Case Markers in the Chhathare Limbu (Research NOTE‪)‬

Introduction Limbu has four major dialects--Panthare, Phedappe, Taplejunge and Chhathare. Among them, the Chhathare dialect is quite distinct from other dialects because its speakers can easily understand other dialects but the speakers of other dialects can hardly understand it. It is spoken in the Chhathar area which covers parts of the Dhankuta district that includes villages such as Jitpur, Marek Katahare, Hatikharka, Murtidhungga, Dhankuta municipality, Bhirgaun, Tangkhuwa, Teliya, Parewadin etc, and the Terhathum district which includes villages such as Pancha Kanya, Hamurjang, Okhre, Dangapa and so on. It belongs to the Kiranti group of the Tibeto--Burman family of languages. Both native and non-native speakers have ignored this dialect because it has no status as a lingua franca within the Limbu community, nor is it used in religious ceremonies or socio--cultural exchanges. So far, some works viz. Widert and Subba (1985), van Driem (1987) and Michailovsky (2001) have done on the Panchthare, Phedappe and Taplejunge dialects respectively but until now, no work has been done on the Chhathare dialect. This article is an attempt to explore the case markers of the Chhathare dialect of Limbu.