Raji language
Sino-Tibetan language of western Nepal and Uttarakhand, India
Raji is a small Sino-Tibetan language of Nepal and Uttarakhand, India spoken by the Raji people. Speakers were until recently nomadic.
01Distribution
Raji is spoken in the following areas of southwestern Nepal:
- Lumbini Province: Banke and Bardiya districts
- Karnali Province: Surkhet
- Sudurpashchim Province: Kailali and Kanchanpur districts
It is also spoken by Raji people of Uttarakhand, India, primarily living in Pithoragarh district.
In Pithoragarh district, Rastogi (2015) reports that Raji is spoken in the hamlets of Kimkhola, Bhogtirua, Ganagaon, Chipaltara, Madanbori, Kutachaurani, Altodi, Jamtadi, Khirdwari and Chakarpur.
02Dialects
Khatri (2008) divides Raji into 3 main regional dialects, for which he also provides word lists.
- Barabandale: spoken in Jyotinagar, Katasi, Lalbojhi, Kuti, Bhuruwa, Solta, Khairehi, and Keodi of Kailali District; Sundarpur, Bandevi Sibir, Daiji, Krishanpur and Chela Sibir of Kanchanpur District; and Rajigaun, Galfa, and Babiyachaur of Surkhet District.
- Purbiya: Shankarpur, Machhagadh, Baniyabhar, Rambhapur, Dhakela, Dhadhawar, Sanoshree, Gulariya Municipality and Phanphena of Bardiya District.Also Speak in Chhinchu of Surkhet District.
- Naukule : Spoken in Jhil and Kuchaini of Chaumala, Shankarpur of Masuriya, Jarahi of Sadepani, Dhangaghi Municipality and Manera. All are located within Kailali District.
03Phonology
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Raji language”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- OpenSpeaks-rji-Raji-Uday Raj Aaley-Kaliprasad Raji-Introduction and Use of Raji.webm by Subhashish Panigrahi, CC BY-SA 4.0
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