West Himalayish languages

West Himalayish
Kanauric, Almora
Geographic distribution	Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand (India), Nepal
Linguistic classification	Sino-Tibetan Tibeto-Kanauri ? Rung ? West Himalayish
Glottolog	tibe1275

The West Himalayish languages, also known as Almora and Kanauric, are a family of Sino-Tibetan languages centered in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and across the border into Nepal. LaPolla (2003) proposes that the West Himalayish languages may be part of a larger "Rung" group.

The languages include:

• Kinnauri
  • Chitkuli Kinnauri
  • Kinnauri
  • Thebor: Sunam, Jangshung, Shumcho
• Lahaulic: Pattani (Manchad), Tinan
• Gahri (Bunan)
• Kanashi
• Rangpo–Almora
  • Rangpo
  • Almora (Ranglo): Darma–Byangsi, Chaudangsi, Rangkas (extinct early 20th century), Zhangzhung

Zhangzhung, the sacred language of the Bon religion, was spoken north of the Himalayas across western Tibet before being replaced by Tibetan.

References

• George van Driem (2001) Languages of the Himalayas: An Ethnolinguistic Handbook of the Greater Himalayan Region. Brill.
• LaPolla, Randy. 2001. The Tibeto-Burman Languages of Uttar Pradesh.