Ladakhi language

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Indian English {{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Main other

The Ladakhi language is a Tibetic language spoken in the Indian union territory of Ladakh. It is the predominant language in the Buddhist-dominated district of Leh, and a minority language in the district of Kargil.

Ladakhi has several dialects: Lehskat, named after Leh where it is spoken, Shamskat, spoken northwest of Leh, Stotskat, spoken in the Indus valley and which unlike the others is tonal, Nubra, spoken north of Leh, the Changthang language, spoken in the Changtang region by the Changpa people, and the Zangskari language, spoken in the Zanskar region of Ladakh.

Name

The Ladakhi language (Template:Bo) is also referred to as Bhoti or Bodhi.<ref>Omniglot Ladakhi Language Introduction, The Himalayan Initiatives, retrieved 23 January 2021.</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref> Supporters of the Bhoti name hold a "lumper" view of the language: they use the term "Bhoti" to refer to Classical Tibetan and treat as the one, proper form of Tibetic languages across the Himalayas.<ref name=stawa>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This section of Ladakhi society has demanded inclusion Bhoti to the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution. They say that Bhoti is spoken by Ladakhis, Baltis, Tibetans, and throughout the Himalayas from Baltistan to Arunachal Pradesh.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=stawa/>

The name Bhoti or Bodhi has connotations with Tibetan Buddhism, a major religion in the area. Many Ladakhi people contest this classification as there are also Muslim, Christian, Hindu and Sikh speakers of Ladakhi.<ref name=outlook>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Dialects

Ladakhi has several dialects: 1 :Lehskat, named after Leh where it is spoken. 2: Shamskat, spoken northwest of Leh in the sham region of ladakh. 3 :Stotskat, spoken in the upper Indus valley of ladakh and which unlike the others is tonal. 4 :Nubraskat , spoken north of Leh in the nubra region of Ladakh. 5 :The Changthang language, spoken in the Changtang region by the Changpa people . 6: The Zangskari language, spoken in the Zanskar region of Ladakh.

Classification

Nicolas Tournadre considers Ladakhi, Balti, and Purgi to be distinct languages on the basis of mutual intelligibility (Zangskari is not as distinct). As a group they are termed Ladakhi–Balti or Western Archaic Tibetan.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Zangskari is a dialect of Ladakhi spoken in Zanskar and also spoken by Buddhists in the upper reaches of Lahaul (Himachal Pradesh) and Paddar (Paldar).Template:Citation needed It has four subdialects, Stod, Zhung, Sham, and Lungna. It is written using the Tibetan script by Buddhists and the Arabic script by Muslim and Christian Ladakhis.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial	Dental	Alveolar	Retroflex	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal		Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink			Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink
Plosive/ Affricate	voiceless	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink
	aspirated	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink
	voiced	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink
Fricative	voiceless			Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink
	voiced			Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink
Trill				Template:IPAlink
Lateral	plain			Template:IPAlink
	murmured			Template:IPAlink
Semivowel		Template:IPAlink				Template:IPAlink

• {{#invoke:IPA|main}} can fricative sounds {{#invoke:IPA|main}} as allophones that occur within free variation.
• {{#invoke:IPA|main}} has an allophone of a retracted velar stop {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.
• {{#invoke:IPA|main}} can have allophones {{#invoke:IPA|main}} when occurring initially before a voiceless consonant.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref>

Vowels

Ladakhi has a regular five vowel system, but with {{#invoke:IPA|main}} being replaced with {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, making it unusual, as most languages have {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.<ref name=":0" />

	Front	Central	Back
Close	Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink
Mid	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink

Vowels with allophones

	Front	Central	Back
Close	Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink
Close-mid	Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink
Mid	Template:IPAblink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAblink
Open-mid		Template:IPAblink
Open		Template:IPAblink

• Allophones of {{#invoke:IPA|main}} in word-final position are heard as {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.
• Allophones of {{#invoke:IPA|main}} are heard as {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.
• Allophones occur in free variation.<ref name=":0" />

Script

Ladakhi is usually written using Tibetan script, and the pronunciation of Ladakhi is much closer to written Classical Tibetan than that of most other Tibetic languages. Ladakhis pronounce many of the prefix, suffix and head letters that are silent in many other Tibetic languages, in particular the Central Tibetan.<ref>Bielmeier, Roland. 1985. 'A Survey of the Development of Western and South-western Tibetan dialects', in Barbara Nimri Aziz and Matthew Kapstein (eds.), Soundings in Tibetan Civilisation.</ref> This tendency is more pronounced to the west of Leh, and on the Pakistani side of the Line of Control, in Baltistan. For example, a Tibetan would pronounce sta ('axe') as [tá], but a Lehpa would say [sta], and a Purgi would pronounce [stare]. While a Tibetan would pronounce འབྲས་ ’bras ('rice') as [ɳʈɛ́ʔ], Lehpa say [ɖas], and the Purgi pronounce it as [bras].Template:Citation needed Although the pronunciation is relatively conservative, the Ladakhi language has accumulated significant grammatical differences from the classical, written language.<ref name="zeisler 2006">Template:Cite book</ref>

The question of whether to write colloquial Ladakhi (phalskat) in the Tibetan script or to write an only slightly Ladakhified version of Classical Tibetan (choskat) is controversial in Ladakh.<ref name="van Beek">Template:Cite book</ref> Muslim Ladakhis speak Ladakhi but most do not read the Tibetan script. Most Buddhist Ladakhis can sound out the Tibetan script but do not understand Classical Tibetan, yet many Ladakhi Buddhist scholars insist that Ladakhi must be written only in a form of Classical Tibetan, seeing the vernacular-based orthography only as deviation from the "proper" language.<ref name="zeisler 2006"/> A limited number of books and magazines have been published in colloquial Ladakhi, one example being Ladags Melong from SECMOL.<ref name="zeisler 2006"/>

In Ladakhi language, it is customary to add the suffix 'le' at the end of sentences as a sign of respect towards the individual being spoken to.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This linguistic convention is a way to express politeness and honor towards the listener, emphasizing the cultural values of respect and courtesy.

Written Ladakhi is most often romanised using modified Wylie transliteration, with th denoting an aspirated dental t, for example.

External links

• A. H. Francke 1901 A Sketch of Ladakhi GrammarJournal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal 70.1 Template:Webarchive