Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area - Volume 38, Issue 2, 2015

Language endangerment confronts many Tibeto-Burman (TB) languages. This paper provides a general typology of methods for reclaiming such languages, using TB examples where possible, and discusses the problems which may arise. This is followed by a case study of one such endangered language, Gong in Thailand, and attempts for its reclamation.

One of the goals for researchers of an endangered language is to help the indigenous group to revive and maintain the language that is at risk of disappearing. Sange Phiang, a native Bugun, told me on my first field trip to the Bugun area in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh that “our language will disappear very soon”. Sange, a middle school teacher, fears that in 25 years there will be no Bugun speakers. This fear is not unfounded.

Achang is a cluster of Tibeto-Burman languages spoken by Achang people distributed in the China-Myanmar border area. In China, Achang can be divided into three mutually unintelligible languages, those of Longchuan, Lianghe and Luxi counties. Longchuan is distinct, the other two are more similar. In Myanmar, the Longchuan language is also spoken, as well as a fourth Achang language.

In Jiuha Village Cluster, Shuitang Township, Xinping County there are Yi, Han, Dai and Kucong groups; the Yi population is the majority, and many Yi people still speak their language. Sanchagou Village in Jiuha Village Cluster is a Kucong village surrounded by Yi and Han people; the Kucong people are turning gradually to Chinese and Nisu Yi languages. In 2002, although Kucong language was fading away, there were still many people using it for communication. In October 2014, we conducted follow-up research by comparing the original recording of 2000 words, and analyzing the result of a 400-word comprehension test with people of different ages, as well as a questionnaire about their language attitudes. We found that the Kucong language is being replaced by Chinese. Fewer than 10 villagers can speak Kucong language fluently and they are all between the ages of 70 and 86.

This paper aims to discuss the vitality and endangerment of Lalo, a Lolo-Burmese language spoken in Yunnan province in southwest China. Analysis of the data collected during the survey of the use of the Lalo language in Xiaowan area shows that this minority language is definitely endangered. The comparison of the use of language between Nuosu Yi areas and Lalo Yi areas indicates that the endangerment of the Lalo language is related to interruption of intergenerational mother tongue transmission within families and dwindling use of Lalo in the domains of education, media and work. The following five suggestions are proposed for further discussion on preservation and revitalization of the Lalo language: (1) the Lalo language preservation and revitalization programs could be combined with protection of the intangible heritage in Lalo-speaking areas; (2) the Lalo language needs to be comprehensively documented and systematically researched; (3) language teaching and learning materials as well as resources about Lalo culture should be provided using a newly-developed orthography; (4) multilingualism and cultural diversity should be the principle of language development in Lalo-speaking areas; and (5) the preservation and revitalization of Lalo language could be promoted with appropriate policies and adequate financial support as well as widespread support of all parties concerned, especially the speech communities themselves.

Nyagrong Minyag is an endangered language spoken on the periphery of the Chinese Tibetosphere. This article examines the external and internal forces that are contributing to the language’s endangerment. Nyagrong Minyag is at the bottom of a prestige hierarchy which also includes varieties of Tibetan and Chinese. Speakers’ shift away from Nyagrong Minyag and toward these other languages is occurring alongside changes in education, technology, language attitudes, and access to the Chinese economy. In addition, relocation as a result of the construction of a hydroelectric dam may have significant consequences for the future of this language.

Dartsendo (Dar-rtse-mdo in Written Tibetan), generally known as Kangding, is a town in the easternmost Tibetosphere, located in Ganzi (dKar-mdzes) Prefecture, Sichuan, China. This town has played an important role for the tea-horse trade since the Ming Dynasty, and is inhabited by both Tibetan and Han Chinese. Under these circumstances, extensive language contact has existed for a long time. Dartsendo Tibetan is the Minyag Rabgang vernacular of Khams Tibetan, and it was once considered as a lingua franca-like variety in the Minyag Rabgang area. However, Dartsendo Tibetan is currently facing extinction. This paper will discuss: (1) the historical background and language situation in Dartsendo, (2) the current language situation of Tibetic languages spoken in the centre of the Town, and 3) the process of endangerment of the local variety. Based on these descriptions, this paper will also propose a method for identifying endangered varieties in the Tibetic languages.

This paper documents the morphosyntactic and semantic properties of the autobenefactive-spontaneous prefix nɯ-. It describes the regular and irregular morphological and morphophonological alternations displayed by this prefix, as well as its three main semantic functions, namely spontaneous, autobenefactive and permansive. Finally, it discusses the historical relationship of the autobenefactive prefix with other derivations, in particular the vertitive nɯ- and the anticausative prenasalization.

Grammatically encoded evidentials that marks ‘reported speech’, ‘hearsay’ or ‘quotation’ are attested in languages from a variety of families, but often receive cursory description. In this paper I give a detailed account of the reported speech particle ló in Lamjung Yolmo, a Tibeto-Burman language of Nepal. This particle is used when the speaker is reporting previously communicated information. This information may be translated from another language, may be a non-verbal interaction turn or may have been an incomplete utterance. Speakers choose to use the reported speech particle in interaction, and the pragmatic effect is usually to add authority to the propositional content. Detailed description of the use of reported speech evidentials in interaction across different languages will provide a better understanding of the range of their function.