Endangered Languages Project

ALSO KNOWN AS		Kiranti, Rai, Bantawa Rai, Bantaba, Bontawa, Bantawa Yüng, Bantawa Yong, Bantawa Dum, Rungchenbung, Rungchengbung, Rungchhenbung, Rungtśhenbung
CLASSIFICATION		Sino-Tibetan, Kiranti
ORTHOGRAPHY		devanagari
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		bap
VARIANTS & DIALECTS		Intermediate Bantawa Southern Bantawa (Hatuwali dialect) Northern Bantawa (Dilpali dialect) Western Bantawa (Amchoke dialect) Eastern Bantawa (Dhankuta dialect)
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search

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Information from: “Language use among the Bantawa: Homogeneity, education, access, and relative prestige” (41–54) . John Eppele (2011)

Threatened

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available
371,056
Native speakers worldwide

DATE OF INFO: 2002 (Central Bureau of Statistics)

DOMAINS OF USE

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS

TRANSMISSION

MORE ON VITALITY

Eastern Bantawa has the strongest vitality whereas Northern Bantawa is endangered with speakers shifting to Nepali. Language shift to Nepali is caused mainly by low homogeneity and relative prestige.

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

Nepali

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS

"Only 59% of the respondents states their children primarily use Bantawa when playing with their friends, with 30% stating their children mainly use Nepali. In addition, only 57% of the subjects said that they primarily speak with their own children in Bantawa. This may be an indication of language shift among the younger generation." (p. 49)

PLACES: Nepal

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: eastern hills of Nepal, mostly in Bhojpur and adjacent areas

390,200
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"371,000 in Nepal (2001 census). Less than 5% monolinguals."

PLACES: Nepal

At risk

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
371,056
Native speakers worldwide

At risk

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
371,056
Native speakers worldwide

MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Was once the major language of the district, but speaker numbers are dwindling. Hardly any young people speak the language.

PLACES: Nepal: Bhojpur district

Vulnerable

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available
Ethnic population
371,056 (2001 census)
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"Not all speakers of Bantawa identify themselves as ethnic Bantawa Rai. Many speakers of Bantawa belong to another Kiranti group, e.g. Kulung or Chamling, who happen to have migrated to a Bantawa speaking area. Similarly, there are non-Kiranti inhabitants of Bhojpur of Indo-Aryan stock who speak Bantawa as a mother tongue. In Sindran, the last stronghold of Bantawa, the vast majority of the population identifies themselves as Kirawa `Kiranti' and speak Bantawa as a mother tongue." (p.7)

DOMAINS OF USE

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS

TRANSMISSION

MORE ON VITALITY

"[E]ven where Bantawa is quite vital and still passed on to the next generation, the pressure on the language from the national language Nepali is immense. Many Bantawa speakers switch code frequently and use many loans in everyday speech." (p.6)

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

Nepali

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS

Nepali is the national language and serves as the medium for schooling.

Scripts (Writing system)

devanagari

PLACES: eastern Nepal

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Bhojpur district

	2009	A Grammar of Bantawa : grammar, paradigm tables, glossary and texts of a Rai language of Eastern Nepal				online					Leiden University	http://hdl.handle.net/1887/14326	Doornenbal, Marius Albert	Doornenbal, Marius. 2009. A grammar of Bantawa: Grammar, paradigm tables, glossary and texts of a Rai language of Eastern Nepal. PhD dissertation. Leiden University. 513pp.		371,056 (2001 census)				"Not all speakers of Bantawa identify themselves as ethnic Bantawa Rai. Many speakers of Bantawa belong to another Kiranti group, e.g. Kulung or Chamling, who happen to have migrated to a Bantawa speaking area. Similarly, there are non-Kiranti inhabitants of Bhojpur of Indo-Aryan stock who speak Bantawa as a mother tongue. In Sindran, the last stronghold of Bantawa, the vast majority of the population identifies themselves as Kirawa `Kiranti' and speak Bantawa as a mother tongue." (p.7)	official domains	Nepali		Nepali is the national language and serves as the medium for schooling.			Vulnerable (80 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	10	"[E]ven where Bantawa is quite vital and still passed on to the next generation, the pressure on the language from the national language Nepali is immense. Many Bantawa speakers switch code frequently and use many loans in everyday speech." (p.6)	11	11	eastern Nepal	Bhojpur district
	2011	Language use among the Bantawa: Homogeneity, education, access, and relative prestige		41–54		online		Himalayan Linguistics Journal	10			http://www.linguistics.ucsb.edu/HimalayanLinguistics/articles/2011/PDF/HLJ1001C.pdf	John Eppele	Eppele, John. 2011. Language use among the Bantawa: Homogeneity, education, access, and relative prestige. Himalayan Linguistics Journal 10.1 [Special Issue in Memory of Michael Noonan and David Watters]. 41–54.			371,056	2002 (Central Bureau of Statistics)	10000-99999		official domains or with village leaders, at market and sing songs	Nepali	no	"Only 59% of the respondents states their children primarily use Bantawa when playing with their friends, with 30% stating their children mainly use Nepali. In addition, only 57% of the subjects said that they primarily speak with their own children in Bantawa. This may be an indication of language shift among the younger generation." (p. 49)	no	many	Threatened (100 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	11	Eastern Bantawa has the strongest vitality whereas Northern Bantawa is endangered with speakers shifting to Nepali. Language shift to Nepali is caused mainly by low homogeneity and relative prestige.	12	12	Nepal	eastern hills of Nepal, mostly in Bhojpur and adjacent areas
16	2009	Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)			M. Paul Lewis		SIL International			Dallas, TX		http://www.ethnologue.com/		Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16 edn. http://www.ethnologue.com/home.asp. (15 February, 2011.)	ll_pub		390,200			"371,000 in Nepal (2001 census). Less than 5% monolinguals."												Nepal
	2007	South Asia and the Middle East	Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages	283-348	Christopher Moseley		London & New York: Routledge						George van Driem	George van Driem. 2007. "South Asia and the Middle East." In Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages, edited by C. Moseley. 283-348. London & New York: Routledge.	HHOLD					Was once the major language of the district, but speaker numbers are dwindling. Hardly any young people speak the language.												Nepal: Bhojpur district
3rd	2010	Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger					UNESCO Publishing			Paris		http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas	Christopher Moseley (ed.)	Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn. http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas. (03 June, 2011.)	ll_pub		371,056		100000								At risk (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)							27.0994,87.0048
		World Oral Literature Project										http://www.oralliterature.org		"World Oral Literature Project." Online: http://www.oralliterature.org.			371,056		100000								At risk (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)

Bantawa

Language metadata

Language information by source

Threatened

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

371,056

390,200

At risk

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

371,056

At risk

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

371,056

Vulnerable

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

Discussion

Bantawa

Language metadata

Language information by source

Threatened

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

371,056

390,200

At risk

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

371,056

At risk

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

371,056

Vulnerable

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

Discussion

Suggest information or improvement

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Sources of information

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