The Sikkimese language belongs to the Southern Tibetan language family. It is also known as Sikkimese Tibetan, Bhutia, Dranjongke Dranjoke, Denjongka, Denzongpeke, and Denzongke. Sikkimese language is spoken by the Bhutia (Denzongpa) nationality in Sikkim. Sikkimese people refer to their own language as Dranjongke and their homeland as Denzong
Script of Sikkimese language
Sikkimese language is written using Tibetan script. It has been inherited from Classical Tibetan. There is a mark difference between Sikkimese phonology and lexicon and Classical Tibetan. The SIL However describes the Sikkimese writing system as "Bodhi style." According to SIL, 68% of Sikkimese Bhutia was literate in the Tibetan script in 2001.
Sikkimese and its Neighbours
The speakers of the Sikkimese language can understand some Dzongkha, with a lexical similarity of 65% between the two languages. When compared Standard Tibetan, however, is only 42% lexically similar. Sikkimese has also been influenced by the neighbouring Yolmowa and Tamang languages. However, there are many other languages spoken in Sikkim.
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(Last Updated on : 01/11/2011)