| Belhare | |
|---|---|
| Region | Dhankuta district, Nepal |
| Ethnicity | Kirat Athpare of Belhara |
Native speakers | 600 (2011 census)[1] |
Sino-Tibetan
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | byw |
| Glottolog | belh1239 |
| ELP | Belhariya |
Belhare (Nepali: Belhāreor), also known as Athpariya II (not to be confused with Athpariya I), is a Kiranti language spoken by some 2,000 people living on Belhara Hill, at the southern foothills of the Himalayas situated in the Dhankuta District, Koshi Province in eastern Nepal. All speakers of Belhare are bilingual in Nepali, which results in frequent code mixing and a large amount of Nepali loan-words. Nevertheless, the grammar of Belhare has maintained its distinct Kiranti characteristics.
Like other Kiranti languages, Belhare is characterized by an elaborate morphology in both the nominal and verbal domain. Syntactically, Belhare has partly an accusative, partly an ergative pivot, but accusative syntax is more prominent in terms of frequency.