Louise. 1999.
The Tibetan Language School of Sichuan Province
www.zangthal.co.uk Kham dialect notes

[1] George van Driem, Languages of the Himalayas, p 892

[e18-2] Khams at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Khamba [1] at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Tseku at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)

[vanDriem93-3] van Driem, George L. (1993). "Language Policy in Bhutan" (PDF). London: SOAS. Retrieved 2011-01-18.

[4] N. Tournadre (2005) "L'aire linguistique tibétaine et ses divers dialectes." Lalies, 2005, n°25, p. 7–56 [1]

[2]

[1]

[3]

[4]

v t e Tibetan language
Language	Tibetic languages Old Tibetan Classical Tibetan U-tsang Khams Amdo
Scripts	Tibetan alphabet Umê (Drutsa, Bêtsug) Uchen Regional (Joyig, Monyig and Lhoyig) Numerals Braille
Others	Transcription: Wylie, Tibetan pinyin, THL Transcription Grammar (Modern Standard Tibetan grammar)
Tibetic languages outside Tibetan plateau	Dzongkha Sikkimese Ladakhi Balti

Dialects

See also

References

External links