East Bodish Languages
Eight of the languages of Bhutan are East Bodish languages, as opposed to Tibetan languages descended from Old Tibetan.
The Bumthang language, or Bumthangkha, is the dominant language in Central Bhutan. It has approximately 30,000 speakers. The Kheng language and Kurtöp language are closely related to the Bumthang language. They have 40,000 and 10,000 speakers, respectively.
The Dzala language, or Dzalakha, has about 15,000 speakers. Nyenkha, also called Henkha or Mangdebikha, and 'Olekha (Mönpa) are spoken in the Black Mountains of Central Bhutan by about 10,000 and 1,000 speakers, respectively. Van Driem (1993) describes 'Olekha as the remnant of the primordial population of the Black Mountains before the southward expansion of the ancient East Bodish tribes.
The Dakpa, (Dakpakha) and Chali (Chalikha) languages are each spoken by about 1,000 people in Eastern Bhutan.
Read more about this topic: Languages Of Bhutan
Famous quotes containing the words east and/or languages:
“Senta: These boats, sir, what are they for?
Hamar: They are solar boats for Pharaoh to use after his death. They’re the means by which Pharaoh will journey across the skies with the sun, with the god Horus. Each day they will sail from east to west, and each night Pharaoh will return to the east by the river which runs underneath the earth.”
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“I am always sorry when any language is lost, because languages are the pedigree of nations.”
—Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)