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{{Short description|Sino-Tibetan dialect cluster centered on Himachal Pradesh, India}}
{{For|the Indo-Aryan Kinnauri language|Pahari Kinnauri language}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2017}}
{{Infobox language
| name = Kinnauri
| nativename = 𑚊𑚝𑚦𑚤𑚮𑚎𑚨𑚶𑚊𑚛, Kanawaringskad, ཀནབརིངསྐད
| region = [[Himachal Pradesh]]
| image = [[File:Kinnauri.jpg|150px]]
| speakers = all Kinnauri varieties: {{sigfig|83,561|2}};
Kinnauri proper: about 45,000
| date = 2011 census
| ref = <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011Census/Language_MTs.html|title=Statement 1: Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues - 2011|publisher=Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India|website=www.censusindia.gov.in|access-date=2018-07-07}}</ref>
| familycolor = Sino-Tibetan
| fam2 = [[Tibeto-Kanauri languages|Tibeto-Kanauri]] ?
| fam3 = [[West Himalayish languages|West Himalayish]]
| fam4 = Kanauri
| dia1 = [[Sunam language|Sunam]]
| lc1 = kfk
| ld1 = Kinnauri proper
| lc2 = cik
| ld2 = [[Chitkuli Kinnauri]]
| lc3 = ssk
| ld3 = [[Sunam language|Sunam]] (Thebor){{citation needed|date=February 2023}}
| lc4 = jna
| ld4 = [[Jangshung language|Jangshung]] (Thebor)
| lc5 = scu
| ld5 = [[Shumcho language|Shumcho]] (Thebor)
| glotto = kinn1250
| glottorefname = Kinnauric
| ELP2 = 4337
| ELPname2 = Jangshung
| notice = IPA
}}

'''Kinnauri''' is the most widely used language in [[Kinnaur]]. The languages have seen different nomenclatures in written literature. Kinnauri was mentioned as '''Kunawaree''' (Gerard 1842, Cunninham 1844), '''Kanauri''' (Konow 1905), '''Kanawari''' (Bailey 1909) and '''Kunawari''' (Grierson 1909).<ref>NEGI, HARVINDER K U M A R. “Languages of Kannaura Tribe.” Languages of INDIAN HIMALAYAS, 2021.</ref> It is the language of the upper castes in lower Kinnaur.<ref>NEGI, HARVINDER K U M A R. “LANGUAGE USE, PRESTIGE AND VITALITY OF LANGUAGES IN KINNAUR.” International Journal of Dravidian Linguistics, 2023.</ref> It is also spoken in Moorang tehsil and, Ropa and Giabong villages in upper Kinnaur. It is a [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]] [[dialect cluster]] centered on the [[Kinnaur district]] of the [[States and territories of India|Indian state]] of [[Himachal Pradesh]].

[[Kaike language|Kaike]], once thought to be Kinnauri, is closer to [[Tamangic languages|Tamangic]]. [[Bhoti Kinnauri language|Bhoti Kinnauri]] and [[Tukpa language|Tukpa]] (locally called Chhoyuli) are [[Bodish languages|Bodish]] ([[Lahuli–Spiti languages|Lahauli–Spiti]]).

==Linguistic varieties and geographical distribution==
[[File:A signboard in Kinnauri Language.jpg|thumb|A signboard in Kinnauri Language]]

Kinnaur has nearly ten linguistic varieties, with Kinnauri being the major language. ''[[Ethnologue]]'' lists the following locations for Kinnauri proper and related languages.

'''''[[Kinnauri]]''''' is spoken in the villages from Badhal [[Rampur Bushahr]] to Sangla and north along [[Sutlej|Satluj river]] to Morang. Mainly the Kinnauri-speaking area is located in lower parts of [[Kinnaur district]] in [[Himachal Pradesh]]. The estimated population of Kinnauri speaking people is 45,000.

'''''[[Chitkuli Kinnauri]]''''' is spoken by a thousand people in the [[Baspa River|Baspa river]] area of the [[Sangla Valley|Sangla valley]] in Nichar subdivision, [[Kinnaur district]], [[Himachal Pradesh]] (in Chitkul and Rakchham villages).

[[Jangshung language|'''''Jangshung''''']] is spoken in Morang [[tehsil]], [[Kinnaur district]], [[Himachal Pradesh]] (in Jangi, [[Lippa, Kinnaur|Lippa]], and Asrang villages). These villages have a population of nearly 2600.

'''''[[Shumcho language|Sumcho]]''''' is spoken in Poo [[tehsil]], [[Kinnaur district]], [[Himachal Pradesh]] (in Kanam, Labrang, Spilo, Shyaso, Taling, and Rushkaling villages) by a population of 2500.

'''''[[Bhoti Kinnauri]]''''' is spoken in Poo division of upper [[Kinnaur district|Kinnaur]]. The language shows slight phonemic variations in the valley. Main varieties are spoken in Poo Hangrang and Nako villages. It is a generic [[Tibetic languages|Tibetan]] language spoken by nearly 7000 people.

[[Tukpa language|'''''Chhoyuli''''']] is a [[Tibetic languages|Tibetic]] language spoken in Nesang and Kunnu Charan villages of Poo division in upper [[Kinnaur district|Kinnaur]]. It has a population of around 700. The language is considered a variety of Bhoti Kinnauri but is shows enough characteristics to stand as an independent language.

[[Sunam language|'''''Sunnami''''']] language is spoken in Sunnam village of Poo division in upper [[Kinnaur district|Kinnaur]]. It has a population of about 700.

[[Pahari Kinnauri language|'''''Pahari Kinnauri''''']] is an [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]] language of [[Kinnaur district|Kinnaur]] spoken mainly by the scheduled caste community of Nichar, Kalpa, Sangla and Moorang tehsils in Kinnaur. It has a population of 9000.

In absence of a detailed sociolinguistic survey on language use, the actual number of fluent speakers of KLs is unknown. The actual number of speakers is much lower than the total population. Census data include native as well as the non native and the migratory workers in the survey.<ref>NEGI, HARVINDER K U M A R. “LANGUAGE USE, PRESTIGE AND VITALITY OF LANGUAGES IN KINNAUR.” International Journal of Dravidian Linguistics, 2023.</ref>

==Phonology==
This description is of the Pangi dialect of Kinnauri.

===Consonants===
{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
|-
! colspan=2|
! [[Bilabial consonant|Bilabial]]
! [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! [[Retroflex consonant|Retroflex]]
! [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! colspan=2| [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA link|m}}
| {{IPA link|n}}
|
| {{IPA link|ɲ}}
| {{IPA link|ŋ}}
|
|-
! rowspan=3| [[Plosive consonant|Plosive]]
! [[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]
| {{IPA link|b}}
| {{IPA link|d}}
| {{IPA link|ɖ}}
|
| {{IPA link|ɡ}}
|
|-
! [[voicelessness|voiceless]]
| {{IPA link|p}}
|{{IPA link|t}}
|{{IPA link|ʈ}}
|
|{{IPA link|k}}
|
|-
! [[aspiration (phonetics)|aspirated]]
| {{IPA link|pʰ}}
|{{IPA link|tʰ}}
|{{IPA link|ʈʰ}}
|
|{{IPA link|kʰ}}
|
|-
! rowspan=3| [[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
! [[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]
|
| {{IPA link|dz}}
|
| {{IPA link|dʒ}}
|
|
|-
! [[voicelessness|voiceless]]
|
| {{IPA link|ts}}
|
| {{IPA link|tʃ}}
|
|
|-
! [[aspiration (phonetics)|aspirated]]
|
| {{IPA link|tsʰ}}
|
| {{IPA link|tʃʰ}}
|
|
|-
! colspan=2| [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
|
| {{IPA link|s}}
|
| {{IPA link|ʃ}}
|
| {{IPA link|h}}
|-
! colspan=2| [[Trill consonant|Trill]]
|
| {{IPA link|r}}
|
|
|
|
|-
! colspan=2| [[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
|
| {{IPA link|l}}
|
| {{IPA link|j}}
| {{IPA link|w}}
|
|}

''Note on palatals'': {{IPA|/dʒ/}}, {{IPA|/tʃ/}}, {{IPA|/tʃʰ/}}, and {{IPA|/ʃ/}} are post-alveolar. {{IPA|/ɲ/}} is [[Alveolo-palatal consonant|alveolo-palatal]].

===Vowels===
Kinnauri has six pairs of long/short vowels:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! [[Front vowel|Front]]
![[Central vowel|Central]]
![[Back vowel|Back]]
|-align="center"
![[close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPA link|i}}
| {{IPA link|ɨ}}
| {{IPA link|u}}
|-align="center"
! [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPA link|e}}
|
| {{IPA link|o}}
|-align="center"
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
|
| {{IPA link|a}}
|
|}

===Syllables===

{{IPA|/h/}}, [[Aspirated consonant|aspirated]] [[obstruent]]s (i.e. {{IPA|/pʰ/}}, {{IPA|/tʰ/}}, {{IPA|/ʈʰ/}}, {{IPA|/kʰ/}}, {{IPA|/t͡sʰ/}}, {{IPA|/t͡ʃʰ/}}), and [[Glide consonant|glides]] (i.e. {{IPA|/w/}}, {{IPA|/j/}}) do not occur in syllable [[Syllable coda|codas]].

All consonants may occur in [[Syllable onset|onsets]] and word-medially.

Kinnauri has the following types of [[syllable]]s:

* {{Transliteration|kfk|italic=no|(C)V(C)(C)(C)}}
* {{Transliteration|kfk|italic=no|CCV(C)}}
* {{Transliteration|kfk|italic=no|CCCVC}}

==Grammar==
Word order in Kinnari is [[Subject–object–verb|SOV]], it is a [[Post-position|postpositional]] language, it shows agreement in person number features, adjective precedes head in the noun
phrase, modifiers precede the head noun, causative occurs after main verb, marker of comparison follows the standard of comparison, negatives are pre-verbal, auxiliary follows
the main verb, anaphor follows the antecedent and main clause precedes the subordinate clause. It exhibits some exceptions in SOV language features. SOV language should have
preposed genitives and adjective should follow noun. But Kinnauri has postpositional genitive and the adjective precedes the noun.<ref>NEGI, HARVINDER K U M A R. “Typological Characteristics of Kinnauri.” Interdisciplinary Journal of LinguisticC, KU Srinagar, India 5 (2012): 329–48.</ref>

== Script ==
The language does not have a script. It is an oral language

==Language vitality==

Kinnaura people are bilinguals who speak Hindi along with their mother tongue. Hindi is the main lingua franca for people from different language groups in Kinnaur. It is also the main language in schools, colleges, government offices, market place, banks and more such domains. Younger generation is exposed to entertainment media like movies, music, mobile phone, newspapers etc., in Hindi. Kinnauri songs beings produced show heavy influence of Hindi. Young learners are encouraged to learn and speak Hindi in order to benefit in education and employment in future. Fluent speakers of Kinnauri are only the elders or the mid aged people who have little exposure to the outer world or are still unaffected by the modernity. But whether the next generation will inherit the cultural knowledge or the legacy of ancestors is doubted. From UNESCO factors study, all languages in Kinnaur region are definitely endangered, inter-generational transmission is unsafe, number of speakers using Kinnauri as first language is very low, domains are shifting, Hindi is replacing Kinnauri in most domains, there is lack of literary traditions, government support towards the protection and promotion of Kinnaur language or culture is absent, very little is known about the linguistic structure of the languages in the region.<ref>NEGI, HARVINDER K U M A R. “LANGUAGE USE, PRESTIGE AND VITALITY OF LANGUAGES IN KINNAUR.” International Journal of Dravidian Linguistics, 2023.</ref>
Like other tribal languages, Kinnauri too may lose much of its linguistic characteristics due to lack of proper documentation and government support and community apathy as well. Among urgent measures, Kinnauri languages need community collaborative efforts to document and discuss among the locals, scholars, linguists and researchers.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}}

== See also ==
*[[Kanashi language]] of [[Malana, Himachal Pradesh]], mutually intelligible with Kinnauri

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |editor-last=Nagano |editor-first=Yasuhiko |editor-last2=LaPolla |editor-first2=Randy J. |year=2001 |title=New research on Zhangzhung and related Himalayan languages |series=Bon studies |volume=3 |location=Osaka |publisher=National Museum of Ethnology}}
* Negi, Harvinder Kumar. (2023). Language use, prestige and vitality of languages in kinnaur (https://www.academia.edu/105610420/LANGUAGE_USE_PRESTIGE_AND_VITALITY_OF_LANGUAGES_IN_KINNAUR). International Journal of Dravidian Linguistics.
* Negi, Harvinder Kumar. (2021). Languages of kannaura tribe (https://www.academia.edu/50932512/Languages_of_kannaura_tribe). Languages of INDIAN HIMALAYAS, .
* {{cite journal |last=Negi |first=Harvinder |year=2012 |title=A Sociolinguistic profile of the Kinnaura tribe |journal=Nepalese Linguistics |volume=27 |pages=101–105 |url=http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/nepling/pdf/Nep_Ling_27.pdf |archive-date=8 October 2024 |access-date=11 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241008113625/https://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/nepling/pdf/Nep_Ling_27.pdf |url-status=dead }}
*{{cite encyclopedia
| last = Nishi 西
| first = Yoshio 義郎
| author-link = Yoshio Nishi
| editor1-first = 孝 Takashi
| editor1-last = 亀井 Kamei
| editor2-first = 六郎 Rokurō
| editor2-last = 河野 Kōno
| editor3-first = 栄一 Eichi
| editor3-last = 千野 Chino
| encyclopedia = 三省堂言語学大辞典 The Sanseido Encyclopaedia of Linguistics
| title = カナウル語
| trans-title = Kanauru language
| language = Japanese
| year = 1993a
| publisher = 三省堂 Sanseido Press
| volume = 5
| location = Tokyo
| isbn = 4385152144
| pages = 75b–86b
}}
* {{cite book |last=Perumalsamy |first=P |year=2022 |chapter=Kinnauri language |title=Linguistic Survey of India |volume=Himachal Pradesh |publisher=Language Division, Office of the Registrar General India |location=New Delhi |pages=935–1028 |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/45246}}
* {{cite book |surname=Takahashi |given=Yoshiharu |chapter=A descriptive study of Kinnauri (Pangi dialect): A preliminary report |pages=97–119 |doi=10.15021/00002143 |doi-access=free |editor1-given=Yasuhiko |editor1-surname=Nagano |editor2-given=Randy J. |editor2-surname=LaPolla |title=New research on Zhangzhung and related Himalayan languages |journal=国立民族学博物館調査報告 = Senri Ethnological Reports |location=Osaka |publisher=National Museum of Ethnology |year=2001 |volume=19 |url=https://minpaku.repo.nii.ac.jp/index.php?action=pages_view_main&active_action=repository_view_main_item_snippet&index_id=210&pn=1&count=20&order=17&lang=japanese&page_id=13&block_id=21
}}
* {{cite book |last=Takahashi |first=Yoshiharu |year=2007 |chapter=On the deictic patterns in Kinnauri (Pangi dialect) |editor-first=Roland |editor-last=Bielmeier |editor-first2=Felix |editor-last2=Haller |title=Linguistics of the Himalayas and beyond |pages=341–354 |publisher=Mouton de Gruyter}}
* {{cite journal |last=Takahashi |first=Yoshiharu |year=2009 |title=On the Verbal Affixes in West Himalayan |editor-first=Yasuhiko |editor-last=Nagano |journal=Senri Ethnological Studies |volume=75: Issues in Tibeto-Burman Historical Linguistics |pages=21–49 |doi=10.15021/00002556 |issn=0387-6004}}
* {{cite journal |last=Takahashi |first=Yoshiharu |year=2012 |title=On a Middle Voice Suffix in Kinnauri (Pangi dialect) Yoshiharu |editor-first=Wataru |editor-last=Nakamura |editor-first2=Ritsuko |editor-last2=Kikusawa |journal=Senri Ethnological Studies |volume=77 |issue=77 |pages=157–175 |doi=10.15021/00002533}}

{{Bodic languages}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinnauri Language}}
[[Category:Languages of Himachal Pradesh]]
[[Category:Kinnaur district]]
[[Category:Endangered languages of India]]
[[Category:West Himalayish languages]]
[[Category:Languages written in Devanagari]]

Kinnauri language - Revision history

CleanupBot at 07:02, 22 March 2026