Can you identify the language, and do you know where it’s spoken?
6 thoughts on “Language quiz”
My son says the background noise reveals that it’s Extraterrestrial.
My first thought was something Amazonan, but now I think Papuan. The phonology of Enga seems to fit fairly well, and the name appeals to me, so I’ll say that..
Hmm. My first impression was of Tibetan (one of its dialects) or of a closely related language, but then I thought perhaps the Papuan guess might be closer than mine. I’ll hold on to my ragged little guess for now and see how it turns out!
A wild guess: One of the Naga languages spoken in the Western part of India and in Bangla Desh?
First, I thought it could be Dzongkha, but a comparison with a broadcast from Bhutan Radio made me change my mind.
It looks like nobody is going to get this. The answer is Lepcha (Róng-Ríng), a Tibeto-Burman language spoken in the Indian states of Sikkim, West Bengal and Kalimpong, and also in Nepal and Bhutan.
My son says the background noise reveals that it’s Extraterrestrial.
My first thought was something Amazonan, but now I think Papuan. The phonology of Enga seems to fit fairly well, and the name appeals to me, so I’ll say that..
Hey, I’ll win by default!
It isn’t Enga. Here’s a clue: this is a Tibeto-Burman language.
Hmm. My first impression was of Tibetan (one of its dialects) or of a closely related language, but then I thought perhaps the Papuan guess might be closer than mine. I’ll hold on to my ragged little guess for now and see how it turns out!
A wild guess: One of the Naga languages spoken in the Western part of India and in Bangla Desh?
First, I thought it could be Dzongkha, but a comparison with a broadcast from Bhutan Radio made me change my mind.
It looks like nobody is going to get this. The answer is Lepcha (Róng-Ríng), a Tibeto-Burman language spoken in the Indian states of Sikkim, West Bengal and Kalimpong, and also in Nepal and Bhutan.
The recording comes from the Linguistic Survey of India and was made in 1926.