The Brokpa language (Brokpa kay) (Dzongkha: དྲོག་པ་ཁ།, དྲོགཔ་ཁ།, Dr˚okpakha, Dr˚opkha), also called the Merak-Sakteng language after its speakers' home regions, is a Southern Tibetic language spoken by about 5,000 people mainly in Mera and Sakteng Gewogs in the Sakteng Valley of Trashigang District in Eastern Bhutan.[2][3] Brokpa is spoken by descendants of pastoral yakherd communities.[3]
| Brokpa | |
|---|---|
| Brokpa kay | |
| Region | Bhutan |
Native speakers | 5,000 (2006)[1] |
| Tibetan script | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | sgt |
| Glottolog | brok1248 |
| ELP | Brokpake |
The word brokpa has two parts. 'brok' and 'pa'. In Tibetic 'Brok' means pastoral land and 'pa' is a demonym, so the word 'Brokpa' refers to the language spoken by the people living on the mountains. Roger Blench has also recently named a language complex called Senge spoken in three villages northwest of Dirang in West Kameng district.[4]
Dondrup (1993:3) lists the following Brokpa villages.
- West Kameng district
- Lubrung
- Dirme
- Sumrang
- Nyokmadung
- Undra [5]
- Sengedrong
- Tawang district
- Lagam
- Mago
- Thingbu
- Lakuthang
- Bhutan
- Sakteng
- Merak
The 1981 census counted 1,855 Brokpa people in Arunachal Pradesh.[6]