Alternate Names: Bhotte, Kutang, Kutang Ghale
Dialects: Bihi, Chak, Rana. Varieties spoken in Chhak and Kwak villages are reportedly similar to each other and different from all other villages. Lexical similarity: 62%–76% among dialects, 39%–49% with Southern Ghale ,, 45%–61% with Northern Ghale ,, 18% with Western (Banspur) Gurung ,, 16%–23% with Tamang varieties, 13%–31% with Nubri ,, 23%–27% with Tsum ,, 22%–27% with Kyerung (Kyirong) ,, 19%–24% with Tibetan ,.
Genealogy:
Demographics: 29 (2011 census).
Language Use: Some Tibetan religious books translated into Kuke by priests. Home, friends; mixed use: Work. All ages. Positive attitudes. Speakers in Bihi village have minimal bilingual proficiency in Tibetan [bod]. Minimal proficiency in Bihi village in Nepali [npi]. Nepali used to communicate with Northern [ghh] and Southern Ghale [ghe] speakers. Many are bilingual in Nubri [kte]. Nubri is used since many Nubri speakers do not use Kuke.
Language Development: Literacy rate in L1: Some can read Kuke in Tibetan script. Literacy rate in L2: 5%.
Typology: SOV.
Writing System: Tibetan
Nation of Origin: Nepal
Other Comments: Referred to as thieves’ language, a mixture of nearby languages. Buddhist (Lamaist), Hindu.