Raji–Raute is a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family that includes the three closely related languages, namely Raji, Raute, and Rawat. They are spoken by small hunter-gatherer communities in the Terai region of Nepal and in neighboring Uttarakhand, India.

Like some other Tibeto-Burman languages, Raji–Raute languages have voiceless sonorants.

Classification Raute and Rawat are closely related; Raji is more distantly related.Fortier, Jana. Creating an Orthography for the Raute and Rawat. Fortier classifies the Raji–Raute languages as follows. Note that language varieties that classify within the Rawat subgroup are known by various names; Raute of Dadeldhura/Darchula is taxonomically a Rawat language, and is not to be confused with Raute proper.

Raji–Raute Raute–Rawat Raute (nomadic groups) Rawat Rajwar (spoken in Khirdwari) Rawat Rawat (also known as Ban Raji) Raute of Dadeldhura/Darchula Raji Naukule Bandale, Purbia

Schorer (2016) Schorer (2016:293)Schorer, Nicolas. 2016. The Dura Language: Grammar and Phylogeny. Leiden: Brill. classifies Raji–Raute as part of his newly proposed Greater Magaric group. Greater Magaric Dura Dura Tandrange Magaric: Kham, Magar Chepangic-Raji Chepangic: Chepang, Bhujel Raji-Raute

Fortier (2012) A database of 700 words for items from households of Raute and Ban Rawat speakers (Fortier 2012) indicates a largely Sino-Tibetan language ancestry. Deep Root items include 58 words of Sino-Tibetan origin and 7 of Austroasiatic origin. Proto-family items include 281 morphemes of Proto-Tibeto-Burman origin. Meso-root, or subfamily items include 34 words of Proto-Kuki-Chin origin, 23 of Proto-Tani origin, 6 of Proto-Tangkulic origin, and 1 of Northern Chin origin. The database omits most loans of Indo-Aryan origin although 43 items were of Sanskrit origin. Work remains on identifying etymologies of the remaining 247 items in the Raute–Rawat database.

Distribution Raji-Raute varieties are spoken in the following areas of Nepal and India. Dadeldhura/Darchula Raute: Darchula District and Dadeldhura District, Nepal Ban Raji/Rawat: Pithoragarh District, Uttarakhand, India Khirdwari Rajwar: Champawat District, Uttarakhand, India Raute: nomadic, 10 districts of western Nepal Bandale Raji: Surkhet District and Kailali District, Nepal Naukule Raji: Kailali District, Nepal Purbia Raji: Bardia District, Nepal

Vocabulary The comparative vocabulary lists of Raji and Raute below are from Rastogi & Fortier (2005). Rastogi & Fortier (2005) also provide Purbia Raji and Janggali Raute forms.

Swadesh list The following is a 100-word Swadesh list from Rastogi & Fortier (2005).

No. English gloss Rawati (Raji) Khamci (Raute) 1 I naa ngaa 2 you, thou nang naa, nhhang 3 we naani jammaa ngaa, na, nani 4 this ai ii 5 that aiyaa he 6 who chuin 'se; tse, nhhamʔ 7 what hu hai, hang 8 not haa nai, nā (as verb suffix: -re/rai) 9 all jammaa ~ jammal mwalyae 10 many jikkal bo-kani, bo, buoh 11 one daa, ga daa 12 two nii ~ nhii nhi 13 big bai-inaa ghaare 14 long lang 15 small ʈuhaa, chui-ce lhhaʔ 16 woman maʈhialaa umaakhala, umaa 17 man manjha ba, s'ye; s'yela, māukyaa 18 person manca mi: mur; murka, mukala 19 fish boraa gaah, gap 20 bird gidhaa bwaah, buaʔ 21 dog kuii kwui 22 louse sira shuhroh 23 tree shiing s'iu; tsiu, shing 24 seed biye 25 leaf huwaah, huwaa-aa, khuaa hwaah, waʔ 26 root jadao goy, nyuri (wild yams), dz'ra 27 bark siing khallaw thaapa, thakpa 28 skin khallyai kiri; kriakaa, kirikyae 29 flesh (meat) sya s'yaa, yaa, pyaa, s'iu, shiaeʔ 30 blood khui s'ui, ks'ap 31 bone haɖang haare, haar'm 32 grease ge; gela 33 egg anɖaa bhi; bhibhiya, bhiya 34 horn sioang sikk'm 35 tail pucheraa muahta, mukyae 36 feather pakhaa phakaa, pwohx 37 hair haamuu rung 38 head gaɽaa garaah, g'rhha 39 ear ghunaa, hunaa gunaah 40 eye mhiike, niike mikaah; mhiiga 41 nose shinaa 'sinaah, shinga 42 mouth khaaber chyu(re), mu 43 tooth daaɽo s'wāah, tshwa 44 tongue jibaiɽo laale, muuhm, mhhwOm 45 fingernail nhiang leehm, lhhel 46 foot bhaa, panjaa bhaah 47 knee puhai phukh, gaʈho 48 hand hakai aakhaa 49 belly (stomach) laado guduu, gudong, photo ('entrails') 50 neck gardhan manto, m'nthu, ghaature 51 breast cucca susi 52 heart paatii, mutu 53 liver mulyaa kharabdaah, bara 54 drink tung jhum, jaaya, hum, ti-I, tì 55 eat jaako, jale, jaa-aa jaa; jaaku; jaaya, ka; kaare 56 bite kai ka; kaiyaa, k'I 57 see guhe bigaap, bighhae 58 hear huung-ye guno, gunaare 59 know dahau 60 sleep iishe s'ii; s'iyaah, she, kwih 61 die shiiya s'i; s'iya 62 kill haate-ko ath-oh 63 swim raa pe kha-buwa, bou-kha-buwa, bowti 64 fly bo bwaah (n.?), pharaei (v.?) 65 walk hwaa-I, khwa 66 come biir/hi-ir bi; biye, bi-e, pi-ye 67 lie jhuʈi-haa-syaa lat (lie down) 68 sit khuung yaa sweh, sweh guni; aysapha, dzuye 69 stand yeki phuyo; phayaah, phuyu 70 give bai-y, baiko nyaa; bayaa, khaalu 71 say neko khaama (to speak); thi-i, shi dhaami 72 sun diiho bel, berh, dhāmu 73 moon dunnaa jhyunna, bair, berh (not exact terms for moon, not comp.) 74 star taaraa tui-tui 75 water tii, chi tsi 76 rain barkhaa s'gyae, tii-i 77 stone 78 sand ballyaa bolyaa 79 earth dexa desha [< Nepali], samsar 80 cloud diiho dewaah, dewaʔ 81 smoke dhukaāh, dhuma 82 fire bhåoy / mhai mhe:h, muhèi 83 ash dhuli kuhli, duhri, dhulo 84 burn lung (vi.) 85 path yong yaun-khyaa-nu, yung 86 mountain biʈʈaa; dhaɽe (peak) manam (hill); malam, kheɖ' 87 red ʈulhariyaa tui, sha 88 green hariyo / hariya hwaa (dark green - gagina), kamaiyo, k'm'iu 89 yellow pero, piilè byaalo, hwi-byelo, p'rhho 90 white dhaurya dhyaulyaa, dhyaurya, dhauɽia, ghouraya 91 black tuknahaa tokaanye, namaro 92 night gaire gadhir 93 hot gamma [< IA] chunu, ghohnohw 94 cold ʈhanɖa [< IA] jungha, dzung 95 full bharata jimai (filled), bwohb 96 new nong niu, nhu; n'u 97 good nhikah namar (person), lagalo 98 round baʈulo 99 dry kaarau we (vi.) karaao 100 name naam miĩhga

Body parts Rastogi & Fortier (2005) list the following body part terms.

No. English gloss Rawati (Raji) Khamci (Raute) 1 arm pa:ti [< IA] arkha:, wa:u 2 belly la:do (Purbia Raji dang) 1. photo (belly); 2. gudu ~ gudong; (Janggali gudang) (“intestines”?) 3 blood khui 1. s'ui:; 2. kshap (kshap recorded by C. Bandhu (pers. comm.)) 4 breast cucci susi 5 ear ghuna ~ huna guna: 6 eye ni:hke mi:hka 7 finger aguliya hubela 8 fingernail nihang lem ~ le:hng ~ li:hm 9 foot bhaa bhaa 10 hair haamu ~ hamo ~ ha ngo [< Nepali] 11 hand haake (Purbia Raji yak) a:khaa, la:ku (Janggali ha:kai) 12 head garaa garaa 13 hip, buttocks s'yi-li 14 goiter kok 15 knee, joint puhei ~ puhai ~ puher phuk 16 leg bhaa 17 lip autha [< IA] cyure; cyura 18 mouth khaaber 1. cyure; 2. mu ~ mu:hm: ~ mum 19 neck gardhan [< IA] (Purbia Raji tuk) 1. manto; mani; 2. ghaature [< Nepali] 20 nipple, breast chuchu 21 nose s'inna tsinaa ~ sinaa 22 nostrils dhodo 23 shoulders kadhang [< IA] kum [< Nepali] 24 skin khallyai kiriki ~ kiliki ~ kikaa 25 teeth, tooth swaa swaåh; chuwaa; miu 26 thighs jangaa 1. kare, 2. bhaa 27 vulva pi

Footnotes

References George van Driem (2001) Languages of the Himalayas: An Ethnolinguistic Handbook of the Greater Himalayan Region. Brill. Fortier, Jana (2012) "Annotated Dictionary of Raute and Rawat Languages" Rastogi, Kavita and Jana Fortier. 2005. Daa, Nii, Sum/Khung: Comparative Vocabulary of the West-Central Himalayan Languages Rawati (Raji) and Khamci (Raute). Indian Linguistics 66. 105–115.

Further reading Fortier, Jana. 2019. A Comparative Dictionary of Raute and Rawat: Tibeto-Burman Languages of the Central Himalayas. Harvard Oriental Series 88. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Krishan, Shree. 2003. Darma, Chaudangsi, and Raji. In: Randy J. LaPolla (ed.), Tibeto-Burman Languages of Uttar Pradesh, pp. 139–272.