Dhimal
[aka Dhīmāl]Classification: Sino-Tibetan
·endangered
Classification: Sino-Tibetan
·endangered
Dhīmāl |
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Sino-Tibetan, Dhimalish |
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Devanāgarī script |
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ISO 639-3 |
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dhi |
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As csv |
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Information from: “Grammar of Dhimal” . John Timothy King (2008)
"The traditional culture, to which the language is closely tied, is being torn apart at a rapid pace as
Dhimals find themselves thrust into a cash economy without skills or a land base. Dhimals are marrying non-Dhimals, while others are only teaching their children to speak Nepali. Some individuals and families
are adopting the dominant hill culture to the point of complete linguistic assimilation. Things are changing at such a pace that it is difficult to imagine this language being spoken after more than a generation or two, unless a concerted effort is made in that direction." (pg. 16)
Nepali
"In 1993 the Dhimal People’s Development Centre in Damak, Jhāpā was formed to champion the socio-economic betterment ofDhimals. In 2001, a parcel of government land near the town of Maṅlabāri was awarded to this organisation to build a centre. This organisation, which lays claim to represent the concerns of Dhimals as an ethnolinguistic group within the Nepali state, has made efforts to promote Dhimal culture and language." (p. 16-7)
"[W]orks have been appearing in the Dhimal language. The Dhimal Literature Service Publishing, based in Ḍuhubī, Sunsarī district, has published several short stories dealing with the socio-economic problems facing Dhimal society and also works of poetry using the Devanāgarī script. Still, not all of these publications have been whole-heartedly accepted by the Dhimal community due to the authors’ often heavy-handed use of Sanskrit-based loanwords, which even an uneducated native Nepali speaker would have difficulty understanding..... In 2000, a group of Dhimals were in the process of compiling a Dhimal-Nepali-English dictionary encompassing both the eastern and western dialect. While a standardised orthography has yet to be decided upon, many writers adhere to certain conventions regarding phonological distinctions not made by Devanāgarī..... New songs in the Dhimal language are also being written, albeit in an Indian or Nepali style. The old dances, which most people do not know, are also being revived and performed on special occasions." (p. 17)
the lowland districts of Jhāpā and Moraṅ in southeastern Nepal
"The western dialect is primarily spoken in about 40 villages in Moraṅ and western Jhāpā districts, while the eastern dialect is only spoken in about ten villages in eastern Jhāpā and in a few communities in the adjoining areas of the Indian state of West Bengal." (p.2)
Information from: “Dhimal: A Struggle for Existence” . Lahiri, Bornini (2016) SEL
"...[T]he variety spoken in India is highly endangered...The Dhimal community mostly speaks Rajbanshi and Bengali...Only people above the ae of sixty can speak fluent Dhimal."
Negative language attitude, but two revitalization groups have been set up: Dhimal existence preservation welfare society and Dhimal folk-culture preservation group (Dhimal Lok-Sanskritik Rokha Dal).
Information from: “The World Atlas of Language Structures” . Bernard Comrie and David Gil and Martin Haspelmath and Matthew S. Dryer · Oxford University Press