A DICTIONARY OF KHAM: Taka dialect (a Tibeto-Burman language of Nepal) David E. Watters Published by Central Department of Linguistics Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur Kathmandu, Nepal © David E. Watters 2004 First published 2004 Printed at Jagadamba Press Hattiban, Lalitpur, Kathmandu, Nepal Ph: 5543017 Cover: Taka alpine sheep camp ISBN 99933-52-65-9 hardback Table of Contents Page Acknowledgements iv Abbreviations v Maps ix Figures xi Tables xii Introduction 1 1. Language and classification 1 2. Language contact 1 3. Phonology 2 4. Dialects and reconstruction 6 5. Structure of an entry 15 6. Part of speech categories 21 7. Order of alphabet 28 Kham–English Dictionary 30 English Index to Kham Entries 359 References 439 iii Acknowledgements I wish to express my sincere gratitude to the many speakers of Kham I have been privileged to know in the districts of Rukum, Rolpa, and Baglung. Almost without exception, they have extended to me an extraordinary degree of hospitality and warmth. Whether in their villages, on the trail, or in their alpine sheep camps, they have generously shared with me their very best, including the warmest spot beside their hearths. My deepest debt of gratitude goes to Hasta Ram Budha Kham, the ex-Gurkha soldier who was my teacher and lifelong friend. He worked tirelessly with me for many years, sharing in hardships and sharing in joys. Whether travelling in the scorching sun or bivouacked deep in the snow, he was a cheerful and loyal companion. He patiently answered my incessant questions about his language, and opened for me a storehouse of intellectual wealth found nowhere else. I am forever indebted to him and his people. He passed away on August 29, 2002. I and all who knew him will miss him greatly. Portrait of Hasta Ram Budha Kham painted by Hyatt Moore http://www.hyattmoore.com used with permission iv Abbreviations Dialects and languages. Dialects referred to in the etymological field are listed here in alphabetical order. For a description of the phonological conservatism contributed by each of the dialects, see §4 (Dialects and reconstruction), page 6. Bhj Bhuji/Bhujeli Bur Burmese Chan Chantyal Chep Chepang Gam Gam(ale) Ghus Ghusbang(i) Gur Gurung Hind Hindi Jang Jangkot Kai Kaike Kh Kham Khal Khaling Kot Kotgaon Luk Lukum(el) Mag Magar Mht Mahat(ale) Mk Maikot(i) Nep Nepali Nis Nisi/Nisel Nw Newari P-Kham Proto-Kham Ses Ses(i) Sk Sanskrit Sun Sunwar Tam Tamang TB Tibeto-Burman Thak Thakali Tib Tibetan Tk Taka(le) WT Written Tibetan v vi Part of speech categories. Abbreviations for part of speech categories are given here in alphabetical order: adj. adjective adv. adverb adv.suff. adverbial suffix case case marker comp.root compound root coord. coordination corelative corelative adverb deictic.prim. deictic primitive dem. demonstrative expr.adv. expressive adverb g.num. grammatical number gen.n. generic noun greet. greeting indef.adv. indefinite adverb interj. interjection interrog. interrogative interrog.root interrogative root loc. locative loc.case locative case loc.root locative root n. noun neg. negative nom. nominal num.clsf. numeral classifier num.pref. numeral prefix numeral numeral part. particle pass.part. passive participle pers.pron. personal pronoun poss.pref. possessive prefix poss.pron. possessive pronoun poss.root possessive root prop.n. proper noun quant. quantifier quant.adv. quantifying adverb rel.n. relator noun vii temp.adv. temporal adverb v.aff. verb affix v.bt. bitransitive verb v.evt. eventive verb v.recip. reciprocal verb v.refl. reflexive verb v.stem irregular verb stem vi.agt. intransitive agentive verb vi.dat. intransitive dative verb vi.pat. intransitive patientive verb vi.sta. stative intransitive verb vt.sta. stative transitive verb voc.n. vocative noun vt. transitive verb vt.evt. transitive eventive verb Kin terms. Abbreviations for kin terms used throughout the dictionary are given below. They can be combined to create complex relationships, as in: FaElBrSi – father’s elder brother’s sister. Br brother Da daughter El elder Fa father Hu husband Mo mother Si sister So son Wi wife Yo younger General abbreviations. All other abbreviations, mostly editorial, occurring within entries are as follows: abbrv. abbreviation allomorph allomorph also also Alt.root alternate root ant. antonym viii approx. pop. approximate population arch. archaic asc. associative cf. compare DEW David E. Watters e.g. for example elev. elevation esp. especially euph. euphemistic fig. figurative gen. generic Instr. instrument K-M Kham-Magar lit. literally Obj. object prob. probably qq.v. all of which see qv. which see recip. reciprocal shamanic shamanic S.I. Survey of India s.o. someone s.th. something set set Usu. usually var. variant vulg. vulgar Map 1 NEPAL Dhaulagiri ix Annapurna Mt Everest Kathmandu 10,000 foot contour line Area shown in Map 2 18250 17296 Map 2 15449 19430 20790 KHAM 18531 21442 15843 SPEAKING 23750 24158 Ranma • TERRITORIES Kharbang • • Maikot 16799 Hukam • • Pelma Nakha • WESTERN Rangsi • showing five major PARBATE dialect groupings: Kol • • Padmi • Taka 14250 15199 15445 15016 • Kengsi Sera • • • Kakri x MAHATALE Matah • Lukum EASTERN Western Parbate 12400 c13191 PARBATE 10020 Eastern Parbate • Thabang • Dhorpatan 12877 • Mirul 12089 13267 12750 Telkhola • Gamale 11754 • Bhuji 9250 • Wa •Bhalkot 10600 • Dhangsi • Ghusbang Sesi Bhabang • • Nisi • Inabang • Seram GAMALE • Sulpabang Jelbang • Mahatale SESI • Jangkot • Gam 11937 Tapnang • 10811 (Altitudes in feet) Figures page Figure 1. The syllable in Kham 4 Figure 2. The dialects of Kham 6 xi Tables page Table 1. Vowel phonemes in Takala Kham 2 Table 2. Consonant phonemes in Takale Kham 3 xii Introduction 1. Language and classification Kham is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken in the upper valleys of the Rukum, Rolpa, and Baglung districts of Mid-Western Nepal by more than 50,000 people. Scattered populations also exist in Jajarkot, Dailekh, Kalikot, Achham, and Doti. The language should not be confused with Tibetan Khams of eastern Tibet. The majority of Kham speakers are Budhas, Puns, Ghartis, and Rokas—all classified ethnically as subtribes or clans of the Magar caste. However, it should not be assumed apriori that because speakers of Kham are ethnically Magar their language too is a dialect of Magar. Kham and Magar are vastly different languages. To avoid confusion with Tibetan Kham, and to link the language with the ethnicity of its speakers, the language has sometimes been referred to as Kham–Magar (Watters and Watters, 1973). Kham is known to Nepalis of the region as “Khamkura,” which, roughly translated, means Kham-talk or Kham-speech. The word Kham itself is of obscure origins and means simply language in its broad sense, and The Language in its strict sense. In Mid-Western Nepal, where Kham is spoken, the Nepali use of the word Kham or Khamkura has the more generalized meaning of a local, non-Nepali dialect. Consequently, at least two other languages in the region, Chantyal, and Kaike, have received the Nepali appellation Khamkura, though neither of them is related to the Kham of this dictionary (except as Tibeto-Burman languages). Before 1971, there were no word lists or descriptions of Kham, and the language was unheard-of in any of the linguistic classifications of the time. After the publication of a few elementary materials on Kham in the early 1970s, linguists were quick to add Kham to Shafer’s West-Central Himalayish along with Magar, Chepang, Raute, and Raji—a group of languages classed together because, in Shafer’s words “they have more in common with each other than with any other language or group of languages” (1966). The classification has persisted for about thirty years now, but in recent years, because of a lack of obvious shared innovations, the inclusion of Kham into a single subgroup with Magar and Chepang has become more cautious (Thurgood and LaPolla 2003). I continue to classify Kham under a Central Himalayish node (Proto-Kham-Magar- Chepang) as a sister node to East Himalayish (Kiranti) as proposed by Bradley (1997). The grounds for this classification are given in Watters 2003b. 2. Language contact Kham, situated in the western third of modern Nepal, would have been one of the first Tibeto-Burman languages encountered by the Khas speaking Aryans on their eastward migration out of northwestern India into the Himalayan foothills that now make up Nepal. 2 Introduction –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Though the higher caste Hindu Aryans, the Brahmins and Kshatriyas, never settled in the high, remote regions of the Kham homeland, the influence of their powerful Malla kingdom in Jumla, at its zenith in the 13th and 14th centuries, certainly spread to the remotest regions of western Nepal and left its indelible mark on the local languages. Perhaps more influential linguistically were the lower caste Kamis and Damais (blacksmiths and musicians), who finding ready employment in the remote Kham villages, settled down with the Tibeto-Burmans. Through the centuries Kham has borrowed scores of words from the Aryan immigrants, much of it from the material culture of the resident artisans, so that today a full 25% of the vocabulary can be traced to Indic sources, much of it predating modern Nepali. Purists may object to the inclusion of so many Indic loans, but today, such words are fully ensconced as a part of the modern Kham working vocabulary. 3. Phonology Following is a phonological synopsis for Taka Kham (spoken in the village of Taka), the Kham dialect of this dictionary. The symbols presented here are those used throughout the dictionary. 3.1 Vowels There are nine vowels in Taka Kham, six of which are basic, and three of which can be traced to secondary developments resulting from the loss of consonants. The six basic vowels are two front, /i/ and /e/, two central, /˙/ and /a/, and two back, /u/ and /o/.