Kham (also Khamkura, Kamkura) is a language complex of Bodic Tibeto-Burmese lects spoken in the remoter highlands of Rapti Zone and Dhaulagiri Zone, western Nepal by the four northern clans of the Magar tribe, called collectively Kham Magars or Northern Magars. This article is about historical/cultural Tibet. ... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ... Rapti is a mid-western region of Nepal. ... Dhaulagiri (धौलागिरी) is the seventh highest mountain in the world. ... Magar is an ethnic group of Nepal and northern India whose homeland extends along the western and southern edges of the Dhaulagiri mountain range. ...

These highlands are centered in a 4,000 meter knot of ridges forming a triple divide between the Gandaki, Karnali-Bheri and Rapti river systems. From there Kham speaking areas extend north into Rukum district toward Dhaulagiri Himal and south into Salyan, Rolpa and Pyuthan districts along ridges down to about 2,000 meters, but lower valleys are populated by Hindus who speak Nepali plus scattered enclaves of bilingual Nepali/Newari speakers. Areas where Khamkura is spoken or once was spoken tend to have names for streams ending in "ri" or "di" which means "stream" or "river", for example Bheri, Mardi or Madi, Myagdi and Jimri. The Nepali names are usually formed by adding "Khola" (stream), which is redundant. This article discusses the adherents of Hinduism. ... Nepali (Khaskura) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in Nepal, Bhutan, and some parts of India and Myanmar (Burma). ...

Since upper tributaries of the Karnali-Bheri and the Gandaki river systems rise in the trans-Himalayan regions north of the Himalayan "abode of snow", these rivers have always been conduits for trade and travel between Tibet and India. These relatively easy routes have always funneled traders and travelers around Kham-speaking highlands. Kham can be conceptualized as a vestigal language remaining in an exceptionally isolated area. Limited contact with Hinduizers from the south and with Tibetanizers from the north has helped Kham to persist. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Migrations from Kham hinterlands east into the uplands of the Gandaki basin gave rise to more Hinduized people called Magars, who speak a variety of "Magar" dialects and are politically more closely allied with the Shah dynasty.

Regional varieties

The Kham Magars consist of 4 clans:

• Budhas
• Puns
• Ghartis
• Rokhas

The language itself consists of 3 main lects with several sub-lects: A pun (also known as paronomasia) is a deliberate confusion of similar-sounding words or phrases for comic or serious effect. ...

• Sheshi
  • Tapanangi
  • Jangkoti
• Gamale
  • Tamali
  • Ghusbangi
• Parbate
  • Eastern Parbate
    • Nishel
    • Bhujel
  • Western Parbate
    • Wale
    • Thabangi
    • Lukumel
    • Takale
    • Maikoti

The term Parbate is actually a cover term for all non-Sheshi/non-Gamale lects. The Takale variety is the prestige dialect and lingua franca of the Parbate group. A prestige dialect is the dialect spoken by the most prestigious people in a speech community large enough to sustain multiple dialects. ... Lingua franca, literally Frankish language in Italian, was originally a mixed language consisting largely of Italian plus a vocabulary drawn from Turkish, Persian, French, Greek and Arabic and used for communication throughout the Middle East. ...

Sounds

The description below is primarily of Takale Kham.

Consonants

Takale Kham has 22 consonants: In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a sound in spoken language that is characterized by a closure or stricture of the vocal tract sufficient to cause audible turbulence. ...

• The rhotic /ɾ/ is realized as a trill [r] at the end words. Otherwise, it is a flap.

In phonetics, a bilabial consonant is a consonant articulated with both lips. ... Alveolars are consonants articulated with the tip of the tongue against the alveolar ridge, the internal side of the upper gums (known as the alveoles of the upper teeth). ... Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue (the dorsum) against the soft palate (the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum). ... Glottal consonants are consonants articulated with the glottis. ... Look up stop in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In phonetics, a voiceless consonant is a consonant that does not have voicing. ... A voiced consonant is a sound made as the vocal cords vibrate, as opposed to a voiceless consonant, where the vocal cords are relaxed. ... In phonetics, aspiration is the strong burst of air that accompanies the release of some obstruents. ... An affricate is a consonant that begins like a stop (most often an alveovelar, such as [t] or [d]) and that doesnt have a release of its own, but opens directly into a fricative (or, in one language, into a trill). ... In phonetics, a voiceless consonant is a consonant that does not have voicing. ... A voiced consonant is a sound made as the vocal cords vibrate, as opposed to a voiceless consonant, where the vocal cords are relaxed. ... In phonetics, aspiration is the strong burst of air that accompanies the release of some obstruents. ... Note: This page contains phonetic information presented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) using Unicode. ... In phonetics, a voiceless consonant is a consonant that does not have voicing. ... A voiced consonant is a sound made as the vocal cords vibrate, as opposed to a voiceless consonant, where the vocal cords are relaxed. ... A nasal consonant is produced when the velum—that fleshy part of the palate near the back—is lowered, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. ... Rhotic consonants, or R-like sounds, are non-lateral liquid consonants. ... Approximants are speech sounds that could be regarded as intermediate between vowels and typical consonants. ... A central or medial consonant is a consonant sound that is produced when air flows across the center of the mouth over the tongue. ... Laterals are L-like consonants pronounced with an occlusion made somewhere along the axis of the tongue, while air from the lungs escapes at one side or both sides of the tongue. ... In phonetics, a trill is a consonantal sound produced by vibrations between the articulator and the place of articulation. ... In phonetics, a flap or tap is a type of consonantal sound, which is produced with a single contraction of the muscles so that one articulator (such as the tongue) is thrown against another. ...

Vowels

Takale Kham has 25 vowels: Note: This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ...

• length
• nasalization
• diphthongs
• vowel harmony

Vowels Near-close Close-mid Mid Open-mid Near-open Open Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a rounded vowel. ... A central vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. ... A back vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. ... Vowels Near-close Close-mid Mid Open-mid Near-open Open Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a rounded vowel. ... Vowels Near-close Close-mid Mid Open-mid Near-open Open Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a rounded vowel. ... Vowels Near-close Close-mid Mid Open-mid Near-open Open Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a rounded vowel. ... Vowels Near-close Close-mid Mid Open-mid Near-open Open Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a rounded vowel. ... In linguistics, vowel length is the perceived duration of a vowel sound. ... In linguistics, vowel length is the perceived duration of a vowel sound. ... A nasal vowel is a vowel that is produced with a lowering of the velum so that air escapes both through nose as well as the mouth. ... In linguistics, vowel length is the perceived duration of a vowel sound. ... In linguistics, vowel length is the perceived duration of a vowel sound. ... In linguistics, vowel length is the perceived duration of a vowel sound. ... In linguistics, vowel length is the perceived duration of a vowel sound. ... A nasal vowel is a vowel that is produced with a lowering of the velum so that air escapes both through nose as well as the mouth. ... In linguistics, vowel length is the perceived duration of a vowel sound. ... In linguistics, vowel length is the perceived duration of a vowel sound. ... A nasal vowel is a vowel that is produced with a lowering of the velum so that air escapes both through nose as well as the mouth. ... In linguistics, vowel length is the perceived duration of a vowel sound. ... In linguistics, vowel length is the perceived duration of a vowel sound. ... A nasal vowel is a vowel that is produced with a lowering of the velum so that air escapes both through nose as well as the mouth. ... A close vowel is a type of vowel sound used in many spoken languages. ... A mid vowel is a vowel sound used in some spoken languages. ... An open vowel is a vowel sound of a type used in most spoken languages. ... In linguistics, vowel length is the perceived duration of a vowel sound. ... In phonetics, nasalization is the production of a sound while the velum is lowered, so that air escapes partially or wholly through the nose during the production of the sound. ... In phonetics, a diphthong (also gliding vowel) (Greek δίφθογγος, diphthongos, literally with two sounds, or with two tones) is a monosyllabic vowel combination involving a quick but smooth movement from one vowel to another, often interpreted by listeners as a single vowel sound or phoneme. ... Vowel harmony (also metaphony) is a type of long-distance assimilatory phonological process involving vowels. ...

Tone

• voice register

Syllable

Grammar

Bibliography

• Watters, David E. (2002). A grammar of Kham. Cambridge grammatical descriptions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-81245-3.