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Article published In: Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area
Vol. 37:2 (2014) ► pp.198–239

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Ethnolinguistic survey of westernmost Arunachal Pradesh

A fieldworker’s impressions

 | University of Bern, Switzerland/Tezpur University, India
Published online: 1 December 2014
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https://doi.org/10.1075/ltba.37.2.03bod
The area between Bhutan in the west, Tibet in the north, the Kameng river in the east and Assam in the south is home to at least six distinct phyla of the Trans-Himalayan (Tibeto-Burman, Sino-Tibetan) language family. These phyla encompass a minimum of 11, but probably 15 or even more mutually unintelligible languages, all showing considerable internal dialect variation. Previous literature provided largely incomplete or incorrect accounts of these phyla. Based on recent field research, this article discusses in detail the several languages of four phyla whose speakers are included in the Monpa Scheduled Tribe, providing the most accurate speaker data, geographical distribution, internal variation and degree of endangerment. The article also provides some insights into the historical background of the area and the impact this has had on the distribution of the ethnolinguistic groups.
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