Rethinking Tibeto-Burman: Linguistic Identities and Classifications in the Himalayan Periphery

Abstract

“To be human you must have a tribe. To have tribe you must have mother tongue” stated a Shona tribesman, when asked by the fieldworker John Hofman for a definition of his identity (Hofman 1977: 289). While by no means a universal truth, this assertion encapsulates a widespread sentiment held by both indigenous peoples and those who study them: that language and identity are inextricably linked. In this short article I offer some structured reflections on linguistic identities along the Tibetan margins and the classificatory tools that are used to define them. In particular, I argue against the uncritical extension of models of linguistic classification to categorise ethnic communities in the Himalayan periphery.1