# Bahing language

Bahing is one of the ethnicities present in Nepal which consist of the following ancestors: Paiwa, Dungmowa, Rukhusalu, Waripsawa, Timriwa, Dhimriwa, Nayango, Dhayango, Khaliwa/Khaluwa, Rendukpa/Rendu, and Rungbu. These ancestors spoke the Bahing language. The Bahing language was recorded (census 2021) to be spoken by 14449 people of the Bahing ethnic group in Nepal. It belongs to the family of Kiranti languages, a subgroup of Sino-Tibetan.
The group Rumdali is also known as Nechali among some of them.

## Names

Ethnologue lists the following alternate names for Bahing: Baying, Ikke lo, Kiranti-Bahing, Pai Lo, Radu lo. Procha lo

## Geographical distribution

Bahing is spoken in the following locations of Nepal (Ethnologue).
* Northeastern Okhaldhunga District, Sagarmatha Zone: Harkapur, Ragdip, Bigutar, Baruneswor, Okhaldhunga, Rumjatar, Barnalu, Mamkha, Ratmate, Serna, Diyale, and Bhadaure VDC's (Rumdali dialect)
* Mid-southeastern Okhaldhunga District: Ketuke, Moli, Waksa, and Ubu VDC's (Tolocha dialect)
* Southern tip of Solukhumbu District: Necha Batase and Salyan VDC's
* Khotang District

## Dialects

According to Ethnologue, Bahing consists of the Rumdali, Nechali, Tolacha, Moblocha, and Hangu dialects, with 85% or above intelligibility among all dialects.

## Documentation

The Bahing language was described by Brian Houghton Hodgson (1857, 1858) as having a very complex verbal morphology. By the 1970s, only vestiges were left, making Bahing a case study of grammatical attrition and language death.

## Phonology

Bahing and the related Khaling language have synchronic ten-vowel systems. The difference of [mərə] "monkey" vs. [mɯrɯ] "human being" is difficult to perceive for speakers of even neighboring dialects, which makes for "an unlimited source of fun to the Bahing people".

### Vowels

Vowel phonemes :
| | Front | Front | Central | Central | Back | Back | Back | Back |
| | unrounded | unrounded | unrounded | unrounded | unrounded | unrounded | rounded | rounded |
| | short | long | short | long | short | long | short | long |
| High | i ⟨इ⟩ | iː ⟨इः⟩ | | | ɯ ⟨उ़⟩ | ɯː ⟨उ़ः⟩ | u ⟨उ⟩ | uː ⟨उः⟩ |
| High-mid | e ⟨ए⟩ | eː ⟨एः⟩ | | | ɤ ⟨ओ़⟩ | ɤː ⟨ओ़ः⟩ | o ⟨ओ⟩ | oː ⟨ओः⟩ |
| Low-mid | ɛ ⟨ए़⟩ | | ʌ ⟨अ⟩ | ʌː ⟨अः⟩ | | | | |
| Low | | | ä ⟨आ⟩ | äː ⟨आः⟩ | | | | |
* Bahing language has no long vowel /ɛ/.

### Consonants

Bahing consonant phonemes :
| | | | Bilabial | Dental | Apico- alveolar | Lamino- alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
| Nasal | Nasal | Nasal | m ⟨म⟩ | | n ⟨न⟩ | | | ŋ ⟨ङ⟩ | |
| Plosive/ Affricate | implosive | implosive | ɓ ⟨ळ⟩ | | | | | | |
| Plosive/ Affricate | voiceless | unaspirated | p ⟨प⟩ | t̪ ⟨त⟩ | t ⟨ट⟩ | t͡s ⟨च⟩ | | k ⟨क⟩ | ʔ |
| Plosive/ Affricate | voiceless | aspirated | pʰ ⟨फ⟩ | t̪ʰ ⟨थ⟩ | tʰ ⟨ठ⟩ | t͡sʰ ⟨छ⟩ | | kʰ ⟨ख⟩ | |
| Plosive/ Affricate | voiced | unaspirated | b ⟨ब⟩ | d̪ ⟨द⟩ | d ⟨ड⟩ | d͡z ⟨ज⟩ | | ɡ ⟨ग⟩ | |
| Plosive/ Affricate | voiced | aspirated | bʱ ⟨भ⟩ | d̪ʱ ⟨ध⟩ | dʱ ⟨ढ⟩ | d͡zʱ ⟨झ⟩ | | ɡʱ ⟨घ⟩ | |
| Fricative | Fricative | Fricative | | | s ⟨स⟩ | | | | ɦ ⟨ह⟩ |
| Trill | Trill | Trill | | | r ⟨र⟩ | | | | |
| Lateral | Lateral | Lateral | | | l ⟨ल⟩ | | | | |
| Approximant | Approximant | Approximant | w ⟨व⟩ | | | | j ⟨य⟩ | | |
* Bahing has its unique sound /ɓ/ ळ.
* Nowadays use ट, ठ, ड, ढ, have disappeared or are less used.

## Morphology

Hodgson (1857) reported a middle voice formed by a suffix -s(i) added to the verbal stem, corresponding to reflexives in other Kiranti languages.