Endangered Languages Project

ALSO KNOWN AS		Lapche, Lapcha, Rong, Rongke, Rongpa, Nünpa, Leptśa, Róng, Rongpa, Lepoha, Nümpa
CLASSIFICATION		Sino-Tibetan
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		lep
VARIANTS & DIALECTS		Tamsangmu Ilammu Rengjongmu
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search

Compare Sources (5)

Information from: “South Asia and the Middle East” (289-348 ch. 4) . George Van Driem (2007) , Christopher Mosely · London and NewYork: Routledge

Severely endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available
A few thousand
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"The total number of fluent Lepcha speakers does not exceed a few thousand." (pg.296)

DOMAINS OF USE

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS

TRANSMISSION

MORE ON VITALITY

"Despite spirited attempts to preserve the language, Lepcha has already effectively been lost everywhere in favour of Nepali. There are very few remaining households where the younger generation actively speaks the language, and these households are few and far between." (pg. 296)

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

Nepali

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS

"The entire Lepcha area is bilingual." (pg. 296)

PLACES: Nepal; India

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Spoken in kalimpong ("British Bhutan"), as well as in approximately 100 households in Ilam district.

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
30,000
Native speakers worldwide

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
50,629
Native speakers worldwide

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
75,826
Native speakers worldwide

	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	30,000	10000-99999				Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)							27.1153,88.4687
		2001	Census of India: Distribution of the 100 Non-Scheduled Languages of India	Census of India						http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_Data_Online/Language/partb.htm				50,629	10000-99999				Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)
		2007	South Asia and the Middle East	Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages	289-348	Christopher Mosely	London and NewYork: Routledge		4		George Van Driem	Driem, George Van. 2007. "South Asia and the Middle East." In Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages, edited by Christopher Mosely. 289-348. London and NewYork: Routledge.		A few thousand	1000-9999	"The total number of fluent Lepcha speakers does not exceed a few thousand." (pg.296)	Nepali	"The entire Lepcha area is bilingual." (pg. 296)	Severely Endangered (100 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	13	"Despite spirited attempts to preserve the language, Lepcha has already effectively been lost everywhere in favour of Nepali. There are very few remaining households where the younger generation actively speaks the language, and these households are few and far between." (pg. 296)	14	14	Nepal; India	Spoken in kalimpong ("British Bhutan"), as well as in approximately 100 households in Ilam district.
0199255911		2005	The World Atlas of Language Structures			Bernard Comrie and David Gil and Martin Haspelmath and Matthew S. Dryer	Oxford University Press	New York				2005. "The World Atlas of Language Structures." edited by Bernard Comrie et al. Oxford University Press.														27.1666666667,88.5
			World Oral Literature Project							http://www.oralliterature.org		"World Oral Literature Project." Online: http://www.oralliterature.org.		75,826	10000-99999				Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)

Lepcha

Language metadata

Language information by source

Severely endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

A few thousand

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

30,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

50,629

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

75,826

Discussion

Lepcha

Language metadata

Language information by source

Severely endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

A few thousand

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

30,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

50,629

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

75,826

Discussion

Suggest information or improvement

Download language data

Sources of information

Compare Sources