Alternate Names: Ken, Keng, Kenkha, Khen, Khenkha, Kyengkha
Dialects: Lower Kheng, Middle Kheng, Upper Kheng. Bumthangkha , reportedly most similar related language, but comprehension not sufficient for complex discourse. Comprehend Kurtokha , with difficulty. Lexical similarity: 75%–85% with Bumthangkha ,, 70% with Kurtokha , and Nyengkha ,, 65% with Adap ,, 34% with Dzongkha ,, 40% with Tshangla ,, and 75%–100% between dialects.
Genealogy:
Demographics: 50,000 (2003 SIL). 30,000 monolinguals. L2 users: 15,000.
Language Use: Vigorous. Home, commerce, local politics, traditional religion, but not allowed in school. All ages. Negative attitudes toward Gonphu village speaking style. Lower Kheng considered most backward; Middle Kheng most prestigious. Bumthangkha [kjz] spoken by those who travel or have intermarried. Dzongkha [dzo] spoken well only by educated and some older males. English [eng] used by educated young people (10%). Kurtokha [xkz] spoken by those who travel or have intermarried. Nepali [npi] spoken by those who live near the road (20%). Nyengkha [neh] spoken by those who travel or have intermarried. Tshangla [tsj] spoken by those who travel east of Kheng area.
Language Development: Literacy rate in L2: 20% in Dzongkha [dzo]. Bible portions: 2008.
Typology: SOV; postpositions; genitives, relatives before noun heads, articles, adjective after noun heads; maximum prefixes 1; maximum suffixes 4; affixes indicate case; ergative; passives; causatives; some comparatives; CCVC; tonal.
Writing System: Tibetan (Uchen)
Nation of Origin: Bhutan
Other Comments: Middle Kheng region strongest and most developed economically; Lower Kheng least developed. Buddhist.