Layakha is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken by indigenous

Indigenous peoples

Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....

 Layap

Layap

The Layap are an indigenous people inhabiting the high mountains of northwest Bhutan in the village of Laya, in the Gasa District, at an altitude of , just below the Tsendagang peak. Layaps also live in northern Thimphu and Punakha Districts...

s inhabiting the high mountains of northwest Bhutan

Bhutan

Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...

 in the village of Laya

Laya, Bhutan

Laya, Bhutan is a town in Laya Gewog in Gasa District in northwestern Bhutan. It is inhabited by the indegenous Layap people....

, Gasa District

Gasa District

Gasa District or Gasa Dzongkhag is one of the 20 dzongkhags comprising Bhutan. Its capital is Gasa Dzong near Gasa. It is located in the far north of the county and spans the Middle and High Himalayas. The dominant language of the district is Dzongkha, the national language...

. Speakers also inhabit the northern regions of Thimphu

Thimphu District

Thimphu District is a dzongkhag of Bhutan. Thimphu is also the capital of Bhutan and the largest city in the whole kingdom.-Languages:...

 (Lingzhi Gewog

Lingzhi Gewog

Lingzhi Gewog is a gewog of Thimphu District, Bhutan. Lingzhi Gewog, along with Naro and Soe Gewogs, is part of Lingzhi Dungkhag.-References:...

) and Punakha District

Punakha District

Punakha District is one of the 20 dzongkhags comprising Bhutan. It is bordered by Thimphu, Gasa, and Wangdue Phodrang Districts...

s. Its speakers are ethnically related to Tibetans

Tibetan people

The Tibetan people are an ethnic group that is native to Tibet, which is mostly in the People's Republic of China. They number 5.4 million and are the 10th largest ethnic group in the country. Significant Tibetan minorities also live in India, Nepal, and Bhutan...

. Most speakers live at an altitude of 3850 metres (12,631.2 ft), just below the Tsendagang peak. Layakha speakers are also called Bjop by the Bhutanese, sometimes considered a condescending term. Their population in 2003 stood at 1,100.

Layakha is closely related to Dzongkha, the national language

National language

A national language is a language which has some connection—de facto or de jure—with a people and perhaps by extension the territory they occupy. The term is used variously. A national language may for instance represent the national identity of a nation or country...

of Bhutan. Dzongkha speakers enjoy a limited mutual intelligibility, mostly in basic vocabulary and grammar.