Sunam (Kinnaur, India) – Language Snapshot
- Harvinder Kumar Negi
Abstract
Sunam is a Tibeto-Burman language of the Bodic branch spoken by about 390 people in Sunnam village, located in Pooh tehsil of Kinnaur district in Himachal Pradesh, India. Locally, it is referred to as sunnampakad (language of Sunnam), and is totally undescribed. It is mentioned in comparative grammatical texts, but only in the context of other languages of upper Kinnaur. Sunam is linked to Bunan, spoken in the Lahaul valley. The language is employed by the upper caste community in Sunnam, where Sumcho, Hindi, and Kinnauri are also in use. Since 1990 Sunnam has undergone many changes in cultural, economic, and physical demography due to the construction of roads and the building of schools, where Hindi is the only medium of instruction. Although, the Sunam language is actively used in the community, Hindi is increasingly present in many domains of daily use.
Keywords: Sunam, Tibeto-Burman language, Bodic branch, Sunnam village, Himachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, India
How to Cite:
Negi, H., (2020) “Sunam (Kinnaur, India) – Language Snapshot”, Language Documentation and Description 19, 249-255. doi: https://doi.org/10.25894/ldd81
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