Khamba

Khamba (ISO-639-3 code: kbg)

The people

Khamba, also Khampa (name place plus people), is one of the many languages spoken in Arunachal Pradesh. The Khamba population, which is about 1330 (1991 census), is found in the Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh, India. The population is largely concentrated in Mankota, Yortong, and Tasigong of Singa Circle villages under the Tuting sub-division of the Upper Siang district.

The Language

Spoken by less than 2000 speakers, Khamba, a member of the Tibeto-Burman language family, is one of the languages being invested in the scheme of the SPPEL. Some languages bordering Khamba or exist as contact languages are Memba, Mismi, and Adi. Memba seems to be very cognizant of the Khamba language. Like many places in Arunachal Pradesh, Hindi, a local variation, is ubiquitous among Khamba speakers. Khamba is not used in official work. It is used in schools as a medium by local teachers in remote local schools.

Preliminary analysis of Khamba data (phonology and clause), as expected, shows that Khamba is attributed to typological features of the Tibeto-Burman language spoken in Northeast India; for example, the clausal structure of Khamba has an SVO pattern and tonal features are noticed.

A Tibetan script is used for literary work. Kagiu Boom, Yokar, and Tengur are some books written in Khamba using a Tibetan Script. No Linguistic research or documentation has been done on this language.

Religion and Occupation

Buddhism is a common belief practice of the community. Cultivation is the main occupation of the Khamba people, and maize is a major crop. Losar, a new year that occurs in mid-February, is the main festival of the Khambas.

At present

Under SPPEL, the preparation of a description of Khamba grammar and the production of Khamba Bilingual Dictionary are being undertaken.