A Grammar of the Thangmi Language

by Mark Turin

This two volume, 990-page monograph is a grammar of Thangmi, an endangered Tibeto-Burman language spoken in the districts of Dolakha and Sindhupalcok in central-eastern Nepal. The language is spoken by upwards of 30,000 people belonging to an ethnic group of the same name, as well as by community members in Darjeeling, India. The Thangmi are one of Nepal’s least documented communities.

The volumes include a grammatical description of the Dolakha dialect of Thangmi, a collection of glossed oral texts (vernacular and shamanic registers) and a comprehensive lexicon with relevant examples. In addition, the reader will find an extensive ethnolinguistic introduction to Thangmi speakers and the cultural forms that comprise contemporary socio-economic life.

For students and scholars of anthropology and linguistics, this study is a compelling illustration of the interweaving of these disciplines in the context of Himalayan studies.

Published by Brill (2012), with financial support from the International Institute for Asian Studies (www.iias.nl).