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Ladakhi language

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Ladakhi
ལ་དྭགས་སྐད , لداخی زبان
La-dwags skad
Native toIndia
RegionLadakh
EthnicityLadakhis
Native speakers
110,826 (2011 Census)[1]
Tibetan script (official, in India and China), Perso-Arabic script (by Muslims, in Pakistan)
Language codes
ISO 639-3Either:
lbj – Ladakhi
zau – Zangskari
Glottologkenh1234
ELPLadakhi
Ladakhi is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

The Ladakhi language is a Tibetic language spoken in the Indian union territory of Ladakh. It is the predominant language in the Buddhist-dominated district of Leh, and a minority language in the district of Kargil. Though a member of the Tibetic family, Ladakhi is not mutually intelligible with Standard Tibetan. Ladakhis and Tibetans usually communicate with each other in Hindi or English as they do not understand each other's languages clearly.

Ladakhi has several dialects: Lehskat, named after Leh where it is spoken, Shamskat, spoken northwest of Leh, Stotskat, spoken in the Indus valley and which unlike the others is tonal, Nubra, spoken north of Leh, the Changthang language, spoken in the Changtang region by the Changpa people, and the Zangskari language, spoken in the Zanskar region of Ladakh.

Name

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The Ladakhi language (Tibetan: ལ་དྭགས་སྐད་, Wylie: La-dwags skad) is also referred to as Bhoti or Bodhi.[2][3] Supporters of the Bhoti name hold a "lumper" view of the language: they use the term "Bhoti" to refer to Classical Tibetan and treat as the one, proper form of Tibetic languages across the Himalayas.[4] This section of Ladakhi society has demanded inclusion Bhoti to the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution. They say that Bhoti is spoken by Ladakhis, Baltis, Tibetans, and throughout the Himalayas from Baltistan to Arunachal Pradesh.[5][6]

No other Tibetic-speaking group in India has agreed to the classification, instead adopting their own names for their languages for legal recognition: Bhutia, Lepcha and Limboo. In addition, an 2008–2009 survey by Central Institute of Indian Languages found only a negligable number of Leh families calling their mother tongue "Bhoti".[4]

The name Bhoti or Bodhi has connotations with Tibetan Buddhism, a major religion in the area. Many Ladakhi people contest this classification as there are also Muslim, Christian, Hindu and Sikh speakers of Ladakhi.[7]

Dialects

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Ladakhi has several dialects: 1 :Lehskat, named after Leh where it is spoken. 2: Shamskat, spoken northwest of Leh in the sham region of ladakh. 3 :Stotskat, spoken in the upper Indus valley of ladakh and which unlike the others is tonal. 4 :Nubraskat , spoken north of Leh in the nubra region of Ladakh. 5 :The Changthang language, spoken in the Changtang region by the Changpa people . 6: The Zangskari language, spoken in the Zanskar region of Ladakh.

Classification

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Nicolas Tournadre considers Ladakhi, Balti, and Purgi to be distinct languages on the basis of mutual intelligibility (Zangskari is not as distinct). As a group they are termed Ladakhi–Balti or Western Archaic Tibetan.[8]

Zangskari is a dialect of Ladakhi spoken in Zanskar and also spoken by Buddhists in the upper reaches of Lahaul (Himachal Pradesh) and Paddar (Paldar).[citation needed] It has four subdialects, Stod, Zhung, Sham, and Lungna. It is written using the Tibetan script by Buddhists and the Arabic script by Muslim and Christian Ladakhis.[9]

Phonology

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Consonants

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Labial Dental Alveolar Retroflex Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n̪ ɲ ŋ
Plosive/
Affricate 		voiceless p t̪ t͡s ʈ t͡ʃ k
aspirated pʰ t̪ʰ t͡sʰ ʈʰ t͡ʃʰ kʰ
voiced b d̪ d͡z ɖ d͡ʒ ɡ
Fricative voiceless s ʂ ʃ h
voiced z ʒ
Trill r
Lateral plain l
murmured lʱ
Semivowel w j
  • /b d ɡ/ can fricative sounds [β ð ɣ] as allophones that occur within free variation.
  • /k/ has an allophone of a retracted velar stop [k̠].
  • /l r/ can have allophones [l̥ r̥] when occurring initially before a voiceless consonant.[10]

Vowels

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Ladakhi has a regular five vowel system, but with [a] being replaced with [ə], making it unusual, as most languages have [a].[10]

Front Central Back
Close i u
Mid e ə o
Vowels with allophones
Front Central Back
Close i u
Close-mid e o
Mid [ɛ̝] ə [ɔ̝]
Open-mid [ɐ]
Open [ä]
  • Allophones of /ə/ in word-final position are heard as [ä ɐ].
  • Allophones of /e o/ are heard as [ɛ̝ ɔ̝].
  • Allophones occur in free variation.[10]

Script

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Ladakhi is usually written using Tibetan script, and the pronunciation of Ladakhi is much closer to written Classical Tibetan than that of most other Tibetic languages. Ladakhis pronounce many of the prefix, suffix and head letters that are silent in many other Tibetic languages, in particular the Central Tibetan.[11] This tendency is more pronounced to the west of Leh, and on the Pakistani side of the Line of Control, in Baltistan. For example, a Tibetan would pronounce sta ('axe') as [tá], but a Lehpa would say [sta], and a Purgi would pronounce [stare]. While a Tibetan would pronounce འབྲས་ ’bras ('rice') as [ɳʈɛ́ʔ], Lehpa say [ɖas], and the Purgi pronounce it as [bras].[citation needed] Although the pronunciation is relatively conservative, the Ladakhi language has accumulated significant grammatical differences from the classical, written language.[12]

The question of whether to write colloquial Ladakhi (phalskat) in the Tibetan script or to write an only slightly Ladakhified version of Classical Tibetan (choskat) is controversial in Ladakh.[13] Muslim Ladakhis speak Ladakhi but most do not read the Tibetan script. Most Buddhist Ladakhis can sound out the Tibetan script but do not understand Classical Tibetan, yet many Ladakhi Buddhist scholars insist that Ladakhi must be written only in a form of Classical Tibetan, seeing the vernacular-based orthography only as deviation from the "proper" language.[12] A limited number of books and magazines have been published in colloquial Ladakhi, one example being Ladags Melong from SECMOL.[12]

In Ladakhi language, it is customary to add the suffix 'le' at the end of sentences as a sign of respect towards the individual being spoken to.[14] This linguistic convention is a way to express politeness and honor towards the listener, emphasizing the cultural values of respect and courtesy.

Written Ladakhi is most often romanised using modified Wylie transliteration, with th denoting an aspirated dental t, for example.

References

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  1. ^ "ABSTRACT OF SPEAKERS' STRENGTH OF LANGUAGES AND MOTHER TONGUES - 2011" (PDF). Archived from the original (pdf) on 19 April 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  2. ^ Omniglot Ladakhi Language Introduction, The Himalayan Initiatives, retrieved 23 January 2021.
  3. ^ Namgial, Eshay (Spring–Summer 2018), "Ladakhi: An off Shoot of Classical Tibetan Language", The Tibet Journal, 43 (1): 35–47, JSTOR 26634904
  4. ^ a b Sherab, Khanpo K. "Bhoti or Ladakhi: What should we call our language?". Stawa.
  5. ^ Tsewang Rigzin (13 September 2013). "National Seminar on 'Bhoti Language' held at Leh". Reach Ladakh. Archived from the original on 24 September 2013.
  6. ^ "Ladakh council adopts new emblem replacing J-K logo". Hindustan Times. Press Trust of India. 27 February 2011. Archived from the original on 1 March 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
  7. ^ Wahid, Siddiq (13 May 2022). "Is Bhoti A Language, Religious Affiliation, Sanskrit Diminutive Or Political Tool?". Outlook. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  8. ^ Tournadre, Nicolas (2005). "L'aire linguistique tibétaine et ses divers dialectes" (PDF). Lalies. pp. 7–56.
  9. ^ Shakspo, Nawang Tsering (2005). "Tibetan (Bhoti)—An Endangered Script in Trans-Himalaya". The Tibet Journal. 30 (1): 61–64. JSTOR 43301113.
  10. ^ a b c Koshal, Sanyukta (1979). Ladakhi Grammar. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
  11. ^ Bielmeier, Roland. 1985. 'A Survey of the Development of Western and South-western Tibetan dialects', in Barbara Nimri Aziz and Matthew Kapstein (eds.), Soundings in Tibetan Civilisation.
  12. ^ a b c Zeisler, Bettina (2006). "Why Ladakhi must not be written – Being part of the Great Tradition Another kind of global thinking". In Anju Saxena; Lars Borin (eds.). Lesser-Known Languages of South Asia. p. 178.
  13. ^ van Beek, Martijn (2008). "Imaginaries of Ladakhi Modernity". In Barnett, Robert; Schwartz, Ronald David (eds.). Tibetan Modernities: Notes from the Field on Cultural and Social Change. Brill. pp. 178–179.
  14. ^ Yangdol, Dechen. "Ladakhi Language".
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Wikibooks has a book on the topic of: Research on Tibetan Languages: A Bibliography
Wikivoyage has a phrasebook for Lakakhi.
Ladakhi language test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator
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