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Bugun language

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(Redirected from Khowa language)
Bugun
Khowa
Native toIndia
RegionArunachal Pradesh
EthnicityBugun (Khowa)
Native speakers
900 (2001)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3bgg
Glottologbugu1246
ELPBugun

Bugun, also known as Khowa, is a small possible language isolate spoken in Arunachal Pradesh state of India by the Bugun. They numbered about 1,700 in 2011.

Classification

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Bugun is classified as a Kho-Bwa language in Blench & Post (2013), although Blench (2015)[2] believes Bugun may actually be unrelated to the rest of the Kho-Bwa languages.

Dialects

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Lieberherr & Bodt (2017)[3] list the following Bugun dialects along with their numbers of speakers.

  • Dikhyang (100 speakers)
  • Singchung (680 speakers)
  • Wangho (220 speakers)
  • Bichom (630 speakers)
  • Kaspi (80 speakers)
  • Namphri (180 speakers)

Distribution

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Bugun is spoken in the following villages in southern West Kameng District, Arunachal Pradesh (Dondrup 1990:iv).[4] The total population numbered 800 in 1981. Names in parentheses are spellings as given in Ethnologue.

  • Wanghoo (Wangho)
  • Singchung
  • Kaspi (New Kaspi)
  • Lichini
  • Ramo (Ramu)
  • Namphri
  • Chithu (Situ)
  • Sachida (Sachita)
  • Pani-Phu
  • Ditching (Diching)
  • Dikhiyang (Dikiang)
  • Bicham (Bichom) (a recently founded hamlet)

Ethnologue also lists Mangopom village. These villages are located on the mountains on both sides of Rupa River.

References

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  1. ^ Bugun at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
  2. ^ Blench, Roger. 2015. The Mey languages and their classification. Presentation given at the University of Sydney.
  3. ^ Lieberherr, Ismael; Bodt, Timotheus Adrianus. 2017. Sub-grouping Kho-Bwa based on shared core vocabulary. In Himalayan Linguistics, 16(2).
  4. ^ Dondrup, Rinchin. 1990. Bugun language guide. Itanagar: Directorate of Research, Government of Arunachal Pradesh.