Chamling is one of the Kirati languages spoken by the Chamling (Dikhalichha, Mulihachha, Ditumachha, Mansungcha, Lipungchha, Malekungchha, Maidhung, kherasung, Rakhomi, Rodung, etc) of Nepal, India and Bhutan. Alternate renderings and names include Chamling, Chamlinge and Rodong.[1] It is closely related to the Bantawa (some Bantawa-speaking communities call their language "Camling") and Puma languages of the Kiranti language family in eastern Nepal, and it belongs to the broader Sino-Tibetan language family.[3] Chamling has SOV word order.
History
The Chamling language is one of the languages of the ancient Kiranti culture, which existed well before vedic period 3500–5000 in South Asia.[4] Important versions of the Mundum — the main religious text forming the religious foundation of the Kirant Mundum religion and the cultural heritage of the various Kirati people — are composed in Camling; such versions are distinctive to the Camling-speaking tribes and a guide to their distinctive religious practices and cultural identity.[5]
Despite its geographic prevalence, the actual number of Chamling speakers is estimated to be 10,000, spread across small tribes and villages.[3] Many members of the Chamling ethnic and tribal communities are no longer fluent in the Chamling language, which is taught only in remote areas in the Udayapur District.[3] Like Bantawa, Chamling is an endangered language. Many people in these areas speak a variety of Chamling that is mixed with the Nepali language, which is the official language of Nepal.[3] Most Chamling-speaking people are Hindus or practitioners of Kiranti Mundum.
