Gongduk language

History

Classification

Phonology

• Consonants in parentheses are only found in loanwords.
• The velar stops /kʰ k g/ are in free variation with their uvular counterparts .
• The stops /p t k/ are glottalised and unreleased at the end of syllables.
• /ŋ/ can often be heard as a glottal stop in fast speech or following another nasal.
• /n/ and /ŋ/ are palatalized to before /i/ or /j/.
• /y/ and /ø/ most often appear after palatal consonants and in loanwords.
• /ɛ/ and /ɔ/ may be in free variation with /e o/.
• /ə/ can often be heard as .
• /ɤ/ varies broadly between .

  Grammar

Morphology

• oloˀŋməˀtⁿ ‘children’ < oloˀk ‘child’ + -məˀtⁿ
• ŋidɤməˀtⁿ ‘people’ < ŋidɤ ‘person’ + -məˀtⁿ
• aroˀŋməˀtⁿ ‘friends’ < aroˀk ‘friend’ + -məˀtⁿ

• kurtə ‘horse, horses’
• kəitɤ ‘bird, birds’
• kiŋ ‘house, houses’

• bɤʔlɤpə-e ‘the people of Bɤʔlɤ ’
• choŋnən-ðe me ‘the seed of the maize’
• nor-θe taɦ ‘meat of the cow ’
• rek-θe rukɤŋ ‘head bone ’
• aroʔk-te-θe ‘the friend ’
• əp drəkpə-e ‘Ap Drakpa ’
• θok-θe əkəm ‘egg of offering ’
• lei-ti-ðe juʔmə ‘after one month’

• ðiŋ goŋduʔ-gi əna ‘We are from Gongduk’
• nikkələŋ-gi ‘by way of the stairs’
• dəkθə-gi ‘from Daksa’
• kidu-gi ‘as a kidu ’
• bɤʔlɤ-gi ‘from Bɤʔlɤ’
• deŋkəle wɤŋ-gi ‘from Dengkalé Dale’
• doʔmoŋ-gi ‘from "Black Roof" village’
• phəjoŋ pəm-gi ‘from Phajong Pam’

• gərəŋ-go ‘to whom’
• ohaŋ duʔ-gu ‘in that village’
• rek-ko ‘to head’
• ðə-go ‘to me’
• jə-go ‘to India’
• gaoŋ-go ‘whereto, where precisely’
• pəkpək-ko ‘at times, sometimes’
• thimphu-gu ‘to Thimphu’

  Demonstratives

• ohaŋ ŋidɤ ‘that person’
• ohaŋ koŋ ‘that tree’
• ohaŋ duʔgu ‘in that village’

  Personal pronouns

Vocabulary

Basic vocabulary

• rek ‘head’
• rukɤŋ ‘bone’
• əŋ ‘language, mouth’
• dɤŋli ‘water’
• wɤ ‘rain’
• yər ‘cliff’
• dɤ ‘salt’
• ɤn ‘tooth’
• koŋ ‘tree’
• diŋ ‘wood’
• me ‘seed’
• dola ‘cooked Setaria or rice’
• choŋnən ‘maize’
• ɤwɤ ‘banana’
• taɦ ‘meat’
• wərə ‘highland paddy, ghaiyā’
• khərəŋ ‘cooked Panicum or maize’
• don ‘pig’
• nor ‘cow’
• kurtə ‘horse’
• kəitɤ ‘bird’
• əkəm ‘egg’
• jə ‘day ’
• lei ‘month’
• oloʔk ‘child’
• ŋidɤ ‘person’
• aroʔk ‘friend’
• duʔ ‘village’
• kiŋ ‘house’
• nikkələŋ ‘stairs’
• θok ‘offering’
• goŋduʔ ‘Gongduk’

  Numerals

• ti ‘1’
• niktsə ‘2’
• towə ‘3’
• diyə, piyə ‘4’
• ŋəwə ‘5’
• qukpə ‘6’
• ðukpə ‘7’
• yitpə, hetpə ‘8’
• ɢuwə ‘9’
• deyə ‘10’
• deθəti ‘11’
• deθəniktsə ‘12’
• deθətowə ‘13’
• khəe ‘score ’
• khəe ŋəwə ‘five score, i.e. one hundred’

  Interrogative pronouns

• gərəŋ ‘who’
• gərəe ‘whose’
• θəpo ‘what’
• ko ‘when’
• gaoŋ ‘where, whither’
• qəti ‘how much, how many’
• gainəŋ ‘which, whence’
• qətigu ‘at what time’
• θəu, θəudi ‘why, how come’
• gora, gorapəm ‘how, in which way’
• ohaŋ ‘that ’