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Ethnologue > Web version > Country index > Asia > Nepal > Chepang

Chepang

A language of Nepal

ISO 639-3: cdm

Population  36,800 (2001 census), increasing. Ethnic population: 52,237.
Region  Inner Terai; Narayani zone, Makwanpur, Chitawan, and South Dhading districts; Gandaki zone, South Gorkha District.
Language map  Western Nepal, reference number 17
Alternate names   Tsepang
Dialects  Eastern Chepang, Western Chepang. Bhujel [byj] could be considered a dialect similar to Western Chepang, but has difficult intelligibility with Chepang due to different pronominal affix morphology. Dialects differ in verb forms. Similar in morphology to Kiranti languages. Lexical similarity: 98% with Bhujel [byh].
Classification  Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Himalayish, Mahakiranti, Kham-Magar-Chepang-Sunwari, Chepang
Language use  Home. All ages. Negative language attitude. Also use some Nepali [nep].
Language development  Literacy rate in L1: 1%–5%. Literacy rate in L2: 40% men, 15% women in Nepali; 14% ethnic group (1991 census). Difficulties in reading Chepang: long words, consonant clusters. They do not know how to write it. Written Chepang has lower prestige than Nepali. Motivation high for Nepali. Newspapers. Radio programs. Dictionary. Grammar. NT: 1993.
Writing system  Devanagari script.
Comments  An official nationality. Whistle speech reported. OV (Subject position varies); postpositions; genitives, articles, adjectives, numerals before noun heads; relatives before or without noun heads; question word final; maximum number of suffixes 8; word order does not distinguish subjects, objects, or indirect objects; affixes indicate case of noun phrase; verb affixes mark person, number, subject, object—obligatory; ergative; passives; causatives; comparatives; CV to CCCVCCC with certain restrictions; semitonal. Swidden agriculturalists. Traditional religion, Hindu syncretism, Christian.

Entries from the SIL Bibliography about this language:

Academic Publications

BANDHU, Churamani; CAUGHLEY, Ross C.; DAHAL, B. M., authors. 1970. "Chepang segmental phonemes."

BANDHU, Churamani; CAUGHLEY, Ross C.; DAHAL, B. M., authors. 1971. "Notes on Chepang culture."

CAUGHLEY, Kathleen; CAUGHLEY, Ross C., authors. 1970. "Chepang texts."

CAUGHLEY, Ross C., author. 1969. Chepang phonemic summary.

CAUGHLEY, Ross C., author. 1970. "Chepang segmental synopsis."

CAUGHLEY, Ross C., author. 1970. "Pitch, intensity, and higher levels in Chepang."

CAUGHLEY, Ross C., author. 1972. A vocabulary of the Chepang language.

CAUGHLEY, Ross C., author. 1976. "Chepang whistle talk."

CAUGHLEY, Ross C., author. 1978. "Participant rank and verbal cross reference in Chepang."  Available online

CAUGHLEY, Ross C., author. 1980. The syntax and morphology of the verb in Chepang.

CAUGHLEY, Ross C., author. 1982. The syntax and morphology of the verb in Chepang.

CAUGHLEY, Ross C., author. 1988. "Chepang: a Sino-Tibetan language with a duodecimal numeral base?."

CAUGHLEY, Ross C., author. 1998. "Considerations in the making of a Chepang-Nepali-English dictionary."

CAUGHLEY, Ross C., author. 1999. "Bujheli and Chepang: relationship and differences."

CAUGHLEY, Ross C., author. 2000. Dictionary of Chepang: a Tibeto-Burman language of Nepal.

CAUGHLEY, Ross C., author. 2002. "Ideophones in Chepang: their nature and sub-categorisation."

CAUGHLEY, Ross C., author. Available: 2011; Created: 1971. Chepang as a pronominalised language: technical note.

CAUGHLEY, Ross C., author. Available: 2011; Created: 1971. Some restrictions on focus in Chepang.

CAUGHLEY, Ross, compiler; SHRESTHA, Dwarika, consultant; CHEPANG, Bhabikan, speaker. 2012. Chepang-Nepali-English Dictionary.  Available online

COWAN, George M., author. 1981. Whistled communication.

GLOVER, Warren W., author. 1970. "Cognate counts via the Swadesh list in some Tibeto-Burman languages of Nepal."

GLOVER, Warren W.; YADAVA, Yogendra P., editors. 1999. Topics in Nepalese linguistics.

HALE, Austin, author. 1970. "A phonological survey of seven Bodic languages of Nepal."

HALE, Austin; PIKE, Kenneth L., editors. 1970. Tone systems of the Tibeto-Burman languages of Nepal 2: Lexical lists and comparative studies.

HALE, Austin; PIKE, Kenneth L., editors. 1970. Tone systems of the Tibeto-Burman languages of Nepal 3: Texts 1.

HALE, Austin; PIKE, Kenneth L., editors. 1970. Tone systems of Tibeto-Burman languages of Nepal 1: Studies on tone and phonological segments.

HALE, Austin; PIKE, Kenneth L., editors. 1970. Tone systems of Tibeto-Burman languages of Nepal 4: Texts 2.

PITTMAN, Richard S., author. 1970. "Gurung, Tamang, Thakali, Sherpa, and Chepang prosodies."

POPHAM, Barbara, author. 1978. "Testing the Chepang primer."

WATTERS, David E., author. 2012. Some preliminary observations on the relationship between Kham, Magar, (and Chepang).