A Grammar Of Lepcha

Heleen Plaisier

BRILL, 2007 - Social Science - 254 pages

The Lepcha language has been shrouded in a veil of tantalising mystique ever since Colonel George Mainwaring in the 1870s disseminated the myth that Lepcha was the most perfect of tongues and represented the primordial language of men and fairies. The present book is the first ever comprehensive reference grammar of this language, spoken by the indigenous tribal people of Darjeeling, Sikkim and Kalimpong. Some popular lore about Lepcha has a firm basis in fact, however. Lepcha represents a branch unto itself within the Tibeto-Burman languages. Lepcha is written in its own unique script. This highly readable grammar explains the structure of the language, its sound system and salient features, and includes a "lexicon" and cultural history. With financial support of the International Institute for Asian Studies (www.iias.nl).

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Contents

• LIST OF FIGURES: 4
• The Lepcha homeland: 8
• Boys and girls at a festival at Dámsáng Dri: 9
• Two young girls from Ngáse Kyóng: 10
• Girls at a festival at Dámsáng Dri: 11
• Elderly man at a festival at Mane Gombú: 12
• Elderly man at a festival at Mane Gombú: 13
• Young girl in Gangtok: 14
• Mun from Kurseong at a festival at Dámsáng Dri: 15
• Bóngthíng from Gít Byóng at a festival at Dámsáng Dri: 16
• PHONOLOGY AND ORTHOGRAPHY: 17
• Lepcha vowel phonemes: 18
• Lepcha consonant phonemes: 22
• Syllableinitial consonant clusters: 31
• Original order of the syllabary: 33
• Consonant letters: 35
• Final consonant signs: 36
• Affixed consonant signs: 37
• Romanisation systems 4243: 43
• Transliteration and transcription of Lepcha vowels: 44
• PARTS OF SPEECH: 45
• NOMINAL MORPHOLOGY: 53
• Personal pronouns: 66
• Singular oblique pronouns: 67
• Lepcha numbers: 98
• VERBAL MORPHOLOGY: 103
• CLAUSEFINAL PARTICLES COORDINATION: 131
• THE MOUNTAIN DEVIL: 145
• THE STORY OF THE JACKAL: 165
• TWO LEPCHA GIRLS: 185
• ZÓNGGÚ: 207
• BIBLIOGRAPHY: 247

Bibliographic information

• Title: A Grammar Of Lepcha; Volume 5 of Brill's Tibetan studies library, ISSN 1568-6183; Volume 5 of Brill's Tibetan studies library. Languages of the greater Himalayan region ; v. 5/5, ISSN 1568-6183; Languages of the Greater Himalayan Region: Brills Tibetan Studuies Library; Volume 5 of Languages of the Greater Himalayan region
• Author: Heleen Plaisier
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: BRILL, 2007
• ISBN: 9004155252, 9789004155251
• Length: 254 pages
• Subjects: Social Science / General