The survey work Languages of the Himalayas provides a bird's eye view of Himalayan languages and language communities. It also constitutes a primary source for much new, hitherto unpublished data on several languages. The demographic mosaic of the Himalayas today is viewed in a historical and comparative linguistic perspective. The reader will find an outline of the historical and prehistorical developments that have determined the modern ethnolinguistic composition of the Himalayan region, involving various independent linguistics stocks or language families. Maps illustrate the distribution of language communities and trace the routes of ancient migrations. There is an illuminating discussion of grammatical features found in Himalayan languages. The print edition is available as a set of two volumes (9789004103900).

With its many and diverse languages, including some with very long documented histories, its cultural diversity, and its widespread multilingualism- both the stable and transient kind- the Himalayan region is a treasure trove of empirical data for linguistic research on language typology and universals, historical linguistics, language contact and areal linguistics. Himalayan Languages contains contributions on Himalayan linguistics written by some of the leading experts in the field. The volume is divided into three parts: First, a general overview is given of the linguistic study of Himalayan languages and language communities. The second part offers synchronic studies of individual languages of the region (Indo-Aryan languages Shina and Kalasha, and Tibeto-Burman languages Belhare, Magar, Kinnauri, Classical Tibetan and Thangmi). The papers in the third part of the volume address topics in historical and areal linguistics, with an emphasis on the Tibeto-Burman languages of the region, discussing grammaticalization processes (in Sunwar, Newar, Seke, Tshangla and Bantawa) and the subgrouping of Tibeto-Burman.

This highly readable book is the first comprehensive reference grammar of the Lepcha language of Darjeeling, Sikkim and Kalimpong. This grammar explains the structure of the language, its sound system and salient features, and includes a lexicon and cultural history.