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Dzala language

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For the Omotic language called Zala, see Wolaytta language.
Dzala
Dzala 'Mat
RegionBhutan, Tibet
Native speakers
20,000-40,000 (2022)[1]
Tibetan script
Language codes
ISO 639-3dzl
Glottologdzal1238

The Dzala language, also called Dzalakha, Dzalamat, or Yangtsebikha, is an East Bodish language spoken primarily in northeastern Bhutan, in the Lhuntse and Trashiyangtse Districts, and in Tibet.[2] A 2022 study estimated that there are 40,000 speakers of Dzala.[1]

Classification

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Map of Bhutan showing language distribution, based on van Driem 1993. Dzala is shown in tan in northeastern Bhutan.

Dzala is an East Bodish language, part of a family of seven languages that are primarily located in Bhutan, but extend into Tibet, and possibly into the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.[3] The East Bodish languages are related to Classical Tibetan but are not believed to be directly descended from it. The current working hypothesis among researchers on the East Bodish languages is that they descended from a sister language of Classical Tibetan. An alternative possibility is that the similarities between East Bodish and Tibetan stems from language contact.[1]

A house in the mountainous landscape of the Lhuntse district in Bhutan, where Dzala is spoken

Dzala is most closely related to Takpa, another East Bodish language in Bhutan, both located on the eastern edge of East Bodish languages. They have substantial overlap in their core vocabulary, and speakers of the languages share the intuition that they are closely related. Dzala has been less influenced by the Central Bodish languages than Takpa.[1][4]

Phonology

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Consonants

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Dzala, like the other extant East Bodish languages, has a three-way voicing distinction.[1]

  Labial Dental/
Alveolar 		Post-alveolar Velar Uvular Glottal
Nasal m n
Stop aspirated pʰ tʰ kʰ
voiced b d ɡ
ejective pʼ tʼ kʼ qʼ
Affricate aspirated t͡sʰ t͡ʃʰ
voiced d͡z d͡ʒ
ejective t͡sʼ t͡ʃʼ
Fricative voiceless s ʃ x h
voiced v z ʒ ɣ
Vibrant r
Lateral l

Vowels

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Front Central Back
Close i u
Mid e o
Open a

Tone

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Like other East Bodish languages, Dzala has a developing tonal system. It has a high-low register tone distinction. Tone is contrastive following sonorants but predictable following obstruents (with high tone following voiceless obstruents).[5][6]

Grammar

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Morphology

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Dzala has a loosely-grammaticalized marking system for tense, aspect, and mood plus evidentiality. Ergativity is marked by the -gi suffix.[1]

Vocabulary

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The vocabulary of Dzala provides evidence of a close relationship with Takpa, though there are notable differences between the languages. Kinship terms are clear examples of both the overlap and distinctiveness between the languages.[4]

Selected lexical items in Dzala and Takpa (from van Driem 2007)
Dzala Takpa English gloss
kha kha mouth
khâma khâ hen
burmɪn zhɔmu daughter
zhomo zhɔmu younger sister

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Hyslop, Gwendolyn (2022). "Kurtöp Verbal Morphology in the East Bodish Context: A Case Study in Ethnohistorical Morphosyntax?". Ethnolinguistic Prehistory of the Eastern Himalaya. pp. 323–362. doi:10.1163/9789004518049_013. ISBN 978-90-04-51804-9.
  2. ^ van Driem, George L. (1993). "Language Policy in Bhutan". London: SOAS. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-11-01. Retrieved 2011-01-18.
  3. ^ Hyslop, Gwendolyn (1 March 2013). "On the internal phylogeny of East Bodish" (PDF). North East Indian Linguistics: 91–110. doi:10.1017/9789382993285.005. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
  4. ^ a b van Driem, George (2007). "Dzala and Dakpa form a coherent subgroup within East Bodish, and some related thoughts". Linguistics of the Himalayas and Beyond (PDF). De Gruyter Mouton. doi:10.1515/9783110968996. ISBN 978-3-11-096899-6. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
  5. ^ Hyslop, Gwendolyn (2010). "Tone and tonogenesis in Bhutan: degrees of tonality?" (PDF). University of British Columbia Working Papers in Linguistics. 45: 114–124. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
  6. ^ Peralta, William (2018). "Tonogenesis: The perception of tone and the role of place of articulation in Kurtöp" (PDF). Proceedings of the 6th international symposium on tonal aspects of languages. Retrieved 7 December 2025. For example, it may be extended to other languages of the region Dakpa, Chali, Dzala, Bumthap, and Khengkha, which all appear to be developing tone in a similar manner.

Further reading

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  • van Driem, George (2001). Languages of the Himalayas: An Ethnolinguistic Handbook of the Greater Himalayan Region: Containing an Introduction to the Symbiotic Theory of Language. Brill. p. 1412. ISBN 90-04-12062-9.
  • van Driem, George (2007). "Endangered Languages of Bhutan and Sikkim: East Bodish Languages". In Moseley, Christopher (ed.). Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages. Routledge. p. 295. ISBN 978-0-7007-1197-0.
  • Namgyel, Singye. The Language Web of Bhutan. Thimphu: KMT.
  • van Driem, George L; Karma Tshering of Gaselô (collab) (1998). Dzongkha. Languages of the Greater Himalayan Region. Leiden: Research School CNWS, School of Asian, African, and Amerindian Studies. ISBN 90-5789-002-X.
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