Rajbanshi language (Nepal)

Rajbanshi (also called Tajpuria[2]) is a Bengali-Assamese language spoken in Nepal. It is related to, but distinct from Rangpuri/Kamta in Bangladesh and India, which is also known by the alternative name "Rajbanshi", with which it forms the KRNB cluster.[3]

For other uses, see Rajbanshi language.

Rajbanshi
Tajpuria
Native toNepal
RegionJhapa District, Morang District
Native speakers
170,000 (2011)[1]
Devanagari
Language codes
ISO 639-3Either:
rjs – Rajbanshi
kyv – Kayort
Glottolograjb1243  Rajbanshi
kayo1247  Kayort

Phonology

This section is based on Wilde 2008.

Consonants
Labial Dental/
Alveolar		 Retroflex Palatal Velar Glottal
Stop voiceless p t̪ ʈ k
aspirated pʰ t̪ʰ ʈʰ kʰ
voiced b d̪ ɖ ɡ
breathy bʱ d̪ʱ ɖʱ ɡʱ
Affricate voiceless ts
aspirated tsʰ
voiced dz
breathy dzʱ
Fricative s h
Nasal plain m n̪ ŋ
breathy mʱ n̪ʱ ŋʱ
Trill plain r
breathy rʱ
Approximant lateral l
lateral br. lʱ
central (w) (j)
  • /ts, tsʰ, dz, dzʱ/ can often be heard as post-alveolar [tʃ, tʃʰ, dʒ, dʒʱ], when following back vowels.
  • /r/ and /rʱ/ can have allophones of [ɽ ɾ] and [ɽʱ ɾʱ].
  • /b/ can have allophones of [β w].
  • /pʰ/ can also be realised as [f].
  • /h/ can be realized as voiceless or voiced [ɦ] in word-initial positions.
  • /n̪/ can be heard as alveolar [n] before an alveolar consonant, and as a retroflex [ɳ] when preceding a retroflex consonant.
  • A word-final /r/ may tend to be voiceless [r̥].
  • Central approximants [w j] occur, but are deemed as allophones of /u i/.

Vowels
Front Central Back
High i u
Mid e ʌ o
Low æ (ɐ)

In addition to these vowels, Rangpuri has the following diphthongs: /ie, iæ, iu, iʌ, ui, uæ, uʌ, ei, eu, æi, æu, ʌi, ʌu/.

  • Vowels /i, e/ can have shortened allophones of [ɪ, ɛ].
  • /æ/ can also be articulated more central as [ɐ].
  • /ʌ/ may also be heard as two sounds [ɜ, ə] in free variation.[4]

Notes
  1. Rajbanshi at Ethnologue (22nd ed., 2019)
    Kayort at Ethnologue (22nd ed., 2019)
  2. Toulmin 2009, p. 16.
  3. Toulmin 2009.
  4. Wilde, Christopher P. (2008). A Sketch of the Phonology and Grammar of Rājbanshi. Helsinki University.

References
  • Toulmin, Mathew W. S. (2009). From linguistic to sociolinguistic reconstruction: the Kamta historical subgroup of Indo-Aryan. Pacific Linguistics 604. Canberra: Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University. doi:10.15144/PL-604 (inactive 19 January 2021).CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of January 2021 (link)
  • Wilde, Christopher P. (2008). A Sketch of the Phonology and Grammar of Rājbanshi (Ph.D. thesis). University of Helsinki. hdl:10138/19290.


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