File:Limbu.png · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Key facts
- Native to
- Sikkim and Eastern Nepal
- Region
- Nepal ; significant communities in Bhutan ; Sikkim and Darjeeling district of India
- Ethnicity
- Limbu
- Native speakers
- 410,000 (2011–2021 censuses)
- Language family
- Sino-Tibetan Tibeto-Burman Mahakiranti (?) Kiranti Limbu
- Dialects
- Phedape Chhathare Panthare Tambarkhole
- Writing system
- Limbu script , Roman script
- Official language in
- Nepal Koshi Province India Sikkim
- Iso 639 3
- lif
- Glottolog
- limb1266
- Elp
- Limbu
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
Show 3 more facts
- number of speakers, writers, or signers
- 40835
- Commons category
- Limbu language
Sources (8)
via Wikidata · CC0
~12 min read
Article
Limbu (Limbu: ᤕᤠᤰᤌᤢᤱ ᤐᤠᤴ, yakthuṅ pan) is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Limbu people of Nepal and Northeastern India (particularly West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam and Nagaland) as well as expatriate communities in Bhutan. The Limbu refer to themselves as Yakthung and their language as Yakthungpan. Yakthungpan has four main dialects: Phedape, Chhathare, Tambarkhole and Panthare dialects.
Among four dialects, the Phedape dialect is widely spoken and well understood by most Yakthungpan speakers. However, as there are some dominant Panthare scholars who have role to create knowledge and control knowledge in the Limbu communities, Panthare dialect is being popularised as a "standard" Limbu language. As Panthare Yakthungs are much more engaged in central political position and administrative positions, they are trying to introduce Panthare dialect as a Standard Yakthungpan.