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Gongduk has complex verbal morphology, which Ethnologue considers a retention from Proto-Tibeto-Burman,[1] and is lexically highly divergent.[3] On this basis, it is apparently not part of any major subgroup and will probably have to be assigned to its own branch.[3][4]
The people are said to have come from hunters that would move from place to place at times.[5]
The language is notable for only being discovered by linguists in 1991.[6] Currently, George van Driem is working towards the completion of a description of Gongduk based on his work with native speakers in the Gongduk area.[4]
Classification
George van Driem (2001:870)[7] proposes that the Greater Bumthang (East Bodish) languages, including Bumthang, Khengkha, and Kurtöp, may have a Gongduk substratum. Gongduk itself may also have a non-Tibeto-Burman substrate.[citation needed]
Gongduk has the following personal pronoun paradigm.[10]
singular (absolutive)
singular (ergative & genitive)
plural (absolutive)
plural (ergative & genitive)
dual (absolutive)
dual (ergative & genitive)
first person
ðə
ðe
ðiŋ
ðiŋ, ðiŋ ŋəŋpoe
second person
gi
gi
giŋ
giŋ, giŋ ŋəŋpoe
third person
gon
gonðe
gonmə
gonməe, gonma ŋəŋpoe
inclusive
iθi, iθirəŋ gəŋpo
dei, dei gəŋpoe
van Driem (2014) compares the Gongduk first person singular personal pronoun ðə 'I, me' to Kathmandu Newardʑiː ~ dʑĩ- 'I, me' and Tshangladʑaŋ ~ dʑi- ~ dʑiŋ- 'I, me'. He also compares the Gongduk first person plural personal pronoun ðiŋ 'we, us' to Kathmandu Newardʑʰai ~ dʑʰĩ- 'we, us'.
Vocabulary
The Gongduk words and phrases below are from van Driem (2014).[10]
^ abcdvan Driem, George. 2014. Gongduk Nominal Morphology and the phylogenetic position of Gongduk. Paper presented at the 20th Himalayan Languages Symposium, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 16 July 2014.
Bibliography
Dzongkha Development Authority; Dasho Sangay Dorji; Col. Wangdi Tshering; Namgay Thinley; Gyembo Dorji; Phuntsho Wangdi; Lekyi Tshering; Sangay Phuntsho (2005). དགོང་འདུས་རྫོང་ཁ་ཨིན་སྐད་ཤན་སྦྱར་ཚིག་མཛོད། (Gongduk-Dzongkha-English Dictionary). Thimphu: Dzongkha Development Authority. p. 115. ISBN99936-663-1-9.
van Driem, George L; et al. (Karma Tshering of Gaselô) (1998). Dzongkha. Languages of the Greater Himalayan Region. Leiden: Research School CNWS, School of Asian, African, and Amerindian Studies. pp. 32–33. ISBN90-5789-002-X.
van Driem, George L (2007). "Endangered languages of Bhutan and Sikkim". In Brenzinger, Matthias (ed.). Language diversity endangered. Trends in linguistics. Studies and monographs. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 314–15. ISBN978-3-11-017050-4.
van Driem, George. 2014. Gongduk Nominal Morphology and the phylogenetic position of Gongduk. Paper presented at the 20th Himalayan Languages Symposium, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 16 July 2014.