Khengkha
PrintA language of Bhutan
50,000 (2003 SIL). 60% monolingual.
Zhemgang, Mongar districts; near Bumthangkha. Middle Kheng in Northwest Zhemgang; Upper Khen northeast of Zhemgang; also Mongar District; Lower Kheng in southern Zhemgang.
6a (Vigorous).
Lower Kheng, Middle Kheng, Upper Kheng. Bumthangkha [kjz] most similar related language. Comprehension of Bumthangkha not sufficient for complex discourse. Comprehend Kurtokha [xkz] with difficulty. Lexical similarity: 75%–85% with Bumthangkha [kjz], 70% with Kurtokha [xkz] and Nyengkha [neh], 65% with Adap [adp], 34% with Dzongkha [dzo], 40% with Tshangla [tsj], and 75%–100% between dialects.
SOV; postpositions; genitives, relatives before noun heads, articles, adjective after noun heads; maximum prefixes 1; maximum suffixes 4; affixes indicate case; ergative; passives; causatives; some comparatives; CCVC; tonal
Vigorous. 15,000 L2 speakers. Home, commerce, local politics, traditional religion, but not allowed in school. All ages. Negative attitudes toward Gonphu village speaking style. Lower Kheng considered most backward; Middle Kheng most prestigious. English [eng] used by educated young people (10%). Nepali [npi] used by those who live near the road (20%), Dzongkha [dzo] spoken well only by educated and some older males. Bumthangkha [kjz], Kurtokha [xkz] and Nyengkha [neh] used by those who travel or have intermarried. Tshangla [tsj] used by those who travel east of Kheng area.
Middle Kheng region strongest and most developed economically; Lower Kheng least developed. Buddhist.