Kutang language explained

Kutang
Nativename:Kuke
States:Nepal
Ethnicity:Tamangs
Speakers:29
Date:2011 census
Ref:e18
Familycolor:Sino-Tibetan
Fam2:(Tibeto-Burman)
Fam3:Tamangic?
Fam4:Ghale
Iso3:ght
Glotto:kuta1241
Glottorefname:Kutang Ghale

Kutang, also known as Kutang Ghale, Kuke, and Kukay, is a minor Tibeto-Burman language of Nepal. Anthropologist Geoff Childs notes that "the term Kukay literally means "Language of Kutang," but it has a double meaning in that the first syllable - ku, for Kutang - is a homonym of the first sylllbe of the Tibetan word for their, kuma. Therefore, Kukay is also interpreted to mean "stolen language," since it incorporates words and phrases from several neighboring languages, including Tibetan."[1]

Locations

Kutang is spoken in Dyang, Rana, Bihi, Ghap, Chak, Kwak, and Krak villages of Bihi VDC, Gorkha District, Gandaki Province, Nepal (Ethnologue).

Dialects

There are three Kutang dialects, Bihi, Chak, and Rana, which have limited intelligibility. The varieties spoken in Chhak and Kwak villages are reportedly similar to each other, and different from the varieties spoken in all of the other villages.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Childs, Geoff . Tibetan Diary: From Birth to Death and Beyond in a Himalayan Valley of Nepal . 2004-09-27 . University of California Press . 978-0-520-24133-6 . en.