Rajbanshi language (Nepal)
Indo-Aryan language spoken Nepal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rajbanshi (also called Tajpuria[3]) is a Bengali-Assamese language spoken in Nepal. It is related to but is distinct from the Rangpuri/Kamta language in Bangladesh and India, which is also known by the alternative name "Rajbanshi". Rajbanshi and Kamta, along with two other languages, form the KRDS lect cluster.[4]
| Rajbanshi | |
|---|---|
| राजबंशी, ताजपुरीया | |
| Native to | Nepal |
| Region | Jhapa District, Morang District |
| Ethnicity | Rajbanshi |
Native speakers | 170,000 (2011)[1] |
| Devanagari and Bengali–Assamese Script | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Either:rjs – Rajbanshikyv – Kayort |
| Glottolog | rajb1243 Rajbanshikayo1247 Kayort |
Phonology
This section is based on Wilde 2008.
Consonants
| Labial | Dental/ Alveolar |
Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | voiceless | p | t̪ | ʈ | k | ||
| aspirated | pʰ | t̪ʰ | ʈʰ | kʰ | |||
| voiced | b | d̪ | ɖ | ɡ | |||
| breathy | bʱ | d̪ʱ | ɖʱ | ɡʱ | |||
| Affricate | voiceless | ts | |||||
| aspirated | tsʰ | ||||||
| voiced | dz | ||||||
| breathy | dzʱ | ||||||
| Fricative | s | (ʃ) | h | ||||
| Nasal | plain | m | n̪ | ŋ | |||
| breathy | mʱ | n̪ʱ | ŋʱ | ||||
| Trill | plain | r | |||||
| breathy | rʱ | ||||||
| Approximant | lateral | l | |||||
| lateral br. | lʱ | ||||||
| central | (w) | (j) | |||||
- /ts, tsʰ, dz, dzʱ/ can often be heard as post-alveolar [tʃ, tʃʰ, dʒ, dʒʱ], when following back vowels.
- /r/ and /rʱ/ can have allophones of [ɽ ɾ] and [ɽʱ ɾʱ].
- /b/ can have allophones of [β w].
- /pʰ/ can also be realised as [f].
- /s/ can also have an allophone of [ʃ].
- /h/ can be realised as voiceless or voiced [ɦ] in word-initial positions.
- /n̪/ can be heard as alveolar [n] before an alveolar consonant, and as a retroflex [ɳ] when preceding a retroflex consonant.
- A word-final /r/ may tend to be voiceless [r̥].
- Central approximants [w j] occur, but are deemed allophones of /u i/.
Vowels
In addition to these vowels, Rangpuri has the following diphthongs: /ie, iæ, iu, iʌ, ui, uæ, uʌ, ei, eu, æi, æu, ʌi, ʌu/.
Morphology
One notable characteristic of Rājbanshi is the double agreement found regularly in verbs. Having this pattern also means that Rājbanshi, along with regional Indo-Aryan languages of Southern Nepal-Bihar-Jharkhand where multiple agreement is attested such as in Maithili, Kurmali, Majhi, and Darai share a verbal system that is distinct from the rest of the mainstream Indo-Aryan languages.
kalʰi
tomorrow
di-m-(k)u-n
give-FUT-2SG.OBJ-1SG.SUBJ
'I will give (it) to you tomorrow.'
