Jirel language

In today's world, Jirel language is a topic that has captured the attention of millions of people around the world. Whether due to its historical relevance, its impact on contemporary society or its influence on popular culture, Jirel language is a topic that continues to generate interest and debate. Over the years, Jirel language has been the subject of countless research, discussions and analysis, leading to a greater understanding of its complexities and the identification of multiple perspectives on it. In this article, we will explore some key aspects related to Jirel language, with the aim of delving into its meaning and scope in different contexts.

Jirel
Native toNepal
EthnicityJirel
Native speakers
4,800 (2011 census)
Language codes
ISO 639-3jul
Glottologjire1238
ELPJirel

Jirel is a Southern Tibetic language of Nepal. It is spoken in Jiri, in Tshetrapa village, Jungu village, and Cheppu village of Dolakha District and Sindhupalchok and different parts of Nepal.

It has long been in discussion that the Jirels are the Kirats as other Tibeto-Burmans. But further research is required to prove that they come from Kirats. Very weak literature without evidence is presented by some authors until now claiming that they are the Kirats. They have claimed that they are animists so they are Kirats. They adopted some cultural and religious practice from Sunuwars and Sherpas when they began to live and share with them. The language they use is the most powerful evidence that they come from a Tibetan ethnic tribe. Their physical appearance and family name are also supporting evidence for Tibetan origin.

They mainly practice Buddhism. Lamas are their priests. They also have Shamans who are called Phombo, which is derived from the word, Boo, the Tibetan Tantric philosophy.

Jirel Uchen, which is also called Sambhota Script, is their script or calligraphy. This can be found at religious monuments like chautaras, chortens, and monasteries. Jirel Lamas use this script. The script is shown below:

ཀ ka ཁ kha ག ga ང nga ཅ ca ཆ cha ཇ ja ཉ nya ཏ ta ཐ tha ད da ན na པ pa ཕ pha བ ba མ ma ཙ tsa ཚ tsha ཛ dza ཝ wa ཞ zha ཟ za འ 'a ཡ ya ར ra ལ la ཤ sha ས sa ཧ ha ཨ a

The similarity of Jirel language that with the language used in Buddhist holy books is the powerful evidence to claim and believe that they are of Tibetan origin. It is believed that more than 80 percent of Jirel diction goes with Tibetan language where only 35–40 percent of diction is found to be close to pure Tibetan diction.

Phonology

Consonants

Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
plain sibilant
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Plosive/
Affricate 		voiceless plain p t t͡s t͡ʃ k
prenasalized ᵐp ⁿt ⁿt͡s ⁿt͡ʃ ᵑk
voiced plain b d d͡z d͡ʒ ɡ
prenasalized ᵐb ⁿd ⁿd͡z ⁿd͡ʒ ᵑɡ
Fricative voiceless s ʃ h
voiced z ʒ
Tap ɾ
Lateral l
Approximant w j

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i u
Mid e o
Open ä

References

  1. ^ Jirel at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)

Further reading

  • Strahm, Esther; Maibaum, Anita (1999). "Verb Pairs in Jirel". Notes on Tibeto-Burman. 4: 1–24. Archived from the original on 2024-01-26.
Stub icon

This Sino-Tibetan languages-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia