Tamangic languages

Not to be confused with Tamanic languages.

Tamangic
Geographic distribution	Nepal
Linguistic classification	Sino-Tibetan Tibeto-Kanauri ? Tamangic
Subdivisions	Tamangic proper Ghale Kaike
Glottolog	kaik1248

The Tamangic languages, TGTM languages, or West Bodish languages, are a family of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in the Himalayas of Nepal. They are called West Bodish by Bradley (1997).

The languages are:

• Tamang (several divergent varieties, with a million speakers)
• Gurung (two varieties with low mutual intelligibility)
• Thakali (including the Seke dialect; ethnically Tamang)
• the closely related Manang, Gyasumdo, and Nar Phu
• Chantyal

The Ghale languages, spoken by ethnic Tamang, seems to be related to Tamangic, but not enough is known to be sure.

Moribund Kaike may be the most divergent.

Classification

Tamangic is united with the Bodish and West Himalayish languages in Bradley's (1997) "Bodish" and Van Driem's (2001) Tibeto-Kanauri.

References

• Bradley, David (1997). "Tibeto-Burman languages and classification". In Tibeto-Burman languages of the Himalayas, Papers in South East Asian linguistics. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
• George van Driem (2001) Languages of the Himalayas: An Ethnolinguistic Handbook of the Greater Himalayan Region. Brill.
• Georg, Stefan (1996). Marphatan Thakali. Untersuchungen zur Sprache des Dorfes Marpha im Oberen Kali-Gandaki-Tal/Nepal. München: LINCOM EUROPA. ISBN 90-04-09905-0.