Puroik, previously known by the now-considered-derogatory name Sulung, is a set of language varieties spoken by the Puroik people of Arunachal Pradesh, India, and of Lhunze County in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, including 53 villages along the Par River across districts such as East Kameng and Kurung Kumey. Estimates of speaker numbers vary widely, from about 3,000 in 2002 to around 20,000 in 2011, and literacy among speakers is extremely limited, at roughly 2 percent. Puroik was traditionally treated as a Sino-Tibetan language; Lieberherr and Bodt classified it as part of the Kho-Bwa group in 2017, while Roger Blench argued in 2011 that it is better treated as a language isolate.
Facts
Disputed
Proto-Language StatusDebated: traditionally considered a Sino-Tibetan language; Lieberherr and Bodt (2017) classify Puroik within the Kho-Bwa group, while Roger Blench (2011) considers it a language isolate. 1 Traditionally grouped as Sino-Tibetan; Lieberherr and Bodt (2017) place it within Kho-Bwa, while Blench (2011) argues for isolate status; no proto-language reconstruction is agreed on across these competing classifications. RegionArunachal Pradesh, India, and Lhunze County, Tibet Autonomous Region, China 1 Speaker CountFigure is the 2011 census-year count reported for Puroik/Sulung. Sources
1. Wikipedia: Puroik Language
Wikimedia FoundationClassification section
Lieberherr & Bodt (2017) classify Puroik as Kho-Bwa, and has traditionally been considered to be a Sino-Tibetan language.
Classification section, isolate view
Roger Blench (2011) considers Puroik to be a language isolate
Infobox, Region field
Region: Arunachal Pradesh
Infobox, Native to field
Native to India, China
Infobox, Native speakers field
Native speakers: 20,000 (2011)
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