The Tibeto-Kanauri languages, also called Bodic, Bodish–Himalayish, and Western Tibeto-Burman, are a proposed intermediate level of classification of the Sino-Tibetan languages, centered on the

Tibetic languages The Tibetic languages form a well-defined group of languages descended from Old Tibetan (7th to 9th centuries).Tournadre, Nicolas. 2014. "The Tibetic languages and their classification." In ''Trans-Himalayan linguistics, historical and descriptiv ...

and the Kinnauri dialect cluster. The conception of the relationship, or if it is even a valid group, varies between researchers.

Conceptions of Tibeto-Kanauri

Benedict (1972) originally posited the Tibeto-Kanauri Bodish–Himalayish relationship, but had a more expansive conception of Himalayish than generally found today, including Qiangic, Magaric, and Lepcha. Within Benedict's conception, Tibeto-Kanauri is one of seven linguistic nuclei, or centers of gravity along a spectrum, within

Tibeto-Burman languages The Tibeto-Burman languages are the non- Sinitic members of the Sino-Tibetan language family, over 400 of which are spoken throughout the Southeast Asian Massif ("Zomia") as well as parts of East Asia and South Asia. Around 60 million people sp ...

. The center-most nucleus identified by Benedict is the

Jingpho language Jingpho (''Jinghpaw'', ''Chingp'o'', ''Jìngphòʔ gà'' / ဈိာင်ဖေါစ်) or Kachin ( my, ကချင်ဘာသာ, ), is a Tibeto-Burman language of the Sal branch mainly spoken in Kachin State, Burma and Yunnan, China. Ther ...

(including perhaps the Kachin–Luic and

Tamangic languages The Tamangic languages, TGTM languages, or West Bodish languages, are a family of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in the Himalayas of Nepal. They are called "West Bodish" by Bradley (1997), from ''Bod'', the native term for Tibet. TGTM stands for ...

); other peripheral nuclei besides Tibeto-Kanauri include the

Kiranti languages The Kiranti languages are a major family of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in Nepal and India (notably Sikkim, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and Kumai) by the Kirati people. External relationships George van Driem had formerly proposed that the Kir ...

(Bahing–Vayu and perhaps the Newar language); the

Tani languages Tani (alternatively Miric, ''Adi–Galo–Mising–Nishi-Tagin'' (Bradley 1997), or ''Abor–Miri–Dafla'' (Matisoff 2003)), is a branch of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken mostly in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and neighboring regions. Background Th ...

; the Bodo–Garo languages and perhaps the Konyak languages); the

Kukish languages The Kuki-Chin languages (also called Kuki-Chin-Mizo, Kukish or South-Central Tibeto-Burman languages) are a branch of 50 or so Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in northeastern India, western Myanmar and southeastern Bangladesh. Most speakers of the ...

(Kuki–Naga plus perhaps the

Karbi language The Karbi language () is spoken by the Karbi (also known as Mikir or Arleng) people of Northeastern India. It belongs to the Sino-Tibetan language family, but its position is unclear. Grierson (1903) classified it under Naga languages, Shafer ...

, the

Meitei language Meitei (), also known as Manipuri (, ), is a Tibeto-Burman language of north-eastern India. It is spoken by around 1.8 million people, predominantly in the state of Manipur, but also by smaller communities in the rest of the country and in p ...

and the Mru language); and the

Burmish languages The Burmish languages are Burmese, including Standard Burmese, Arakanese and other Burmese dialects such as the Tavoyan dialects as well as non-literary languages spoken across Myanmar and South China such as Achang, Lhao Vo, Lashi, and Zaiw ...

( Lolo-Burmese languages, perhaps also the Nung language and Trung). Matisoff (1978, 2003) largely follows Benedict's scheme, stressing the teleological value of identifying related characteristics over mapping detailed family trees in the study of

Tibeto-Burman The Tibeto-Burman languages are the non- Sinitic members of the Sino-Tibetan language family, over 400 of which are spoken throughout the Southeast Asian Massif ("Zomia") as well as parts of East Asia and South Asia. Around 60 million people spea ...

and Sino-Tibetan languages. Matisoff includes Bodish and West Himalayish with the

Lepcha language Lepcha language, or Róng language ( Lepcha: ; ''Róng ríng''), is a Himalayish language spoken by the Lepcha people in Sikkim, India and parts of West Bengal, Nepal and Bhutan. Population Lepcha is spoken by minorities in the Indian sta ...

as a third branch. He unites these at a higher level with Mahakiranti as ''Himalayish.'' Van Driem (2001) notes that the Bodish, West Himalayish, and Tamangic languages (but not Benedict's other families) appear to have a common origin. Bradley (1997) takes much the same approach but words things differently: he incorporates West Himalayish and Tamangic as branches within his "Bodish", which thus becomes close to Tibeto-Kanauri. This and his ''Himalayan'' family constitute his Bodic family.

Conceptions of Tibeto-Kanauri

References

Further reading