Yakha language
Encyclopedia
Yakkha is a language spoken in parts of Nepal
, Darjeeling district
and Sikkim
. The Yakkha-speaking villages are located to the East of the Arun river, in the southern part of the Sankhuwasabha district
and in the northern part of the Dhankuta district
of Nepal. About 14,000 people still speak the language, out of 17,003 ethnic Yakkha in Nepal. Genealogically, Yakkha belongs to the Eastern Kiranti languages and is in one subgroup with several Rai
languages, e.g. Belhare
, Athpare
, Chintang
and Chulung (Chɨlɨng). Ethnically however, the Yakkha people
perceive themselves as distinct from the other Kiranti groups such as Limbu
and Rai. Yakkha has no own script, but recently published materials use a slightly adjusted Devanagari
script.
loans. Examples with initial voiced consonants are gogoba (an insect/worm), ghak "all", jeppa "really", ɖaŋgak "stick".
Notes:
"aka"my
is found in the verbal morphology and in the possessive pronouns and prefixes.
, and the possessive pronouns additionally distinguish between the inclusion
and the exclusion
of the adressee. The third person only has singular and nonsingular forms. The possessive pronouns have developed from the personal pronouns and the genitive
marker -ka. The possessive prefixes obviously are grammaticalised
possessive pronouns. They can be used instead of the possessive pronouns, e.g. one could say akka paŋ or a-paŋ, both meaning "my house". Sounds represented by /N/ in the table are underspecified nasals.
: isa "who", i/ina "what", iya "what" (if many items or uncountables are asked for), hetna "which", imin "how", ijaŋ "why", hetne "where", hetniŋ "when".
If a certain item is asked for, ina will be used, but if an event is in question, the root i occurs without further morphology, e.g. i leksa? "What happened?". Reduplication of the pronouns may result in indefinite reference, e.g. hetniŋ hetniŋ "some time".
, the ergative
-ŋa, the genitive
-ka/-ga, the locative
-pe/-be, the ablative
case -bhaŋ and the comitative case
-nuŋ, and the instrumental
case -ŋa.
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, Darjeeling district
Darjeeling district
Darjeeling District is the northernmost district of the state of West Bengal in eastern India in the foothills of the Himalayas. The district is famous for its beautiful hill stations and Darjeeling tea. Darjeeling is the district headquarters...
and Sikkim
Sikkim
Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...
. The Yakkha-speaking villages are located to the East of the Arun river, in the southern part of the Sankhuwasabha district
Sankhuwasabha District
Sankhuwasabha District of 159,203.Indigenous ethnics Yakkhas, Rais, Limbus, and other hill castes and ethnic groups Sankhuwasabha District of 159,203.Indigenous ethnics Yakkhas, Rais, Limbus, and other hill castes (e.g. Chhetri, Bahuns) and ethnic groups Sankhuwasabha District of...
and in the northern part of the Dhankuta district
Dhankuta District
Dhankuta District , a part of Kosi Zone, is one of the seventy-five districts of Nepal, a landlocked country of South Asia. The district covers an area of 891 km² and has a population of 166,479., Dhankuta is the district headquarters and a major administrative region in the Eastern...
of Nepal. About 14,000 people still speak the language, out of 17,003 ethnic Yakkha in Nepal. Genealogically, Yakkha belongs to the Eastern Kiranti languages and is in one subgroup with several Rai
Rai people
The Rai are one of Nepal's most ancient indigenous ethnolinguistic groups. They were Raya meaning king. Once someone was recognized as a ruler then Hindus awarded the title Raja, Rai, Raya, Malla etc. When the king Pritivi Narayan Shah couldn't defeat Kirant king , he somehow took them in...
languages, e.g. Belhare
Belhare language
Belhare is a Kiranti language spoken by some 2,000 people living on the Belhara hill, at the southern foothills of the Himalayas situated in the Dhankuta district in Eastern Nepal....
, Athpare
Athpare language
Athpare, also known as Athapre, Athpariya, Athpre, Arthare, Arthare-Khesang, or Jamindar Rai, is an eastern Kiranti language spoken by some 2,000 people living in Dhankuta district in Eastern Nepal.-References:...
, Chintang
Chintang language
Chintang , also called Chhintang is an eastern Kiranti language spoken by 5,000 to 6,000 people in Chintang Village Development Committee in Dhankuta District, Koshi Zone, Nepal.-References:...
and Chulung (Chɨlɨng). Ethnically however, the Yakkha people
Yakkha
Yakkha is an indigenous ethnic group of Nepal . It is one of the progenies of Nepal's prehistoric Kirat dynasty of around 100 BC.-Etymology:...
perceive themselves as distinct from the other Kiranti groups such as Limbu
Limbu
-Limbu people:*Limbu people a Tibeto-Mongoloid ethnic group in Asia, an indigenous ethnic group of Nepal.*Limbu language*Limbu script*Kirati nation.-Limbu History:*Limbuwan*History of Limbuwan*Limbuwan Gorkha War*Limbuwan-Gorkha Treaty of 1774...
and Rai. Yakkha has no own script, but recently published materials use a slightly adjusted Devanagari
Devanagari
Devanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...
script.
Vowels
Yakkha has the five cardinal vowels [a], [e], [i], [o], [u]. There are no centralized vowels as in other Kiranti languages. Variation between short and long vowels is possible, but this is not a phonemic contrast, because no minimal pairs can be found. Diphthongs such as [oi̯], [ui̯], [ai̯] can be found in some words such as uimalaŋ "steep descent", or the interjection hoiʔ "Enough!".Consonants
The consonants are shown in the table below. The voiced consonants in brackets have doubtful status. They are not phonemes, because no minimal pairs can be established. But they are also not motivated by a phonological rule. Furthermore, the voiced consonants occur only in a few words, and some of them are NepaliNepali language
Nepali or Nepalese is a language in the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family.It is the official language and de facto lingua franca of Nepal and is also spoken in Bhutan, parts of India and parts of Myanmar...
loans. Examples with initial voiced consonants are gogoba (an insect/worm), ghak "all", jeppa "really", ɖaŋgak "stick".
| Labial Labial consonant Labial consonants are consonants in which one or both lips are the active articulator. This precludes linguolabials, in which the tip of the tongue reaches for the posterior side of the upper lip and which are considered coronals... |
Alveolar Alveolar consonant Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli of the superior teeth... |
Postalveolar Postalveolar consonant Postalveolar consonants are consonants articulated with the tongue near or touching the back of the alveolar ridge, further back in the mouth than the alveolar consonants, which are at the ridge itself, but not as far back as the hard palate... |
Retroflex Retroflex consonant A retroflex consonant is a coronal consonant where the tongue has a flat, concave, or even curled shape, and is articulated between the alveolar ridge and the hard palate. They are sometimes referred to as cerebral consonants, especially in Indology... |
Palatal Palatal consonant Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate... |
Velar Velar consonant Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue against the soft palate, the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum).... |
Glottal Glottal consonant Glottal consonants, also called laryngeal consonants, are consonants articulated with the glottis. Many phoneticians consider them, or at least the so-called fricative, to be transitional states of the glottis without a point of articulation as other consonants have; in fact, some do not consider... |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | unaspirated | p (b ) | t (d ) | ʈ (ɖ ) | k (ɡ ) | ʔ | ||
| aspirated | pʰ (bʱ) | tʰ (dʱ) | ʈʰ (ɖʱ) | kʰ (ɡʱ) | ||||
| Affricate Affricate consonant Affricates are consonants that begin as stops but release as a fricative rather than directly into the following vowel.- Samples :... |
unaspirated | ts | (dʒ) | |||||
| aspirated | tsʰ | |||||||
| Fricative Fricative consonant Fricatives are consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. These may be the lower lip against the upper teeth, in the case of ; the back of the tongue against the soft palate, in the case of German , the final consonant of Bach; or... |
s | h | ||||||
| Nasal Nasal consonant A nasal consonant is a type of consonant produced with a lowered velum in the mouth, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. Examples of nasal consonants in English are and , in words such as nose and mouth.- Definition :... |
m | n | ŋ | |||||
| Approximant Approximant consonant Approximants are speech sounds that involve the articulators approaching each other but not narrowly enough or with enough articulatory precision to create turbulent airflow. Therefore, approximants fall between fricatives, which do produce a turbulent airstream, and vowels, which produce no... |
unaspirated | w | j | |||||
| aspirated | wʱ | |||||||
| Trill Trill consonant In phonetics, a trill is a consonantal sound produced by vibrations between the articulator and the place of articulation. Standard Spanish <rr> as in perro is an alveolar trill, while in Parisian French it is almost always uvular.... |
r | |||||||
| Lateral Lateral consonant A lateral is an el-like consonant, in which airstream proceeds along the sides of the tongue, but is blocked by the tongue from going through the middle of the mouth.... |
l | |||||||
Notes:
- A typical feature of Eastern Kiranti languages is the merger of voiced and voiceless obstruents, and also Yakkha exhibits this feature. Voicing occurs however optionally between vowels and after nasals. Unaspirated obstruents undergo this voiving rule more regularly than aspirated obstruents. Voiced consonants that are not motivated by a phonological rule exist, but they are rare.
- Another feature of the Yakkha sound system is the change of proto */r/ and */R/ to /y/, e.g. the word for salt is yum in Yakkha, but rum in Puma (Central Kiranti), and rɨm in Dumi (Western Kiranti).
- The rhotic [r] is not found word-initially, but in [Cr] clusters and in intervocalic position, as in makhruna "black" and tarokma "start".
- Several morphophonological processes operate in Yakkha, so that the underlying forms are not easy to establish. Many of these processes have to do with substitution by a nasal, e.g. in compound verbs like suncama "itch", the underlying verb stems are /sut/ and /ca/. To take an example from inflection, the verb sapthakma "like" is inflected sapthaŋmecuna "they (dual) like him". Other examples of morphophonological processes are the change of underlying et-se to [esse] (meaning "in order to hunt fish").
- Underspecified nasalNasal consonantA nasal consonant is a type of consonant produced with a lowered velum in the mouth, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. Examples of nasal consonants in English are and , in words such as nose and mouth.- Definition :...
prefixPrefixA prefix is an affix which is placed before the root of a word. Particularly in the study of languages,a prefix is also called a preformative, because it alters the form of the words to which it is affixed.Examples of prefixes:...
es assimilate in the place of articulation to the stem-initial consonant, e.g. m-baŋ "your-house", but n-chem "your-song".
"aka"my
Morphology
Yakkha has rich nominal and verbal morphology. Nouns inflect for case and number. Verbs inflect for person, number (singular, dual, plural/nonsingular), negation, several categories in the domain of tense, aspect and mood. In transitive verbs, both actor and undergoer are coreferenced on the verb. The category of inclusive/exclusiveClusivity
In linguistics, clusivity is a distinction between inclusive and exclusive first-person pronouns and verbal morphology, also called inclusive "we" and exclusive "we"...
is found in the verbal morphology and in the possessive pronouns and prefixes.
Pronouns
Yakkha pronouns distinguish between singular, dual and plural numberGrammatical number
In linguistics, grammatical number is a grammatical category of nouns, pronouns, and adjective and verb agreement that expresses count distinctions ....
, and the possessive pronouns additionally distinguish between the inclusion
Clusivity
In linguistics, clusivity is a distinction between inclusive and exclusive first-person pronouns and verbal morphology, also called inclusive "we" and exclusive "we"...
and the exclusion
Clusivity
In linguistics, clusivity is a distinction between inclusive and exclusive first-person pronouns and verbal morphology, also called inclusive "we" and exclusive "we"...
of the adressee. The third person only has singular and nonsingular forms. The possessive pronouns have developed from the personal pronouns and the genitive
Genitive case
In grammar, genitive is the grammatical case that marks a noun as modifying another noun...
marker -ka. The possessive prefixes obviously are grammaticalised
Grammaticalisation
In linguistics, grammaticalization is a process by which words representing objects and actions transform through sound change and language migration to become grammatical objects...
possessive pronouns. They can be used instead of the possessive pronouns, e.g. one could say akka paŋ or a-paŋ, both meaning "my house". Sounds represented by /N/ in the table are underspecified nasals.
| Personal pronoun Personal pronoun Personal pronouns are pronouns used as substitutes for proper or common nouns. All known languages contain personal pronouns.- English personal pronouns :English in common use today has seven personal pronouns:*first-person singular... |
Possessive pronoun Possessive pronoun A possessive pronoun is a part of speech that substitutes for a noun phrase that begins with a possessive determiner . For example, in the sentence These glasses are mine, not yours, the words mine and yours are possessive pronouns and stand for my glasses and your glasses, respectively... |
Possessive prefix | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 st person | singular | ka | akka | a- |
| dual, excl | kanciŋ | anciŋga | anciŋ- | |
| dual, incl | kanciŋ | enciŋga | enciŋ- | |
| plural, excl | kaniŋ | aniŋga | aniŋ- | |
| plural, incl | kaniŋ | eŋga | eN- | |
| 2nd person | singular | nda | ŋga | N- |
| dual | njiŋda | njiŋga | njiŋ- | |
| plural | nniŋda | nniŋga | nniŋ- | |
| 3rd person | singular | uŋ | ukka | u- |
| nonsingular | uŋci | uŋciga | uŋci- | |
Interrogatives and indefinite reference
Yakkha has the following interrogative pronouns and other interrogativesInterrogative word
In linguistics, an interrogative word is a function word used for the item interrupted in an information statement. Interrogative words are sometimes called wh-words because most of English interrogative words start with wh-...
: isa "who", i/ina "what", iya "what" (if many items or uncountables are asked for), hetna "which", imin "how", ijaŋ "why", hetne "where", hetniŋ "when".
If a certain item is asked for, ina will be used, but if an event is in question, the root i occurs without further morphology, e.g. i leksa? "What happened?". Reduplication of the pronouns may result in indefinite reference, e.g. hetniŋ hetniŋ "some time".
Case system
Yakkha distinguishes the unmarked nominative caseNominative case
The nominative case is one of the grammatical cases of a noun or other part of speech, which generally marks the subject of a verb or the predicate noun or predicate adjective, as opposed to its object or other verb arguments...
, the ergative
Ergative case
The ergative case is the grammatical case that identifies the subject of a transitive verb in ergative-absolutive languages.-Characteristics:...
-ŋa, the genitive
Genitive case
In grammar, genitive is the grammatical case that marks a noun as modifying another noun...
-ka/-ga, the locative
Locative case
Locative is a grammatical case which indicates a location. It corresponds vaguely to the English prepositions "in", "on", "at", and "by"...
-pe/-be, the ablative
Ablative case
In linguistics, ablative case is a name given to cases in various languages whose common characteristic is that they mark motion away from something, though the details in each language may differ...
case -bhaŋ and the comitative case
Comitative case
The comitative case , also known as the associative case , is a grammatical case that denotes companionship, and is used where English would use "in company with" or "together with"...
-nuŋ, and the instrumental
Instrumental case
The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action...
case -ŋa.
- The nominative marks subjects of intransitive verbs and objects of transitive verbs. In some verb classes (in the sense of valency classes), objects are marked with a locative or an instrumental. The ergative marks the agents of transitive verbs except for first and second person pronouns, which are in the unmarked nominative. Examples for nominative and ergative case (overt arguments are often omitted in natural discourse, but the examples contain them to illustrate the case):
- ka khemeŋna "I go"
- uŋ-ŋa uŋ tundwana "he understands him"
- As in many other Kiranti languagesKiranti languagesThe Mahakiranti or Maha-Kiranti languages are a proposed intermediate level of classification of the Tibeto-Burman languages. They are the languages most closely related to the Kiranti languages proper, which are spoken by the ethnic Kirat...
, there is an ergative-instrumental syncretismSyncretism (linguistics)In linguistics, syncretism is the identity of form of distinct morphological forms of a word. This phenomenon is typical of fusional languages....
, as both cases are marked by -ŋa. The instrumental is used to mark instruments in a broad sense, and also for temporal reference:
- luŋkhwak-ŋa "with/by means of a stone" (stone-INS)
- khiŋ-belaʔ-ŋa "thesedays" (this-time-INS)
- The genitive, marked by -ka/-ga marks the possessed item in possessive constructions, and materials:
- ak-ka (a-)niŋ "my name" (I-GEN (prefix-)name)
- siŋ-ga saŋkhuŋ "wooden stool" (wood-GEN stool)
- The locative marks locations and goals of movement and transfer:
- khorek-pe cuwa "(There is) beer in a/the bowl." (bowl-LOC beer)
- The comitative marks the accompaniment by someone or something. Also adverbials and adverbial clauses can be built with the comitative.
- nda-nuŋ "with you"
- suha-nuŋ "sour" (in adverbial use, e.g. taste sour)
Verbal morphology
- The verbal morphology is very complex, which is a typical feature of Kiranti languages. The outline given here necessarily provides a simplified picture. The verbal morphology is predominantly represented by suffixes, but one prefix slot exists, that is filled with an underspecified nasal that codes either third person plural or negation.
- Person and number of both actor and undergoer are indicated on the verb, and these affixes may differ according to the semantic role of their referent. For instance, the suffix -ka/-ga codes second person ("you"), regardless of the semantic roleThematic relationIn a number of theories of linguistics, thematic relations is a term used to express the role that a noun phrase plays with respect to the action or state described by a sentence's verb. For example, in the sentence "Susan ate an apple", Susan is the doer of the eating, so she is an agent; the...
, while the suffix -m codes only (first and second person) agents, and the suffix -u only codes third person undergoer. There are syncretisms, for instance the already mentioned suffix -m, that stands for both agreement with first and second person plural (agent). Some relations are coded by a portmanteau morpheme, e.g. the first person acting on the second is coded by '-nen' (i.e. "I understand/call/kiss etc. YOU"), supplemented by number suffixes if necessary. Paradigms can be found in. - Another feature typical for Kiranti verbal morphology is the copying of nasals into syllable codas in the suffix string of a finite verb. For instance, the negated form of tum-me-ŋ-c-u-ŋ-ci-ŋa "we (dual, excl) understand them" is n-dum-me-n-c-u-n-ci-ŋa-n-na, where the negation marker -n is copied several times.
- As for tense, the nonpast is overtly marked by -meʔ or -wa. Both suffixes have their origin in grammaticalized lexical verbs ("do" and "be/exist" respectively). They occupy different slots in the verbal suffix template. The past is marked by the suffix -a, which is often elided to avoid hiatus in underlying vowel sequences. The perfect tense is built by the addition of the suffixes -ma or -uks to the past morpheme, and the past perfect tense is built by further addition of the suffix -sa to this suffix string.
- As for mood, the imperative is also coded by the suffix -a, e.g. ab-a "Come!" In transitive verbs with a third person patient, the overt suffix is -u, and the imperative suffix is not overtly realised. The subjunctive mood has no dedicated marker, it is marked precisely by the absence of anything but the agreement morphology, e.g. ciya hops-u-m? "Shall we have tea?" (tea sip-3P-1A). The subjunctive mood also expresses warnings, suggestions and potential situations in some subordinate clause types.