| Humla Tibetan | |
| Familycolor: | Sino-Tibetan |
| Ethnicity: | Tibetan |
| Speakers: | 5,000 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| Ref: | e25 |
| Fam2: | Tibeto-Burman |
| Fam3: | Western Tibeto-Burman Tibeto-Kanauri |
| Fam4: | Central Bodish |
| Fam5: | Central Tibetic |
| Dia1: | Upper Humla |
| Dia2: | Lower Humla |
| Dia3: | Eastern Humla |
| Dia4: | Limi |
| Iso3: | hut |
| Glotto: | huml1238 |
| Glottoname: | Humla |
| Coordinates: | 30.051394, 81.700777 |
| Map: | Humla_Tibetan_language_map.jpg |
| States: | Nepal |
Humla Tibetan, also known as Humla Bhotiya, and Humli Tamang, is the Sino-Tibetan language of the Tibetan people of Humla district in Nepal (ISO 639-3: [hut], GlottoCode: [huml1238]).[1]
Humla Tibetan speakers self-identify using general ethnic terms such as Bhote, Tibetan, Tamang, Lama, and Kham. This has led scholars to assign a variety of language names to the speech of these people (Humla Tibetan,[2] Humla Bhotiya,[3] and Humli Tamang[4]). As Humla Tibetan speakers refer to their language either in general terms or at the level of village dialect, no truly native glottonym can be assigned to the Tibetic language spoken in this district.
Humla Tibetan (Humli Tamang) is classified as: Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Western Tibeto-Burman, Bodish, Central Bodish, Central (Tibetan), and mNgahris. It is one of fifteen related languages that Tournadre classifies as South-western Tibetic under Old Tibetan, all of which are spoken in Nepal.[5] These closely related languages are as follows: Mugom-Karmarong (ISO 639-3: muk), Dolpo (ISO 639-3: dre), Gyalsumdo (ISO 639-3: gyo), Hyolmo (ISO 639-3: scp), Jirel (ISO 639-3: jul]), Kyirong (ISO 639-3: kgy), Lhomi (ISO 639-3: lhm), Lhowa ISO 639-3: loy), Nubri (ISO 639-3: kte), Sherpa (ISO 639-3: xsr), Syuba (ISO 639-3: syw), Tichurong (ISO 639-3: tcn), Tsum (ISO 639-3: ttz), Walungge (ISO 639-3: ola).
Humla Tibetan is spoken by roughly 5,000 people originating from the Namkha and Simkot municipalities of Humla district of Nepal, along the Humla Karnali River.[6] Diaspora communities of Humla Tibetan can be found in the capital city of Kathmandu (Bouddha).
At least four dialects of Humla Tibetan have been identified. Various authors use different names to distinguish between groups/varieties, generally related to geographical location. Speakers often self-identify using village or dialect-specific names, and these are usually unrelated to the names scholars attribute to these sub-groups. A semi-nomadic group, the Humli Khyampa, also lives and travels in the Humla district. The relationship between the language spoken by Humla Tibetans and the language of the Humli Khyampa is unclear, though Wilde lists it as a possible fifth dialect of Humla Tibetan, saying that some speakers believe it is related and mutually intelligible. The various names of the four sub-groups are present in the following table.
| von Fürer-Haimendorf[7] | Wilde | de Vries | Lama[8] | Self-identification[9] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Satthapale | Upper Humla | Upper Humla | Yultsodunba | Sakyako bhasa, tukchu bhasa, tsangkat | |
| Syandephale, Panchsati | La Yakpa | Lower Humla | Tugchulungba | Sarak khalu | |
| Barthapale | Nyinba | Eastern Humla | Bara-Thapalya | Nyinba | |
| Limi | Limi | Limi | Limya(l) | Limike, limi, limi khalu, limi lap, limi kecha |
| Varieties | Lexical Similarity | |
|---|---|---|
| Limi & Upper Humla | 79% | |
| Limi & Lower Humla | 82% | |
| Limi & Eastern Humla | 74-77% | |
| Upper Humla & Lower Humla | 79-85% | |
| Upper Humla & Eastern Humla | 73-77% | |
| Lower Humla & Eastern Humla | 76-82% |
In 2014, a sociolinguistic study found that Humla Tibetan is used extensively in all domains of daily life in their native villages. Ninety-three percent of participants said their first language was their own Humla Tibetan variety. The study also found that local Humla Tibetan was being transmitted to children. Ethnologue has assigned EGIDS level 6a “vigorous” to Humla Tibetan (ISO 639-3 hut). However, the Atlas of the world's languages in danger, 3rd edition has Limirong (Limi valley Tibetan) listed as (DE) Definitely endangered.