Bahing language

Bahing is one of the ethnicities present in Nepal which consist of the following ancestors: Paiwa, Dungmowa, Rukhusalu, Waripsawa, Timriwa, Dhimriwa, Nayango, Dhayango, Khaliwa/Khaluwa, Rendukpa/Rendu, and Rungbu.^[2] These ancestors spoke the Bahing language. The Bahing language was recorded (census 2021) to be spoken by 14449 people of the Bahing ethnic group in Nepal.^[3] It belongs to the family of Kiranti languages, a subgroup of Sino-Tibetan.

Bahing
Region	Nepal
Ethnicity	Bahing
Native speakers	12,000 (2011 census)[1]
Language family	Sino-Tibetan Tibeto-Burman Mahakiranti (?) Kiranti Western Sunwari Bahing
Official status
Official language in	Nepal
Language codes
ISO 639-3	bhj
Glottolog	bahi1252
ELP	Bahing
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The group Rumdali is also known as Nechali among some of them.

Names

Ethnologue lists the following alternate names for Bahing: Baying, Ikke lo, Kiranti-Bahing, Pai Lo, Radu lo. Procha lo

Geographical distribution

Bahing is spoken in the following locations of Nepal (Ethnologue).

• Northeastern Okhaldhunga District, Sagarmatha Zone: Harkapur, Ragdip, Bigutar, Baruneswor, Okhaldhunga, Rumjatar, Barnalu, Mamkha, Ratmate, Serna, Diyale, and Bhadaure VDC's (Rumdali dialect)
• Mid-southeastern Okhaldhunga District: Ketuke, Moli, Waksa, and Ubu VDC's (Tolocha dialect)
• Southern tip of Solukhumbu District: Necha Batase and Salyan VDC's
• Khotang District

Dialects

According to Ethnologue, Bahing consists of the Rumdali, Nechali, Tolacha, Moblocha, and Hangu dialects, with 85% or above intelligibility among all dialects.

Documentation

The Bahing language was described by Brian Houghton Hodgson (1857, 1858) as having a very complex verbal morphology. By the 1970s, only vestiges were left, making Bahing a case study of grammatical attrition and language death.

Phonology

Bahing and the related Khaling language have synchronic ten-vowel systems. The difference of [mərə] "monkey" vs. [mɯrɯ] "human being" is difficult to perceive for speakers of even neighboring dialects, which makes for "an unlimited source of fun to the Bahing people".^[4]

Vowels

Vowel phonemes

	Front		Central		Back
	unrounded		unrounded		unrounded		rounded
	short	long	short	long	short	long	short	long
High	i ⟨इ⟩	iː ⟨इः⟩			ɯ ⟨उ़⟩	ɯː ⟨उ़ः⟩	u ⟨उ⟩	uː ⟨उः⟩
High-mid	e ⟨ए⟩	eː ⟨एः⟩			ɤ ⟨ओ़⟩	ɤː ⟨ओ़ः⟩	o ⟨ओ⟩	oː ⟨ओः⟩
Low-mid	ɛ ⟨ए़⟩		ʌ ⟨अ⟩	ʌː ⟨अः⟩
Low			ä ⟨आ⟩	äː ⟨आः⟩

• Bahing language has no long vowel /ɛ/.

Consonants

Bahing consonant phonemes

			Bilabial	Dental	Apico- alveolar	Lamino- alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal			m ⟨म⟩		n ⟨न⟩			ŋ ⟨ङ⟩
Plosive/ Affricate	implosive		ɓ ⟨ळ⟩
	voiceless	unaspirated	p ⟨प⟩	t̪ ⟨त⟩	t ⟨ट⟩	t͡s ⟨च⟩		k ⟨क⟩	ʔ
		aspirated	pʰ ⟨फ⟩	t̪ʰ ⟨थ⟩	tʰ ⟨ठ⟩	t͡sʰ ⟨छ⟩		kʰ ⟨ख⟩
	voiced	unaspirated	b ⟨ब⟩	d̪ ⟨द⟩	d ⟨ड⟩	d͡z ⟨ज⟩		ɡ ⟨ग⟩
		aspirated	bʱ ⟨भ⟩	d̪ʱ ⟨ध⟩	dʱ ⟨ढ⟩	d͡zʱ ⟨झ⟩		ɡʱ ⟨घ⟩
Fricative					s ⟨स⟩				ɦ ⟨ह⟩
Trill					r ⟨र⟩
Lateral					l ⟨ल⟩
Approximant			w ⟨व⟩				j ⟨य⟩

• Bahing has its unique sound /ɓ/ ळ.
• Nowadays use ट, ठ, ड, ढ, have disappeared or are less used.

Morphology

Hodgson (1857) reported a middle voice formed by a suffix -s(i) added to the verbal stem, corresponding to reflexives in other Kiranti languages.