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Concept
Kiranti languages
Summary
The Kiranti languages are a major family of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in Nepal and India (notably Sikkim, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and Bhutan) by the Kirati people.
George van Driem had formerly proposed that the Kiranti languages were part of a Mahakiranti family, although specialists are not completely certain of either the existence of a Kiranti subgroup or its precise membership. LaPolla (2003), though, proposes that Kiranti may be part of a larger "Rung" group.
There are about two dozen Kiranti languages. The better known are Limbu, Sunuwar, Bantawa Rai, Chamling Rai, Khaling Rai, Bahing Rai, Yakkha language, Vayu, Dungmali Rai, Lohorung Rai and Kulung Rai.
Kiranti verbs are not easily segmentable, due in large part to the presence of portmanteau morphemes, crowded affix strings, and extensive (and often nonintuitive) allomorphy.
Overall, Kiranti languages are:
Limbu
Eastern Kiranti
Greater Yakkha
Yakkha
Belhare Rai
Athpare Rai
Chintang Rai
Chulung Rai
Upper Arun River
Yamphu-Lohorung Rai
Yamphu Rai
Lohorung Rai
Mewahang Rai
? Waling Rai †
Central
Khambu (Rai)
Kulung Rai
Nachhiring Rai
Sampang Rai
Saam Rai
Southern
Bantawa Rai
Puma Rai
Chamling Rai
Dungmali
Western
Thulung Rai (perhaps a primary branch of Kiranti Rai)
Chaurasiya
Wambule Rai
Jerung Rai
Upper Dudhkosi River:
Khaling Rai
Dumi Rai
Koi Rai
Northwestern
Bahing Rai
Sunuwar
Vayu
Ethnologue adds Tilung Rai to Western Kiranti, based on Opgenort (2011).
Opgenort (2005) classifies the Kiranti languages as follows, and recognizes a basic east-west division within Kiranti.
Kiranti
Western
Hayu
(branch)
Thulung
(branch)
Bahing, Sunuwar
Jero, Wambule
Eastern
Khaling, Dumi
(branch)
Yamphu, Limbu
(branch)
Kulung
Chamling, Bantawa
Historical linguists, as early as 2012, do not consider Kiranti to be a coherent group, but rather a paraphyletic one due to lack of shared innovations. Gerber & Grollmann (2018) gave a formal proof of the paraphyletic nature of Kiranti. A Central-Eastern Kiranti group is considered to be valid by Gerber & Grollmann (2018), but they consider "Western Kiranti" unclassified within Trans-Himalayan languages.
Official source
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