Dialect Intelligibility Between Ladakhi and the Bhoti Varieties of Lahul Valley

DigitalResources Electronic Survey Report 2019-007

Dialect Intelligibility between Ladakhi and the Bhoti Varieties of Lahul Valley

Brad Chamberlain Dialect Intelligibility between Ladakhi and the Bhoti Varieties of Lahul Valley

Brad Chamberlain

SIL International® 2019

Data and materials collected by researchers in an era before documentation of permission was standardized may be included in this publication. SIL makes diligent efforts to identify and acknowledge sources and to obtain appropriate permissions wherever possible, acting in good faith and on the best information available at the time of publication.

Abstract

This dialect intelligibility study among the Bhoti varieties of Lahul Valley (Himachal Pradesh) and Ladakhi from Leh, Ladakh (Jammu and Kashmir) was undertaken by the Indian Institute for Cross Cultural Communication (IICCC). The survey was conducted in July and August 1997 and follows on data gathered during the Lahul Valley survey the previous year (Chamberlain and Chamberlain 2019). The survey found that the Stod Bhoti variety is the best understood and most widely accepted language variety throughout Lahul Valley.

(This survey report written some time ago deserves to be made available even at this late date. Conditions were such that it was not published when originally written. The reader is cautioned that more recent research may be available. Historical data is quite valuable as it provides a basis for a longitudinal analysis and helps us understand both the trajectory and pace of change as compared with more recent studies.—Editor) Contents

Abstract 1. Introduction 1.1 Purpose 1.2 Goals 1.3 Methods 2. Dialect intelligibility study 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Intelligibility testing 2.2.1 Intelligibility testing results 2.2.2 Summary of intelligibility testing results 2.3 Post-RTT questionnaire 2.3.1 Post-RTT questionnaire results 2.3.2 Summary of Post-RTT questionnaire results 3. Language attitudes study 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Language attitudes results 3.3 Summary of language attitudes results 4. Summary and recommendations Appendix A: Recorded Text Tests Appendix B: RTT Results Appendix C: Questionnaire Responses References

iii 1. Introduction

“A Sociolinguistic Survey of Lahul Valley, Himachal Pradesh”1 (Chamberlain and Chamberlain 2019), states that the Bhoti people of Lahul Valley have a strong connection with Ladakhi people, culturally, racially, and linguistically. For a discussion of the geography and people of Lahul Valley, refer to Chamberlain and Chamberlain 2019. The geography and people of Ladakh are examined in “A Sociolinguistic Profile of Ladakhi”2 (Webster and Webster 1992). In the Lahul Valley Report, it was established that the Bhoti people of Lahul will not be served by materials developed in the other Lahul Valley languages, including Hindi. Sources suggest that language materials developed in Leh Ladakhi might serve the Bhotis of Lahul. Thus the intelligibility between these two linguistic varieties required investigation.

1.1 Purpose

This project was conducted to identify the language variety which best serves the Bhoti-speaking people of Lahul Valley, Himachal Pradesh.

1.2 Goals

This survey had several goals: 1. To locate Bhoti language boundaries within Lahul Valley. 2. To identify a central variety among the Bhoti varieties spoken in Lahul. 3. To discover the Bhoti-speaking people’s attitude towards their own language variety in the written form. 4. To assess the Lahul Bhoti people’s understanding of the Leh Ladakhi speech variety. 5. To determine the Lahul Bhoti people’s attitudes towards the Ladakhi language and people.

1.3 Methods

The following methods were used to achieve those goals: 1. Based on data gathered during previous Lahul Valley and Ladakh surveys, sites were selected to represent the various Bhoti varieties of the region. 2. A questionnaire was administered to Lahul Bhoti speakers to assess their attitude towards the Ladakhi people and language. 3. Recorded Text Tests (RTT) were conducted between the main Lahul Bhoti language communities to assess the dialect intelligibility of these varieties. Also, this helped locate a central Bhoti variety within Lahul valley. 4. An RTT text from Leh, Ladakh was tested among the Lahul Bhoti communities to assess intelligibility of the Ladakhi language among Lahul Bhoti speakers. 5. Post RTT questions were asked to determine Lahul Bhoti people’s attitudes towards the various Lahul Bhoti varieties, and the Leh Ladakhi variety.

1 Referred to as Lahul Valley Report for the remainder of this paper. 2 Referred to as Ladakhi Report for the remainder of this paper.

1 2

2. Dialect intelligibility study

2.1 Introduction

The Lahul Valley Report identifies three regions in Lahul Valley inhabited by Bhoti people: Stod Valley, Mayar Valley, and Khoksar Valley. These regions are separated from one another by geographic barriers. A lexical similarity study was conducted which compared standardized wordlists from these varieties. The data reveal that the Bhotis in the three regions may well be able to understand one another, but further testing is required. The Ladakhi Report found that language development based in Leh would serve the majority of the Ladakhi-speaking people. In the Lahul Valley Report, a wordlist from Leh was compared with wordlists from Lahul Valley. The Bhoti varieties of Lahul Valley shared a 68–79 percent lexical similarity with the Leh wordlist. This, combined with strong positive attitudes among the Bhoti-speakers of Lahul towards the Ladakhi people, suggested that further dialect intelligibility testing is necessary between Ladakhi and the Lahul Bhoti varieties. Dialect intelligibility testing was conducted between Leh Ladakhi and varieties representing each of the three Lahul Bhoti regions. For this discussion, the varieties will be referred to as follows:

Ladakh: Leh Ladakh Mayar: Changut Village, Mayar Valley, Lahul Stod: Darcha Village, Stod Valley, Lahul Khoksar: Khoksar Village, Khoksar Valley, Lahul

Maps of the three Lahul Bhoti regions surveyed

Map hand-drawn by Brad Chamberlain. 4

Map hand-drawn by Brad Chamberlain.

For a discussion of the Recorded Text Testing (RTT) procedures used during this intelligibility testing, refer to Appendix A. The Ladakhi text was collected to test in each of the three locations. However, no other text was tested in Ladakh. Due to attitudes and population size (55,000 Ladakhi speakers vs. 2,500 Lahul Bhoti speakers) Lahul is not the appropriate place to base a language project for reaching all the Ladakhi speakers. Similarly, a hometown test was collected in Mayar Valley, in order to validate test subjects there. The Mayar text was not played in other locations. Due to the site’s remoteness and small population it seemed unlikely that Mayar Valley would be the proper location for a language project meant to reach the entirety of Lahul Valley.

2.2 Intelligibility testing

2.2.1 Intelligibility testing results

The results of intelligibility testing among the Bhoti varieties of Lahul and Ladakhi are shown below. In general, RTT scores of 80 percent or higher with accompanying low standard deviations are interpreted to indicate that subjects from the test point dialect display adequate understanding of the recorded variety. However, RTT scores below 60 percent are interpreted to indicate inadequate intelligibility.

Table 1. Lahul Bhoti and Ladakhi intelligibility testing results X = Average score Std = Standard deviation N = Number of subjects

Stod Subjects Khoksar Subjects Mayar Subjects Ladakh Subjects X = 99.2 X = 85 X = 73.8 Stod Text Std = 2.89 Std = 6.45 Std = 11.3 Not tested N = 12 N = 13 N = 12 X = 92.9 X = 98.8 X = 62.5 Khoksar Text Std = 6.56 Std = 3 Std = 11.4 Not tested N = 12 N = 13 N = 12 X = 97.9 Mayar Text Not tested Not tested Std = 5.79 Not tested N = 14 X = 71.3 X = 20 X = 15.4 X = 100 Ladakh Text Std = 15.1 Std = 20.8 Std = 9.4 Std = 0 N = 12 N = 13 N = 12 N = 15

In these results, only two RTT scores (not including Hometown validation scores) are above 80 percent. The Stod Valley subjects scored 92.9 percent on the Khoksar text, and the Khoksar subjects scored 85 percent on the Stod Valley text. In both cases, the standard deviation is fairly low. These results suggest that the Khoksar and Stod people should be able to share materials developed in either location. The Mayar Valley subjects scored lower on the Khoksar text (62.5 percent) than they did on the Stod text (73.8 percent). In both cases the standard deviation was fairly high (11.3 and 11.4 percent). These results suggest that the Mayar Valley subjects would be better served by material developed in Stod Valley, than in Khoksar. However, 73.8 percent is not high enough to confirm that they will be served by the Stod variety. Among the three Lahul locations, the people from Stod Valley had the highest score of the Ladakh text, with a score of 71.3 percent. The accompanying high standard deviation of 15.1 suggests that some people scored well on the Ladakh text (probably because of exposure to Ladakhi, since Stod Valley is near to Ladakh), while others did poorly. From these numbers, it is possible that literature developed in Ladakh could be used by some people in Stod Valley, though not by all. The people of Mayar and Khoksar scored low on the Ladakh text. In Khoksar, the average score was 20 percent. The accompanying high standard deviation (20.8) suggests that a few scored moderately on the text, while others scored extremely low. One subject scored 70 percent. All other Khoksar subjects scored less than 40 percent on the Leh test. In Mayar, the average score on the Ladakh text was only 15.4 percent. The lower standard deviation here, at 9.4, suggests that all subjects in Mayar Valley were unable to understand the Ladakh text. From these results, it is obvious that materials developed in Ladakh will not be adequate for serving the Bhoti communities of Khoksar and Mayar Valley.

2.2.2 Summary of intelligibility testing results

While it is possible that some Stod Bhoti speakers could be served by materials developed in Ladakh, it is not possible for those materials to serve the Bhoti-speaking communities of Khoksar and Mayar Valley. Separate Bhoti literature development is necessary within Lahul Valley, in order to serve the Bhotis of Lahul. From the intelligibility testing results (as well as the lexical similarity and questionnaire results found in the Lahul Valley Report), it appears that literature developed in the Stod Bhoti variety would 6

best serve the Bhoti communities throughout Lahul Valley. It is recommended that the comprehension of such materials be monitored, especially in Mayar Valley, where Stod Bhoti RTT results were marginal.

2.3 Post-RTT questionnaire

2.3.1 Post-RTT questionnaire results

After listening to each text and answering comprehension questions, RTT subjects were asked five post- RTT questions, concerning various Bhoti language varieties and people. These questions were:

• Where do you think the story teller is from? (Location) • If the language is mixed, with what other languages is it mixed? (Mixed with) • How similar is the language in this text to the way you speak? (Similarity) • How much of this text could you understand? (Understood) • Would you let your son or daughter marry someone who speaks like this? (Marriage)

The results of Post-RTT questioning are shown in tables 2–6.

Table 2. Post-RTT: Locating the text

Text: Ladakh Text Stod Text Khoksar Text Subjects: Stod Khoksar Mayar Khoksar Mayar Stod Mayar Correct 13/13 12/13 8/12 9/13 3/12 7/11 - Location: Local - - - - 1/12 2/11 4/12 Other - 1/13 4/12 4/13 8/12 2/11 8/12

In most cases, subjects from Lahul Valley (Stod, Khoksar, and Mayar) were able to correctly identify the Ladakhi text as coming from Ladakh. Many subjects from Khoksar correctly identified the source location of the Stod text. However, the people from Mayar Valley were not as successful. Most Stod subjects correctly identified the source of the Khoksar text. Again, most Mayar people were unable to locate the source of this text. These results suggest that the Ladakhi variety is easily identifiable. Stod and Khoksar each recognized the variety from each other’s areas. However, the Mayar subjects were unable to locate texts from Stod and Khoksar. This reflects the limited contact between the Mayar Valley Bhotis and the other Lahul Valley Bhoti communities due to the remoteness of Mayar Valley.

Table 3. Post-RTT: Purity of language

Text: Ladakh Text Stod Text Khoksar Text Subjects: Stod Khoksar Mayar Khoksar Mayar Stod Mayar Nothing 11/13 6/13 10/12 3/12 9/12 10/11 7/12 Mixed Hindi - 1/13 1/12 2/12 3/12 1/11 5/12 with: Other - - - 2/12 - - - No answer 2/13 6/13 1/12 5/12 - - -

Almost all Lahul Valley subjects felt that the Ladakhi text was a pure sample of the Ladakhi language. Two subjects out of 30 who answered the question said that there was some Hindi mixed into the text. Only three of seven Khoksar subjects felt that the Stod story was pure, with four others believing that it was mixed with Hindi, English, or Tibetan. Most Mayar subjects thought the Stod story was pure, with three suggesting that there was Hindi mixing. Ten of eleven Stod subjects stated that the Khoksar text was pure Bhoti, as did seven subjects from Mayar Valley. One from Stod thought the Khoksar story was mixed with Hindi, as did five from Mayar. 7

These results suggest that of the texts, Lahul Bhoti speakers felt that the Ladakh text was very pure. Both the Stod and Khoksar texts were seen by some to have Hindi mixing. During test evaluation (HTT), all texts had been considered “pure” by subjects from the source location. This implies that the Ladakhi speech variety may be less influenced by Hindi than are the Lahul Bhoti varieties.

Table 4. Post-RTT: Similarity with local language

Text: Ladakh Text Stod Text Khoksar Text Subjects: Stod Khoksar Mayar Khoksar Mayar Stod Mayar Same 1/13 - - 12/12 1/12 2/10 2/12 Similarity: Little Different 10/13 3/13 2/12 - 10/12 8/10 9/12 Very Different 2/13 10/13 10/12 - 2/12 - 1/12

Only one of the 38 Lahul Valley subjects felt that the Ladakh text used the same language that they speak. Most Stod subjects thought that the Ladakh text was slightly different from their variety of Bhoti. However, many subjects from Khoksar and Mayar felt that the Ladakh text was very different from their varieties. All Khoksar subjects stated that the Stod text used the same language that they speak. In Mayar Valley, the Stod text was perceived as a little different from their speech variety by most subjects. The majority in both the Stod and Mayar Bhoti communities believed that the Khoksar variety was a little different from their local varieties of Bhoti. These results show that the Stod and Khoksar texts are seen as the same or slightly different from other Lahul Valley Bhoti varieties. In contrast, the Ladakh text is seen to be different.

Table 5. Post RTT: Self-reported comprehension

Text: Ladakh Text Stod Text Khoksar Text Subjects: Stod Khoksar Mayar Khoksar Mayar Stod Mayar All 5/13 1/13 8/13 8/12 8/11 5/12 Most 5/13 2/13 1/13 4/13 4/12 3/11 7/12 Understood: Some 1/13 - 8/13 1/13 - - - Little/None 2/13 10/13 3/13 - - - -

Most Stod subjects stated that they understood “all” or “most” of the Ladakh text. However, almost all Khoksar and Mayar subjects reported understanding “little” or “none” or just “some” of the Ladakh text. The Stod text was completely understood by most subjects from Khoksar and Mayar, though some subjects in each location said that they didn’t understand everything. All Mayar and Stod subjects indicated understanding “most” or “all” of the Khoksar text. These results suggest that while most people in Stod claimed they understood the Ladakh text, the people of Khoksar and Mayar did not. However, within Lahul Valley, it appears that the Bhoti speakers felt that they were able to understand all or most of each other’s speech varieties.

Table 6. Post RTT: Attitudes regarding intermarriage

Text: Ladakh Text Stod Text Khoksar Text Subjects: Stod Khoksar Mayar Khoksar Mayar Stod Mayar Yes 9/13 7/13 2/12 7/12 1/12 7/11 1/12 Marriage: No - - 1/12 1/12 - - - No answer 4/13 6/13 9/12 4/12 11/12 4/11 11/12

From the subjects who answered this question, only two had negative attitudes towards intermarriage: one subject from Mayar thought that marriage to a speaker of Ladakh text variety was not 8

good, and one subject from Khoksar disapproved of marriage with speakers of the Stod text variety. In all other cases where an answer was given, marriage was considered acceptable. These results reveal that regardless of perceived linguistic differences, there appear to be no strong social barriers between these communities.

2.3.2 Summary of Post-RTT questionnaire results

It appears that the Stod Bhoti language is the most widely accepted language variety among the Bhotis of Lahul Valley. Most subjects from each community felt that they understood the Stod text, and that it was either little or no different from their own speech variety. In contrast, Ladakhi was perceived to be a different and hard to understand language.

3. Language attitudes study

3.1 Introduction

In the Lahul Valley Report it was established that the Bhoti-speaking people use their language in all aspects of life—at home, for religion, and for business. In evaluating the attitudes towards the Bhoti language, the Lahul Valley Report states, “Of the Lahul Bhoti varieties, Stod appears to be the most highly regarded, perhaps because it is the largest Bhoti community in Lahul. Many subjects suggested that Ladakhi is the best variety of Bhoti” (Chamberlain and Chamberlain 2019:38).

3.2 Language attitudes results

During this study, questions were asked to establish the Lahul Bhoti community’s attitudes towards Bhoti varieties, as well as the Ladakhi language and people. These questions, and the answers given, are discussed below. Though the questions were asked of a small sample of subjects from each community, and therefore cannot confidently be interpreted to represent the community as a whole, the answers do give some general impressions about the community’s language attitudes.

Table 7. Language names Question Answer Total 1. What do you call your Bhoti 13 language? Other -- 2. Do other Bhoti speakers call No 13 your language something else? Yes - 3. What do outsiders call Bhoti? Bhoti 12 Lahuli 1

These results establish that the language is called Bhoti by people inside and outside of the Bhoti community. It shows that they refer to their local variety and all other varieties by the same name. Thus, the speech varieties from Ladakh, Stod Valley, Mayar Valley, and Khoksar Valley, are all referred to as Bhoti, regardless of their relatedness.

Table 8. Langugae varieties Question Answer Total All places 8 4. Where is Bhoti spoken the same as Nearby 2 you speak it here? All Lahul 3 5. Where is it difficult to understand Nowhere 11 the way that they speak Bhoti? Unsure 2 Same 2 6a. Do Ladakhi people talk the same Little Different 9 as people from your place? Very Different 2 Same 3 6b. Do Khoksar people talk the same Little Different 5 as people from your place? Very Different 1 6c. Do Darcha people talk the same Same 3 as people from your place? Little Different 3 Same 3 6d. Do Mayar people talk the same as Little Different 6 people from your place? Very Different 2 Same 1 6e. Do Spiti people talk the same as Little Different 10 people from your place? Very Different 2 7. Is your language spoken in Yes 13 Ladakh? No - Ladakh 4 8. Where is the most pure Bhoti Local 5 spoken? Tibet 3 Ladakh 2 9. Where is the best place to learn to Local 6 speak Bhoti? Tibet 1 Anywhere 4

Most subjects responded that Bhoti is spoken the same everywhere. Some favored local varieties over distant varieties. None of the subjects named areas where the language is called Bhoti, yet is difficult for them to understand. Eleven of the 13 subjects thought that people in Leh speak differently than local people. Six out of nine said that Khoksar people speak differently, while three said they speak the same. Of the six subjects questioned outside of Darcha, three said that Darcha people speak the same, and three said a little different. Eight out of 11 subjects stated that Mayar Valley people speak differently. Twelve of 13 subjects claimed that Spiti people speak differently. All 13 subjects replied that the language spoken in Ladakh is the same language that they speak. Five of the 13 stated that the purest form of Bhoti is found locally, while four said Ladakh, and three mentioned Tibet. When asked where a student should live to learn good Bhoti, six subjects replied with the name of their village, four claimed that a student could study in any Bhoti community. Two suggested Ladakh, and one person mentioned Tibet. These results suggest that although the Bhoti communities distinguish between the various Bhoti and Ladakhi varieties, they consider them all to be the same language. This pattern of perceived linguistic similarity and lack of difficulty in comprehending regional varieties of Bhoti contrasts with the low intelligibility test results between Ladakhi and Lahul Bhoti varieties. From this limited sample, no pattern emerges distinguishing one area as a prestige dialect. 10

Table 9. Travel information

Question Anwer Total 10a. Do Bhotis from outside of Yes 10 Lahul come here? No 3 10b. Where do they come from? Kullu District 8 10c. Why do they come? Family 8 Business 5 11a. Do Lahul Valley Bhotis visit Yes 13 other districts? 11b. Where do they visit? Kullu District 9 Other Lahul 3 Ladakh 1 11c. Why do they go? Family 13 Business 3 Pilgrimage 2

The questions relating to travel were asked to ascertain how much interaction occurs between the Bhoti communities. The results show that outsiders come to most of the communities, and that members of the communities go to other places. Lahul Bhotis are much more likely to travel to Kullu District to the south, than to Ladakh to the north. Travel is done primarily for business purposes, or to visit relatives. A few subjects mentioned religious pilgrimage as a reason for travel.

Table 10. Ladakh attitudes

Question Answer Total 12a. Do Ladakhis come here? Yes 10 No 3 12b. Do you understand Yes 13 Ladakhi? 13a. Do Ladakhis speak Yes 13 differently? 13b. What is different in their Style 10 speech? Speed 2 Vocabulary 1 Respect 1 14a. Do your people marry Yes 10 Ladakhis? No 3 14b. Is it okay to marry Yes 12 Ladakhis? No 1

From these results, it is clear that people from Ladakh often visit the Lahul communities. However, all three subjects from Khoksar said that Ladakhis don’t come to their place. While all subjects believe that they fully understand Ladakhi, they acknowledge that the people from Ladakh speak differently from the Lahul Bhotis. Particularly style (pronunciation) was mentioned as a distinguishing factor. Almost all of the subjects said that their people marry Ladakhis, and all but one subject believed it is acceptable for their people to marry Ladakhis. It appears that the Lahul Bhotis have frequent interaction with the Ladakhis, and that there are no major cultural barriers between Lahul Bhotis and Ladakhis.

Table 11. Written attitudes

Question Answer Total 15. Would you like to read and Yes 13 write in your local Bhoti variety? 16. What books should be in Religion 9 Bhoti? School 6 Story 3 Song/poem 2 Business 1 17. Has your Bhoti been written? No 13

The Lahul Valley Report found that many Lahul Bhotis are literate in Hindi, but less than one third are literate in the Tibetan script. However, according to Chamberlain and Chamberlain, “Bhoti speakers strongly preferred use of the Tibetan script for writing their language” (20119:38). In the results shown above, none of the subjects had ever seen their variety of Bhoti in written form. However, all subjects questioned said that if books were available in their language, they would like to read and write their language. The subjects were interested primarily in religious and educational books. Some also suggested that they would like to see stories and songs written in their language. This data suggest that although few Bhotis are literate in the Tibetan script, they would be motivated to read and write their language if there were books available.

3.3 Summary of language attitudes results

The language attitudes questionnaire results show that the Lahul Bhotis have regular contact with Ladakhis. They do not appear to feel any cultural barriers between themselves and the Ladakhis. Though Lahul Bhotis acknowledge that the Ladakhi language variety is different from their varieties, they feel that all are one language, and that they can understand Ladakhi. Positive attitudes were expressed towards literature development in the local varieties of Bhoti.

4. Summary and recommendations

In the Lahul Valley Report, the following recommendations were made regarding the Bhoti language: For many Lahul Bhotis, the Ladakhi variety is regarded as the best sample of their language. Based only on a lexical similarity study, it is not possible to assess if the Lahul Bhoti varieties are intelligible with Ladakhi. Further research is needed to assess dialect intelligibility between the Spiti, Lahul, and Ladakh Bhoti varieties. If an individual wants to learn Lahul Bhoti, then some suggestions can be made. Based on a lexical similarity study and a study of language attitudes, it is recommended that a language learner focuses on the Stod Valley variety. In particular, Darcha village appears to be the most similar with other Bhoti varieties. Bhoti is the most effective language for language development work among Bhoti speakers. Though many speak Hindi, there is a lower percentage with Hindi ability than in other Lahul communities. Hindi is used only as a marketing and education language. Bhoti is used at home, in the community, and particularly for religion. For religious purposes, Hindi is viewed as the language of the Hindu community, while Bhoti is seen as the appropriate language for worship and religious discussion among Buddhists. It is recommended that Bhoti language materials be made available for use among Lahul Bhoti speakers. Again, it is possible that colloquial Ladakhi materials, if made available, could extend down into Lahul for use among these communities. Further research is necessary to assess this possibility. If a separate language development project is needed, then materials in the dialect of Stod Bhoti would likely be the most effective for use among the Bhotis of Lahul. 12

Such work would be best conducted including the use of the Tibetan script. The Tibetan script is highly respected throughout the Bhoti community. However, only a few of the Bhoti population can read and write using this script, while most can use the Hindi script. A literacy program teaching use of the Tibetan script for reading and writing Bhoti would prove useful and desirable among all segments of the Bhoti population. Materials using two scripts (Tibetan and Hindi) may provide a balance between acceptance and accessibility. (Chamberlain and Chamberlain 2019:35) Further research has now been conducted, clarifying dialect intelligibility of Ladakhi in Lahul, as well as between the Lahul Bhoti varieties. Also, data assessing the attitudes of Lahul Bhotis towards the Ladakhi language and people was collected. While the Bhoti people of Lahul express positive attitudes towards the Ladakhi people and language, intelligibility data shows that they are not able to fully understand Ladakhi. Particularly the Bhoti communities of Mayar Valley and Khoksar Valley are unable to understand spoken Ladakhi. This, combined with the previous finding that the Bhotis of Lahul cannot be adequately served through Hindi (or any of the other Lahul Valley languages) suggests that language development should be initiated in a Bhoti variety from Lahul Valley. Among the three Lahul Bhoti communities, Stod Valley appears to be the best source dialect for language development. In the previous study, both lexical similarity findings and questionnaire results showed this. Dialect intelligibility testing conducted during the current study, as well as further questionnaires, support and strengthen these findings. For these reasons, it is recommended that language development be initiated in the Lahul Bhoti variety found in Stod Valley. The Darcha area appears to be a good central location for initial language learning. Appendix A: Recorded Text Tests

A.1 Standard Recorded Text Test procedures3

The extent to which speakers of related linguistic varieties understand one another can be studied by means of tape recorded texts. Such studies investigate whether speakers of one variety understand a narrative text of another variety and are able to answer questions about the content of that text. The accuracy with which subjects answer these questions is taken as an index of their comprehension of that speech form. From the percentage of correct answers, the amount of intelligibility between speech forms is inferred. The recorded text testing used in this survey is based on the procedures described in Casad 1974 and Blair 1990. Short, personal-experience narratives are deemed to be most suitable for recorded text testing in that the content must be relatively unpredictable and the speech form should be natural. Folklore or other material thought to be widely known is avoided. A three-to-five minute story is recorded from a speaker of the regional vernacular, and then checked with a group of speakers from the same region to ensure that the spoken forms are truly representative of that area. The story is then transcribed and a set of comprehension questions is constructed based on various semantic domains covered in the text. Normally, a set of fifteen or more questions is initially prepared. Some of the questions will prove unsuitable—perhaps because the answer is not in focus in the text, or because the question is confusing to native speakers of the test variety. Unsuitable questions are then deleted from the preliminary set, leaving a minimum of ten final questions for each RTT. To ensure that measures of comprehension are based on the subjects’ understanding of the text itself and not on a misunderstanding of the test questions, these questions must be recorded in the regional variety of the test subjects. This requires an appropriate dialect version of the questions for each RTT for each test location. In the RTTs used in this study, test subjects heard the complete story text once, after which the story was repeated with test questions and the opportunities for responses interspersed with necessary pauses in the recorded text. Appropriate and correct responses are directly extractable from the segment of speech immediately preceding the question, such that memory limitations exert a negligible effect and indirect inferencing based on the content is not required. Thus the RTT aims to be a close reflection of a subject’s comprehension of the language itself, not of his or her memory, intelligence, or reasoning. The average or mean of the scores obtained from subjects at one test location is taken as a numerical indicator of the intelligibility between speakers of the dialect represented. In order to ensure that the RTT is a fair test of the intelligibility of the test variety to speakers from the regions tested, the text is first tested with subjects from the region where the text was recorded. This initial testing is referred to as the hometown test. The hometown test serves to introduce subjects to the testing procedure in a context where intelligibility of the dialect is assumed to be complete since it is the native variety of test subjects. In addition, hometown testing ensures that native speakers of the text dialect could accurately answer the comprehension questions used to assess understanding of the text in non-native dialect areas. Once a text has been hometown tested with a minimum of ten subjects who have been able to correctly answer the selected comprehension questions, with an average score of 90 percent or above, the test is considered validated. It is possible that a subject may be unable to answer the test questions correctly simply because he or she does not understand what is expected. This is especially true with unsophisticated subjects or those unacquainted with test-taking. Therefore a very short pre-test story with four questions is recorded in the local variety before beginning the actual testing. The purpose of the pre-test is to teach the subject what is expected according to the RTT procedures. If the subject is able to answer the pre-test questions, it is assumed that he or she would serve as a suitable subject. Each subject then participates in the hometown test in his or her native variety before participating in RTTs in

3 The description of recorded text test procedures is adapted from that found in Appendix A of O’Leary 1992. It is used by permission of the author.

13 14

non-native varieties. Occasionally, even after the pre-test, a subject fails to perform adequately on an already validated hometown test. Performances of such subjects are eliminated from the final evaluation, the assumption being that uncontrollable factors unrelated to the intelligibility of speech forms are skewing such test results. In this study, subjects performing at levels of less than 80 percent on their hometown test were eliminated from further testing. When speakers of one linguistic variety have had no previous contact with that represented by the recorded text, the test scores of the ten subjects from the test point tend to be more similar -- especially when the scores are in the higher ranges. Such consistent scores are often interpreted to be closer reflections of the inherent intelligibility between speech forms. If the sample of ten subjects accurately represents the speech community being tested in terms of the variables affecting intelligibility, and the RTT scores show such consistency, increasing the number of subjects should not significantly increase the range of variation of the scores. However, when some subjects have had significant previous contact with the speech form recorded on the RTT, while others have not, the scores usually vary considerably, reflecting the degree of learning that has gone on through contact. For this reason, it is important to include a measure of dispersion which reflects the extent to which the range of scores varies from the mean— the Standard Deviation. On a RTT with 100 possible points (that is 100 percent), standard deviations of more than 12 to 15 are considered high. If the standard deviation is relatively low, say 10 or below, and the mean score for the subjects from the selected test point is high, the implication is that the community as a whole probably understands the test variety rather well, because this variety has been acquired rather consistently and uniformly throughout the speech community. If the standard deviation is low and the mean RTT score is also low, the implication is that the community as a whole understands the test variety rather poorly and that regular contact has not facilitated learning of the test variety to any significant extent. If the standard deviation is high, regardless of the mean score, one implication is that some subjects have learned to comprehend the test variety better than others. In this last case, inherent intelligibly between the related varieties may be mixed with acquired proficiency which results from learning through contact. The relationship between RTT scores and their standard deviation can be seen in the following chart:

STANDARD DEVIATION

HIGH LOW Situation 1 Situation 2 Most people understand the HIGH Many people understand the story on the test tape well, story on the test tape. but some have difficulty. Situation 3 Situation 4 Many people cannot Few people are able to LOW understand the story, but a understand the story on the test few are able to answer tape. correctly.

High standard deviations can result from other causes, such as inconsistencies in the circumstances of test administration and scoring, or differences in attentiveness or intelligence of subjects. Researchers involved in recorded text testing need to be aware of the potential for skewed results due to such factors, and to control for them as much as possible through careful test development and administration. Questionnaires administered at the time of testing can help researchers discover which factors are significant in promoting contact which facilitates acquired intelligibility. Travel to or extended stays in other dialect regions, intermarriage between dialect groups, or contacts with schoolmates from other dialect regions are examples of the types of contact that can occur. In contrast to experimentally controlled testing in a laboratory or classroom situation, the results of field-administered methods such as the RTT cannot be completely isolated from potential biases. Recorded texts and test questions will vary in terms of the clarity of the recording. Comparisons of RTT results from different texts need to be made cautiously. It is therefore recommended that results from RTTs not be interpreted in terms of fixed numerical thresholds, but 15

rather be evaluated in light of other indicators of intelligibility such as lexical similarity, dialect opinions, and reported patterns of contact and communication. In general, however, RTT mean scores of around 80 percent or higher with accompanying low standard deviations are usually taken to indicate that representatives of the test point dialect display adequate understanding of the variety represented by the recording. Conversely, RTT means below 60 percent are interpreted to indicate inadequate intelligibility.

A.2 Codes Used in Transcription of Texts

Code Meaning /n Line number /p Phonetic transcription of text /g Word-by-word English gloss of transcribed text /f Free (natural) English translation of the text /Question # Question number /Q Free (natural) English translation of the question /a Expected answer for the question 16

A.3 Ladakhi text A.3 Ladakhi text

Title: The Mad Wolf Location: Shey Village, Ladakh Language: Ladakhi Story teller: ND Sex: Male Age: 45 Education: Metric

A.4 Khoksar text

Title: Flood Story Location: Dimpuk Village, Khoksar Valley Language: Bhoti Story teller: KS Sex: male Education: BA

A.5 Darcha text

Title: Snow Fall Story Location: Darcha Village Langugae: Bhoti Story teller: PK Sex: male Education: metric

A.6 Mayar text

Title: Trekking Story Location: Changut Village, Mayar Valley Language: Bhoti Story teller: TC Sex: male Education: none

32 33

Appendix B: RTT Results

B.1 RTT Scoring Charts

B.1.1 Leh (Ladakh) hometown test

Subject Sx Age Sub Loc Text Loc Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10 Total L1 M 21 Leh Leh 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 15 Number L2 M 55 Leh Leh 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 100 Ave L3 F 64 Leh Leh 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 0 STD L4 F 54 Leh Leh 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 L5 F 60 Leh Leh 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 L6 F 60 Leh Leh 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 L7 F 60 Leh Leh 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 L8 F 29 Leh Leh 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 L9 F 30 Leh Leh 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 L10 M 21 Leh Leh 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 L11 M 23 Leh Leh 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 L12 M 31 Leh Leh 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 L13 M 66 Leh Leh 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 L14 M 41 Leh Leh 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 L15 F 35 Leh Leh 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100

B.1.2 Darcha (Stod Valley) hometown test

Subject Sx Age Sub Loc Text Loc Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10 Total D1 M 41 Darcha Darcha 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 12 Number D2 M 29 Darcha Darcha 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 99.2 Ave D3 F 25 Darcha Darcha 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 2.89 STD D4 F 26 Darcha Darcha 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 D5 M 25 Darcha Darcha 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 D6 M 21 Darcha Darcha 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 D7 F 60 Darcha Darcha 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 D8 M 65 Darcha Darcha 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 D9 M 40 Darcha Darcha 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 D10 M 23 Darcha Darcha 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 D11 F 55 Darcha Darcha 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 D12 M 60 Darcha Darcha 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 0 10 90

36 37

B.1.3 Darcha subjects, Leh text

Subject Sx Age Sub Loc Text Loc Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10 Total D1 M 41 Darcha Leh 10 10 0 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 90 12 Number D2 M 29 Darcha Leh 10 10 0 0 10 10 10 10 10 10 80 71.3 Ave D3 F 25 Darcha Leh 10 0 0 10 10 0 0 10 0 0 40 15.1 STD D4 F 26 Darcha Leh 10 10 0 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 90 D5 M 25 Darcha Leh 10 10 0 10 10 10 10 10 0 10 80 D6 M 21 Darcha Leh 10 10 0 10 10 0 10 10 10 10 80 D7 F 60 Darcha Leh 0 10 0 0 10 10 10 10 10 10 70 D8 M 65 Darcha Leh 10 10 0 10 10 10 10 10 0 10 80 D9 M 40 Darcha Leh 10 10 0 10 10 0 0 10 5 0 55 D10 M 23 Darcha Leh 10 0 0 10 10 10 10 10 0 10 70 D11 F 55 Darcha Leh 10 0 0 10 0 10 10 10 0 10 60 D12 M 60 Darcha Leh 10 0 0 10 10 0 10 10 10 0 60

B.1.4 Darcha subjects, Khoksar text

Subject Sx Age Sub Loc Text Loc Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10 Total D1 M 41 Darcha Khoksar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 5 95 12 Number D2 M 29 Darcha Khoksar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 5 95 92.9 Ave D3 F 25 Darcha Khoksar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 6.56 STD D4 F 26 Darcha Khoksar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 D5 M 25 Darcha Khoksar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 D6 M 21 Darcha Khoksar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 0 90 D7 F 60 Darcha Khoksar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 0 90 D8 M 65 Darcha Khoksar 10 10 10 10 0 0 10 10 10 10 80 D9 M 40 Darcha Khoksar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 0 10 90 D10 M 23 Darcha Khoksar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 0 10 90 D11 F 55 Darcha Khoksar 10 10 10 10 5 10 10 10 10 0 85 D12 M 60 Darcha Khoksar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100

B.1.5 Khoksar HTT

Subject Sx Age Sub Loc Text Loc Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10 Total K1 M 40 Khoksar Khoksar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 13 Number K2 M 18 Khoksar Khoksar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 98.8 Ave K3 M 21 Khoksar Khoksar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 3 STD K4 M 22 Khoksar Khoksar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 K5 M 36 Khoksar Khoksar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 5 10 10 95 K6 M 24 Khoksar Khoksar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 K7 F 40 Khoksar Khoksar 10 10 10 10 0 10 10 10 10 10 90 K8 F 45 Khoksar Khoksar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 K9 F 65 Khoksar Khoksar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 K10 F 28 Khoksar Khoksar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 K11 M 71 Khoksar Khoksar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 K12 F 35 Khoksar Khoksar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 K13 F 26 Khoksar Khoksar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 38

B.1.6 Khoksar subjects, Leh text

Subject Sx Age Sub Loc Text Loc Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10 Total K1 M 40 Khoksar Leh 10 10 0 10 10 0 10 10 10 0 70 13 Number K2 M 18 Khoksar Leh 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 0 0 0 10 20 Ave K3 M 21 Khoksar Leh 10 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 20.8 STD K4 M 22 Khoksar Leh 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 0 0 0 10 K5 M 36 Khoksar Leh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 K6 M 24 Khoksar Leh 10 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 K7 F 40 Khoksar Leh 0 0 0 10 0 10 10 10 0 0 40 K8 F 45 Khoksar Leh 0 10 0 0 10 0 10 0 0 0 30 K9 F 65 Khoksar Leh 0 10 0 10 10 0 10 0 0 0 40 K10 F 28 Khoksar Leh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 K11 M 71 Khoksar Leh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 K12 F 35 Khoksar Leh 0 0 0 0 0 10 0 10 0 0 20 K13 F 26 Khoksar Leh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

B.1.7 Khoksar subjects, Darcha text

Subject Sx Age Sub Loc Text Loc Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10 Total K1 M 40 Khoksar Darcha 10 10 10 10 10 10 0 0 10 10 80 13 Number K2 M 18 Khoksar Darcha 10 10 10 10 5 10 5 10 10 10 90 85 Ave K3 M 21 Khoksar Darcha 10 10 10 0 10 10 0 10 10 10 80 6.45 STD K4 M 22 Khoksar Darcha 10 10 10 10 0 10 5 10 10 10 85 K5 M 36 Khoksar Darcha 10 10 10 10 0 10 5 10 10 10 85 K6 M 24 Khoksar Darcha 10 10 10 10 0 10 5 10 10 10 85 K7 F 40 Khoksar Darcha 10 10 10 10 10 10 0 10 10 10 90 K8 F 45 Khoksar Darcha 10 10 10 10 0 10 5 10 0 10 75 K9 F 65 Khoksar Darcha 10 10 10 10 10 10 5 10 10 10 95 K10 F 28 Khoksar Darcha 10 10 10 10 10 10 5 10 0 10 85 K11 M 71 Khoksar Darcha 10 10 10 10 0 10 5 10 0 10 75 K12 F 35 Khoksar Darcha 10 10 10 10 10 10 5 10 10 10 95 K13 F 26 Khoksar Darcha 10 10 10 10 0 10 5 10 10 10 85

B.1.8 Mayar HTT

Subject Sx Age Sub Loc Text Loc Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10 Total M1 M 30 Mayar Mayar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 14 Number M2 M 73 Mayar Mayar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 97.9 Ave M3 M 19 Mayar Mayar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 5.79 STD M4 M 30 Mayar Mayar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 M5 F 29 Mayar Mayar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 M6 M 24 Mayar Mayar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 M7 M 20 Mayar Mayar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 M8 M 20 Mayar Mayar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 M9 M 22 Mayar Mayar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 M10 F 20 Mayar Mayar 10 10 10 0 10 10 10 10 10 0 80 M11 F 18 Mayar Mayar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 M12 F 20 Mayar Mayar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 M13 F ? Mayar Mayar 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 M14 F ? Mayar Mayar 10 10 10 10 0 10 10 10 10 10 90

B.1.9 Mayar subjects, Leh text

Subject Sx Age Sub Loc Text Loc Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10 Total M1 M 30 Mayar Leh 0 0 0 0 0 10 0 0 0 0 10 12 Number M2 M 73 Mayar Leh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15.4 Ave M3 M 19 Mayar Leh 0 0 0 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 9.4 STD M4 M 30 Mayar Leh 0 0 0 0 0 10 0 10 0 0 20 M5 F 29 Mayar Leh 10 0 0 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 M6 M 24 Mayar Leh 10 0 0 0 0 10 0 0 0 0 20 M7 M 20 Mayar Leh 10 0 0 0 0 10 0 0 0 0 20 M8 M 20 Mayar Leh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 M9 M 22 Mayar Leh 10 0 0 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 M10 F 20 Mayar Leh 0 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 M11 F 18 Mayar Leh 10 0 0 0 0 0 10 0 5 0 25 M12 F 20 Mayar Leh 10 0 0 10 0 0 0 10 0 0 30

B.1.10 Mayar subjects, Darcha text

Subject Sx Age Sub Loc Text Loc Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10 Total M1 M 30 Mayar Darcha 10 10 10 10 0 10 5 10 0 10 75 12 Number M2 M 73 Mayar Darcha 0 10 10 10 10 10 0 10 0 10 70 73.8 Ave M3 M 19 Mayar Darcha 10 10 10 10 0 10 5 10 10 0 75 11.3 STD M4 M 30 Mayar Darcha 0 0 10 0 0 10 0 10 10 10 50 M5 F 29 Mayar Darcha 10 10 10 10 10 10 5 10 10 10 95 M6 M 24 Mayar Darcha 10 10 10 0 10 10 5 10 0 10 75 M7 M 20 Mayar Darcha 10 0 10 10 10 10 5 10 0 10 75 M8 M 20 Mayar Darcha 10 10 10 10 10 10 5 10 0 10 85 M9 M 22 Mayar Darcha 0 0 10 10 10 10 5 10 10 10 75 M10 F 20 Mayar Darcha 0 10 10 0 10 10 0 10 10 0 60 M11 F 18 Mayar Darcha 10 10 10 10 0 10 0 10 10 0 70 M12 F 20 Mayar Darcha 10 10 10 10 10 10 0 0 10 10 80 40

B.1.11 Mayar subjects, Khoksar text

Subject Sx Age Sub Loc Text Loc Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10 Total M1 M 30 Mayar Khoksar 10 10 10 10 0 10 10 10 0 10 80 12 Number M2 M 73 Mayar Khoksar 10 10 10 10 0 0 10 10 10 0 70 62.5 Ave M3 M 19 Mayar Khoksar 10 10 10 10 0 0 10 10 0 0 60 11.4 STD M4 M 30 Mayar Khoksar 10 10 10 10 0 0 10 10 0 0 60 M5 F 29 Mayar Khoksar 10 10 0 10 0 0 10 10 0 0 50 M6 M 24 Mayar Khoksar 10 10 10 10 10 0 10 10 10 0 80 M7 M 20 Mayar Khoksar 10 10 10 10 0 0 0 10 0 0 50 M8 M 20 Mayar Khoksar 10 10 10 10 0 0 10 10 0 0 60 M9 M 22 Mayar Khoksar 10 10 10 0 0 0 10 10 0 0 50 M10 F 20 Mayar Khoksar 10 10 10 10 0 0 10 0 0 0 50 M11 F 18 Mayar Khoksar 10 10 10 10 0 0 10 10 10 0 70 M12 F 20 Mayar Khoksar 10 10 10 10 0 10 10 10 0 0 70 Appendix C: Questionnaire Responses

Subj # Date Village Name Caste Age MT Other Langs Sex D1 24/07/97 Darcha Amarsingh 25 Bhoti Hindi, Pattani M Thangma D2 24/07/97 Darcha Tantup 45 Bhoti Hindi M Thangma Chiring D3 24/07/97 Limquim- Yenchen 26 Bhoti Hindi F Darcha D4 24/07/97 Limquim- Yendol 25 Bhoti Hindi, little English F Darcha D5 27/07/97 Darcha Tendu 21 Bhoti Hindi, English M D6 28/07/97 Darcha Tsiring 65 Bhoti Hindi, Pattani M Thangma Norpil D7 28/07/97 Gemur Yang Do 55 Bhoti Hindi F K1 31/07/97 Khoksar Reena 26 Bhoti Hindi F K2 31/07/97 Khoksar Sonam 41 Bhoti Hindi, English M Thogge K3 1/08/97 Khoksar Gomu Ram 37 Bhoti Hindi M K4 9/08/97 Khoksar Tamach 78 Bhoti Hindi M Sering M1 21/08/97 Changut Thokh 50 Bhoti Hindi M Chand M2 21/08/97 Changut Ram Lal 36 Bhoti Hindi, Pattani M

Subj Ed Occupation Religion Birthplace Current Homes # medium Residence D1 Hindi Farmer Buddhist Darcha Darcha Nil D2 --- Guide, Buddhist Darcha Darcha Manali (winter Farmer season) D3 --- Farmer Buddhist Limquim Limquim Manali (winter season) D4 Hindi Farmer Buddhist Limquim Limquim Nil D5 Hindi Student Buddhist Darcha Darcha Delhi (for one year) D6 --- Farmer Buddhist Darcha Darcha Nil D7 --- Shop Buddhist Gemur Gemur Nil keeper K1 Hindi Housewife Buddhist Dimpuk Dimpuk Manali(till 7th) K2 Hindi Gov Buddhist Khoksar Khoksar Nil employee K3 Hindi Farmer Buddhist Khoksar Khoksar Nil K4 --- None Buddhist Khoksar Khoksar Kullu M1 --- Farmer Buddhist Changut Changut No M2 Hindi Farmer Buddhist Changut Changut No

41 Subj Father’s Father Mother’s BP Mother Married Spouse BP Spouse MT # BP MT MT D1 Malang Pattani Darcha Bhoti No -- -- D2 Darcha Bhoti Rarik (7km) Bhoti Yes Darcha Bhoti D3 Limquim Bhoti Rengyo(1km) Bhoti No -- -- D4 Limquim Bhoti Chika(7km) Bhoti No -- -- D5 Darcha Bhoti Darcha Bhoti No -- -- D6 Darcha Bhoti Darcha Bhoti Yes Rengyo Bhoti D7 Gemur Bhoti Gispa (6 Km) Bhoti Yes Gemur Bhoti K1 No idea Bhoti Keyling (7 Km) Bhoti Yes Dimpuk Bhoti K2 Khoksar Bhoti Teling (8 Km) Bhoti Yes Teling Bhoti K3 Khoksar Bhoti Teling (8 Km) Bhoti Yes Sissu Bhoti K4 Sissur Tinani Sissu (14 Km) Tinani Yes Khoksar Bhoti M1 Nil Bhoti Changut Bhoti Yes Tingrat Bhoti M2 Changut Bhoti Chimrat Bhoti No -- --

Sub = Subject Number Q1. What do you call your language? Q2. Do other places have a different name for Bhoti language? Q3. What do outsiders (non-Bhotis) call your language? Q4. Where do people speak Bhoti exactly the same as you? Q5. Where do people speak Bhoti so differently that it is difficult to understand them? Q6. Do people in Leh talk the same way you do?

Sub Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6. Ladakh D1 Bhoti No Bhoti Everywhere Nowhere Style is different, not much is understood same D2 Bhoti No Bhoti Everywhere Nowhere Understands, but little difference in same talking D3 Bhoti No Bhoti Everywhere Nowhere Understands, but little difference in same speaking D4 Bhoti No Bhoti Jeskar(3 km) Nowhere Little difference, but they can understand D5 Bhoti No Lahuli Everywhere Sissu Understands, but little difference in same talking D6 Bhoti No Bhoti Everywhere Nowhere Understands, but little difference in same talking D7 Bhoti No Bhoti Everywhere Nowhere Same same K1 Bhoti No Bhoti Only here Keylong Understands, but little difference in talking K2 Bhoti No Bhoti Teling Nowhere Understands, but little difference in talking K3 Bhoti No Bhoti Teling and Nowhere Same Dimpuk K4 Bhoti No Bhoti Teling and Nowhere Around 50% different Darcha M1 Bhoti No Bhoti Everywhere Nowhere Understands, but little difference in same talking M2 Bhoti No Bhoti Everywhere Nowhere Understands, but little difference in same talking

42 43

Sub = Subject Number Q6d. Do people in Mayar Valley talk the same way you do? Q6e. Do people in Spiti talk the same way you do?

Sub Q6d. Mayar Q6e. Spiti D1 Little difference, understands everything Understands, but difficult to speak D2 More similar than Ladakh Little difference D3 Little difference, understands everything Little difference, understands everything D4 Cannot understand Little difference, but they can understand D5 Same Little difference in talking D6 Understands, but little difference in talking Understands, but little difference in talking D7 Same Little difference in talking K1 Different, they can understand only little Very little difference K2 Little difference in way of talking Very different K3 Same Same K4 Little difference in way of talking Little difference in way of talking M1 --- Understands, but little difference in talking M2 --- Little difference

Sub = Subject Number Q7. Is your language spoken in Ladakh? Q8. Which place is Bhoti spoken most purely? Q8a. Why do you say this is pure?

Sub Q7 Q8 Q8a D1 Yes, but the talking Ladakh Because only Buddhist people style is different live there D2 Yes Darcha Other places are mixing with Hindi and Tibetan D3 Yes, little Darcha No mixing with other difference in languages talking style D4 Yes, little Ladakh No mixing with other difference in languages talking style D5 Yes, little Ladakh Because it is a language of difference in respect talking D6 Yes No specific --- place D7 Yes Darcha --- K1 Yes Tibet Because they use more respectful words K2 Yes Khoksar --- K3 Yes Khoksar,Di --- mpuk K4 Yes All are --- mixed M1 Yes Ladakh Because there no mixing with other languages M2 Yes Tibet ---

Sub = Subject Number Q10. If someone wants to learn Bhoti, which village is best to live in for language learning? Q11. Do Bhotis from other places come to your village? Q11a. Where do they come from? Q11b. Why do they come? Q12. Do Bhoti people from this village travel to other Bhoti areas?

Sub Q10 Q11 Q11a Q11b Q12 D1 Darcha Yes Those settled in For business, to meet Yes Kullu relatives

D2 Darcha Yes No specific place To meet relatives Yes D3 Darcha Yes No specific place To meet relatives and Yes for business D4 Ladakh Yes From Manali For business and for Yes

meeting relatives D5 Ladakh Yes Manali To meet relatives and Yes to visit places D6 Anywhere Yes Manali,Kullu For business and for Yes

meeting relatives D7 Anywhere Yes Manali For business Yes K1 Khoksar Yes Manali,Kullu We go in winter and Yes

come in summer K2 Anywhere Yes Manali To meet relatives and Yes look after their field K3 Khoksar Yes ------Yes K4 Anywhere Yes ------Yes

M1 Mayar Valley Yes Kullu To meet relatives Yes M2 Tibet Yes ------Yes

Sub = Subject Number Q14. Where did all the Bhoti people originally come from? Q15. If books, would you want to learn to read and write Bhoti? 15a. If yes, what kind of books would you read? Q16. Have you seen written in the Bhoti that you speak? Q17.Do people from Ladakh ever come here?

Sub Q14 Q15 Q15a Q16 Q17 D1 No idea Yes Religious books,poetical books and science No Yes D2 No idea Yes Religious books No Yes D3 No idea Yes Story books, religious books No Yes Jeskar,Kinnaur, No Yes D4 Khoksar Yes Religious books D5 No idea Yes Story books No Yes D6 No idea Yes All types of education books No Yes Education books, business books, religious No No D7 Mayar, Ladakh Yes books K1 No idea Yes History No Yes K2 No idea Yes Religious books No Yes K3 No idea Yes Science books No No K4 Came from outside Yes Storybooks, religious books and song books No Yes M1 No idea Yes Religious books only No Yes M2 No idea Yes Religious and science books No Yes 45

Sub = Subject Number Q17a. If yes, do you understand their language? Q18a. If yes, what is the difference in their speech? Q19a. If yes, how you do feel about that?

Subj Q17a Q18 Q19a He can understand, Yes Good D1 but cannot speak D2 Yes Yes Good D3 Yes Yes Good D4 Yes Yes D5 Yes Yes Good D6 Yes Yes Good Yes, because he has Yes Good D7 met them K1 Yes Yes Good K2 Yes Yes Good Understands Yes Good Ladakhi, but K3 difficult to answer K4 Yes Yes Good M1 Yes Yes Good

M2 Yes Yes Good References

Blair, Frank. 1990. Survey on a shoestring: A manual for small-scale language surveys. Dallas and Arlington, TX: Summer Institute of Linguistics and the University of Texas at Arlington. Casad, Eugene H. 1974. Dialect intelligibility testing. Norman, OK: Summer Institure of Linguistics of the University of Oklahoma. Chamberlain, Brad, and Wendy Chamberlain. 2019. A sociolinguistic survey of Lahul Valley. SIL Electronic Survey Report 2019-006. Dallas, TX: SIL International Grimes, Barbara F., ed. 1992. The ethnologue: Languages of the world. Twelfth edition. Dallas, TX: Summer Institute of Linguistics. O’Leary, Clare. 1992. A sociolinguistic survey of Irila of the Nilgari Hills. Ms. Webster, Jeff, and Laura Beth Webster. 1992. A sociolinguistic profile of Ladakhi. Ms.