| Saam | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Nepal |
| Region | Mechi Zone |
| Ethnicity | Kiranti |
| Native speakers | 530 (2011 census) (400 Saam, 130 Lingkhim) |
| Language family | Sino-Tibetan
|
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | raq |
| Glottolog | saam1282 |
| ELP | Saam |
Saam, Saama Kha, is a nearly extinct Kiranti language spoken in Nepal. The name Saam is ambiguous, and shared with neighboring languages.
Chukwa may be Saam if it is not Kulung.
Geographical distribution
Saam is spoken in the following locations of Nepal (Ethnologue).
- Dobhane and Khatamma (Khartangma) VDC's, northern Bhojpur District, Kosi Zone; straddling the Irkhuwa River, in Dangmaya, Okharbote, Khartangma, and Dobhane settlements between the Phedi River and Irkhuwa River
- Phikkal VDC, Ilam District, Mechi Zone
References
- ^ Saam at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
| Sino-Tibetan branches | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Himalayas (Himachal, Uttarakhand, Nepal, Sikkim) |
|  | |||
| Eastern Himalayas (Tibet, Bhutan, Arunachal) | |||||
| Myanmar and Indo- Burmese border |
| ||||
| East and Southeast Asia |
| ||||
| Dubious (possible isolates) (Arunachal) |
| ||||
| Proposed groupings | |||||
| Proto-languages | |||||
| Italics indicates single languages that are also considered to be separate branches. | |||||
| Kiranti languages | |
|---|---|
| Limbu | |
| Western | |
| Central | |
| Eastern | |
| Dhimalish | |
| see also: Mahakiranti languages | |