The following is the entry for this language as it appeared in the 14th edition (2000).
It was superseded by the corresponding entry in the 15th edition (2005). See also the corresponding entry in the current edition of Ethnologue.
SIL code: KJL
ISO 639-2: sit
| Population | 40,000 to 50,000 (1998). |
| Region | Rapti Zone, Rukum, Rolpa districts, west central Nepal. Taka-Shera is the center. Some in Dhaulagiri Zone, Baglung District. |
| Alternate names | KHAM-MAGAR, TAKALE, WESTERN PARBATE |
| Dialects | TAKALE, LUKUMEL, WALE, THABANGGI. |
| Classification | Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Himalayish, Mahakiranti, Kham-Magar-Chepang-Sunwari, Kham. |
| Comments | Greatest similarities between Eastern and Western Parbate. The Parbate, Sheshi, and Gamale groups are all inherently unintelligible. Mahatale and Miruli are 2 dialects whose position within the Kham linguistic group has not been decided. 71% lexical similarity with Gamale Kham, Maikoti-Hukam, Nisi; 58% with Bhujel Kham, 51% with Sheshi. About 25% lexical similarity with Magar and Gurung, slightly below 25% with the Tibetan group, 15% with the Rai and Limbu groups. People use Nepali only when outside their homeland. Young males are most proficient, elderly women the least. People can discuss most common topics in Nepali. Kham used in all domains. All ages. Different from the Khams of eastern Tibet as spoken by the Khampa. People migrate in summer to the foot of glaciers on the western end of the Dhaulagiri massif, and in winter to the southern hills of Rolpa District. Trade language. SOV; postposition; genitives, adjectives, numerals, relatives before noun heads; maximum number for nouns: 1 prefix, 8 suffixes; for verbs: 5 prefixes, 7 suffixes; objects and indirect objects partially marked by word order; case marked on NPs by affixes; verb affixes mark person and number of subject and object--obligatory; split ergative; detransitivization common, some of which is passive-like; a kind of semantic inverse marked in verb morphology; causatives; applicatives; (C)V(V)(C) where the second V is a dipthong or long vowel; tonal. Literacy rate in first language: Some. Literacy rate in second language: Some. Extensive literacy effort needed. Devanagari. Northern type forests on north facing slopes, grassland on south facing slopes. Mountain slope in village areas, alpine in grazing areas. Semi-nomadic pastoralists: sheep, goats; subsistence agriculturalists, peasants. 1,800 to 2,500 meters. Traditional religion. |
