Changing identity and linguistic practices in Nubri

Abstract

This chapter introduces Nubri Valley – the people, the place, the language – presenting results from a recent sociolinguistic survey that establishes internal variation as well as external pressures on the language. As a community of ethnic Tibetans in Nepal, crossing the border has slowly resulted in a shift of focus towards Kathmandu in many ways. Changing attitudes and evolving social practices are resulting in a marked shift in language use in the younger generations. Superficially, the Nubri language appears quite vital within the valley. However, I show how an examination of different borders in the sociolinguistic landscape helps leads us to a much clearer understanding of the actual linguistic vitality, revealing a serious threat to its continued survival.