Western Gurung
[aka Gurung, Tamu Kyi, Gurnung]Classification: Sino-Tibetan
·threatened
Classification: Sino-Tibetan
·threatened
Eastern and Western Gurung do not have adequate intelligibility to handle complex and abstract discourse. Daduwa town seems central linguistically. (Lewis 2009)
Gurung, Tamu Kyi, Gurnung, Gurung, Western |
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Sino-Tibetan, Tamangic |
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Devanagari script |
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ISO 639-3 |
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gvr |
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As csv |
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Information from: “A sociolinguistic study of Gurung in Nepal” . Janel Swenson, Stephanie Eichentopf, and Jessica Mitchell (2015)
522,000
Numbers given here cover both Western and Eastern Gurung speakers.
"Despite regional differences in speech that may be found, Gurungs view themselves as having one homogenous ethnic identity. Those who have left their home area may no longer speak their Gurung language, but still identify themselves with the Gurung community and culture. They refer to their ethnic community as ‘Tamu’ and their language as ‘Tamu Kyi.’ Despite acknowledging dialectal differences in various Gurung-speaking regions, they consider ‘Tamu Kyi’ to be one language." (p.3)
"Overall, Gurung speakers have a positive attitude towards their language and have desires for development in their language. However, language vitality is declining. Gurung language use in the home, religious, village, and marketplace domains indicates younger and more educated speakers are using Gurung less than older and uneducated speakers. Nepali proficiency is reportedly high among all generations. The degree of intergenerational transfer of Gurung is low, especially by younger parents. The Gurung language is decreasingly being passed on to children and Nepali usage among even very young children is increasing. Gurung children are learning Nepali before they enter school and formal education is conducted in Nepali. These factors combined point to diminishing language vitality among the Gurung communities, especially among the younger generation." (p.47)
Nepali; English
Younger generations and educated people use more Nepali than Gurung.
"A variety of Gurung media exists with films, newspapers, magazines, poetry, and radio programs and the Gurung writing system uses the Devanagari script." (p.7)
the Gandaki zone
Information from: “Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)” . M. Paul Lewis · SIL International
543,571
125,000 in Nepal (2007). Population total all countries: 201,300. Ethnic population: 543,571
Information from: “The World Atlas of Language Structures” . Bernard Comrie and David Gil and Martin Haspelmath and Matthew S. Dryer · Oxford University Press
Information from: “South Asia and the Middle East” (283-348) . George van Driem (2007) , Christopher Moseley · London & New York: Routledge
449,189
The speaker number given here covers both Western and Eastern Gurung speakers.
"All Gurung language communities are abandoning the language in favour of Nepali. Probably no young children are being raised in the language, so that all dialects of the language are likely to go extinct after the present generation of speakers expires." (p.310)