Nepali (;[Khanal, Rajendra. "Linguistic geography of nepalese languages." The Third Pole: Journal of Geography Education (2019): 45-54.][Hutt, Michael James. Nepali: The emergence of a national language. University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies (United Kingdom), 1984.][Sarkar, Anil Kumar. "Gorkha identity and separate statehood movement." Global Journal of Human-Social Science: D History Archaeology & Anthropology 14.1D (2014): 32-38.] is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Himalayas region of South Asia. It is the official and most widely spoken language of Nepal, where it also serves as a lingua franca. Nepali has official status in the Indian state of Sikkim and in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration of West Bengal. It is spoken by about a quarter of Bhutan's population. Nepali also has a significant number of speakers in the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Uttarakhand.
Nepali is commonly classified within the Eastern Pahari group of the Northern zone of Indo-Aryan.
The language originated from the Sinja Valley, Karnali Province then the capital city of the Khasa Kingdom around the 10th and 14th centuries. It developed proximity to a number of Indo-Aryan languages, most significantly to other Pahari languages. Nepali was originally spoken by the Khas people, an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group native to the Himalayas of South Asia. The earliest inscription in the Nepali language is believed to be an inscription in Dullu, Dailekh District which was written around the reign of King Bhupal Damupal around the year 981. The institutionalisation of the Nepali language arose during the rule of the Gorkha Kingdom (later became known as the Kingdom of Nepal) in the 16th century. Over the centuries, different dialects of the Nepali language with distinct influences from Sanskrit, Maithili, Hindi, and Bengali language are believed to have emerged across different regions of the current-day Nepal and Uttarakhand, making Nepali the lingua franca.
Nepali is a highly fusional language with a moderately free word order, although the dominant arrangement is subject–object–verb word order (SOV). There are three major levels or gradations of honorific, as well as two more based on dialect and socio-economic class: low, medium, high, very high, and royal.
Etymology
The term
Nepali derived from
Nepal was officially adopted by the Government of Nepal in 1933, when
Gorkha Bhasa Prakashini Samiti (Gorkha Language Publishing Committee), a
Institution established in 1913 (
Vikram Samvat 1970) for advancement of Gorkha Bhasa, renamed itself as
Nepali Bhasa Prakashini Samiti (Nepali Language Publishing Committee) in 1933 (B.S. 1990), which is currently known as
Sajha Prakashan.
Conversely, the term
Gorkhali in the former
national anthem entitled "
Shriman Gambhir" was changed to
Nepali in 1951.
However, the term
Nepali was used before the official adoption notably by Jaya Prithvi Bahadur Singh, now considered one of the national heroes of Nepal, who advocated for the embracement of the term.
[ जङ्गबहादुरलाई पनि घिसार्ने गरिएको पाइन्छ तर उनको पालामा गोर्खा भाषा वा नेपाली भाषा नभनी पाष्या बोली वा पर्वते भाषाको प्रचलन रहेको देखिन्छ । तर उक्त सनद जारी भएको एक वर्षपछिको जङ्गबहादुरको एक पत्रमा उनले गोर्खा वा गोर्खाली वा नेपाली भाषाका नमुना भनी नभनी पाष्या (पाखे) बोली भनेका छन् ।]
The initial name of Nepali language was " Khas Kura" (), meaning language or speech of the Khas people, who are descended from the ancient Khasas of Mahabharata, as the language developed during the rule of the Khasa Kingdom in the western Nepal.[आजभन्दा करिब नौ दशकअघि मात्रै देशको नाम 'नेपाल' का रूपमा स्विकारिएको हो भने, पहिले खस–पर्वते–गोर्खाली भनिने भाषालाई 'नेपाली' नामकरण गरिएको हो ।][Lienhard, Siegfried (1992). Songs of Nepal: An Anthology of Nevar Folksongs and Hymns. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas. . Page 3.]
History
Origin and development
Early forms of present-day Nepali developed from the Middle Indo-Aryan
apabhraṃśa of present-day
western Nepal in the 10th–14th centuries, during the times of the
Khasa Kingdom.
The language evolved from
Sanskrit,
Prakrit, and Apabhraṃśa.
Following the decline of the Khasa Kingdom, it was divided into
Baise Rajya (22 principalities) in
Ghaghara-
Bheri River region and
Chaubise rajya (24 principalities) in
Gandaki River region.
The currently popular variant of Nepali is believed to have originated around 500 years ago with the mass migration of a branch of
Khas people from the
Ghaghara-
Bheri River-
Seti River eastward to settle in lower valleys of the
Ghaghara and the
Gandaki River basin.
During the times of Sena dynasty, who ruled a vast area in Terai and central hills of Nepal, Nepali language became influenced by the Indian languages including Awadhi language, Bhojpuri, Braj Bhasha and Maithili.
Middle Nepali
The institutionalisation of the Nepali language is believed to have started with the
Shah dynasty of
Gorkha Kingdom, in the modern day
Gorkha District of Nepal.
Following the Unification of Nepal, the language moved to the court of the Kingdom of Nepal in the 18th century, where it became the state language.
One of the earliest works in the Middle Nepali was written during the reign of
Ram Shah, King of Gorkha, a book by unknown writer called
Ram Shah ko Jivani (A Biography of Ram Shah).
Prithvi Narayan Shah's
Divyopadesh, written toward the end of his life, around 1774–75, contains old Nepali dialect of the era, is considered as the first work of essay of Nepali literature.
During this time Nepali developed a standardised prose in the Lal mohar (royal charter)—documents related to the Nepalese Kingdom dealing with diplomatic writings, tax, and administrative records.
Modern Nepali
The modern period of Nepali begins in the early 20th century.
During this time the ruling
Rana dynasty made various attempts to make Nepali the language of education, notably, by Dev Shumsher and Chandra Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana, who established
Gorkhapatra, and the
Gorkha Bhasa Prakashini Samiti respectively.
At this time, Nepali had limited literature compared to
Hindi and
, a movement notably in
Varanasi, and
Darjeeling was started to create uniformed Nepali identity, which was later adopted in Nepal following the 1951 Nepalese revolution and during the Panchayat system.
In 1957, Royal Nepal Academy was established with the objectives of developing and promoting Nepali literature, culture, art and science.
During Panchayat, Nepal adopted a "
One King, One Dress, One Language, One Nation" ideology, which promoted Nepali language as basis for Nepali nationalism, this time is considered to be a
Golden Age for the language.
In West Bengal, Nepali language was recognised by West Bengal Government in 1961 as the official language for the Darjeeling district, and Kalimpong and Kurseong.
Official status
Nepali written in the
Devanagari is the official language of Nepal.
On 31 August 1992, Nepali was added to the list of scheduled languages of India.
Despite being spoken by about a quarter of the population,
Geographic distribution
Nepal
According to the 2011 national census, 44.6% of the population of Nepal speaks Nepali as its
first language.
and 32.8% speak Nepali as a second language.
reports 12,300,000 speakers within Nepal (from the 2011 census).
It is spoken by 20,250,952, about 77.20% of the population, as their
first language and
second language.
India
According to the 2011 census of India, there were a total of 2,926,168 Nepali language speakers in India.
| West Bengal | 1,155,375 |
| Assam | 596,210 |
| Sikkim | 382,200 |
| Uttarakhand | 106,399 |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 95,317 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 89,508 |
| Maharashtra | 75,683 |
| Manipur | 63,756 |
| Meghalaya | 54,716 |
| Nagaland | 43,481 |
| Delhi | 37,468 |
| Gujarat | 25,142 |
| Jammu and Kashmir | 22,138 |
| Punjab | 22,061 |
| Haryana | 19,914 |
| Karnataka | 19,274 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 18,743 |
| Jharkhand | 16,956 |
| Andhra Pradesh | 11,551 |
| Mizoram | 8,994 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 8,724 |
| Odisha | 8,654 |
| Rajasthan | 7,636 |
| Tamil Nadu | 7,575 |
| Chandigarh | 6,546 |
| Bihar | 5,727 |
| Kerala | 3,665 |
| Chhattisgarh | 3,431 |
| Tripura | 2,787 |
| Goa | 2,600 |
| Daman and Diu | 1,401 |
| Dadra and Nagar Haveli | 1,152 |
| Andaman and Nicobar Islands | 949 |
| Puducherry | 431 |
| Lakshadweep | 4 |
Bhutan
In
Bhutan, native Nepali speakers, known as
Lhotshampa, are estimated at 35%
of the population. This number includes displaced Bhutanese refugees, with unofficial estimates of the ethnic Bhutanese refugee population as high as 30 to 40%, constituting a majority in the south (about 242,000 people).
Australia
Nepali is the third-most spoken language in the Australian state of
Tasmania, where it is spoken by 1.3% of its population,
and fifth-most spoken language in the Northern Territory, Australia, spoken by 1.3% of its population.
Nepali is the most spoken language other than English in Rockdale and
Kogarah. In Granville, Campsie and Ashfield it is the second most commonly spoken language other than English.
Allawah and
Hurstville have third most Nepali speaking population in New South Wales. There are regular Nepali language News papers and Magazines in Australia.
International
| +International geographic distribution
!Country
!Speaker population
!Notes |
| | 300,000-500,000 | |
| | 133,068 | 2021 census |
| | 25,472 | 2016 census |
| | 13,375 | 2016 census |
| | 7,234 | 2023 statistics |
|
Phonology
and
are outlined in the tables below.
Vowels
Nepali distinguishes six oral vowels and five nasal vowels. /o/ does not have a phonemic nasal counterpart, although it is often in free variation with õ.
Nepali has ten diphthongs: /ui̯/, /iu̯/, /ei̯/, /eu̯/, /oi̯/, /ou̯/, /ʌi̯/, /ʌu̯/, /ai̯/, and /au̯/.
Consonants
j and w are nonsyllabic allophones of i and u, respectively. Every consonant except j, w, and /ɦ/ has a geminate counterpart between vowels. /ɳ/ and /ʃ/ also exist in some loanwords such as /baɳ/ बाण "arrow" and /nareʃ/ नरेश "king", but these sounds are sometimes replaced with native Nepali phonemes. The Murmured voice stops may lose their breathy-voice between vowels and word-finally. Non-geminate aspirated and murmured stops may also become fricatives, with /pʰ/ as ɸ, /bʱ/ as β, /kʰ/ as x, and /ɡʱ/ as ɣ. Examples of this are /sʌpʰa/ 'clean' becoming sʌɸa and /ʌɡʱaɖi/ 'before' becoming ʌɣaɽi.
Typically, sounds transcribed with the retroflex symbols ⟨ʈ, ʈʰ, ɖ, ɖʱ, ɽ, ɳ, ɽ̃⟩ are not purely retroflex ʈ, but apical postalveolar t̠,. Some speakers may use purely retroflex sounds after /u/ and /a/, but other speakers use the apical articulation in all positions.
Final schwas may or may not be preserved in speech. The following rules can be followed to figure out whether or not Nepali words retain the final schwa:
-
Schwa is retained if the final syllable is a conjunct consonant. अन्त (, 'end'), सम्बन्ध (, 'relation'), श्रेष्ठ (, 'greatest'/a last name).
Exceptions: conjuncts such as ञ्च ञ्ज in मञ्च (, 'stage') गञ्ज (, 'city') and occasionally the last name पन्त (/).
-
For any verb form the final schwa is always retained unless the schwa-cancelling halanta is present. हुन्छ (, 'it happens'), भएर (, 'in happening so; therefore'), गएछ (, 'he apparently went'), but छन् (, 'they are'), गईन् (, 'she went'). Meanings may change with the wrong orthography: गईन (, 'she didn't go') vs गईन् (, 'she went').
-
Adverbs, onomatopoeia and postpositions usually maintain the schwa and if they don't, halanta is acquired: अब ( 'now'), तिर (, 'towards'), आज (, 'today') सिम्सिम ( 'drizzle') vs झन् (, 'more').
-
Few exceptional nouns retain the schwa such as: दु:ख (, 'suffering'), सुख (, 'pleasure').
Note: Schwas are often retained in music and poetry to add extra syllables when needed.
Grammar
Nepali is a highly fusional language with relatively free
word order, although the dominant arrangement is SOV (subject–object–verb). There are three major levels or gradations of honorifics, as well as two more based on dialect and class: low, medium, high, very high, and royal. Low honorific is used where no respect is due, medium honorific is used to signify equal status or neutrality, and high honorific signifies respect. The very high grade is used by some speakers, and the highest level royal honorific, was used to refer to members of the royal family, and by the royals among themselves. Often it would also use unique or uncommon vocabulary.
| +
!Honorific Grade
!Nepali
!IAST Transliteration
!English |
| Low | तँ खान्छस् | tã khānchas | You eat (food). |
| Medium | तिमी खान्छौ | timī khānchau |
| High | तपाईं खानु हुन्छ | tapāīṃ khānu huncha |
| Very high | हजुर खानु होइसिन्छ | hajura khānu hoisincha |
| Royal | मौसुफ खानु होइबक्सिन्छ | mausupha khānu hoibaksincha |
Like all modern Indo-Aryan languages, Nepali grammar has syncretised heavily, losing much of the complex declensional system present in the older languages. Instead, it relies heavily on
periphrasis, a marginal verbal feature of older Indo-Aryan languages.
Nepali makes frequent use of to show verbal negation, which in turn are used as Echo answer to yes-no questions.
Writing system
Nepali is generally written in
Devanagari script. In certain regions, the
Tibetan script was also used in regions with predominantly Tibetic population, with common Tibetan expressions and pronunciation.
In the section below Nepali is represented in Latin transliteration using the IAST scheme and IPA. The chief features are: subscript dots for retroflex consonants; macrons for etymologically, contrastively ; h denoting aspirated . denote .
| + Diacritics combined with the letter ब
! colspan="10" | Vowels
! colspan="4" | Consonants |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Literature
Nepali developed significant literature within a short period of a hundred years in the 19th century. This literary explosion was fuelled by Adhyatma Ramayana; Sundarananda Bara (1833); Birsikka, an anonymous collection of folk tales; and a version of the
epic
Ramayana by Bhanubhakta Acharya (d. 1868). The contribution of trio-laureates
Lekhnath Paudyal, Laxmi Prasad Devkota, and
Balkrishna Sama took Nepali to the level of other world languages. The contribution of expatriate writers outside Nepal, especially in
Darjeeling and
Varanasi in India, is also notable. Nepali-language speakers are rapidly migrating around the globe in last a couple of decades and many books of Nepali language literature are published from different corners of the world. Diasporic literature has developed new ways of thinking and created a new branch in Nepali language literature.
Dialects
Dialects of Nepali include Acchami, Baitadeli, Bajhangi, Bajurali, Bheri, Dadeldhuri, Dailekhi, Darchulali, Darchuli, Gandakeli, Humli, Purbeli, and Soradi.
These dialects can be distinct from Standard Nepali. Mutual intelligibility between Baitadeli, Bajhangi, Bajurali (Bajura), Humli and Acchami is low.
The dialect of the Nepali language spoken in
Karnali Province is not mutually intelligible with Standard Nepali. The language is known by its old name as
Jumli language in Karnali.
Sample text
The following is a sample text in Nepali, of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, with a transliteration (IAST) and transcription (IPA).
- Nepali in Devanagari Script
- धारा १. सबै व्यक्तिहरू जन्मजात स्वतन्त्र हुन् ती सबैको समान अधिकार र महत्व छ। निजहरूमा विचार शक्ति र सद्विचार भएकोले निजहरूले आपसमा भातृत्वको भावनाबाट व्यवहार गर्नु पर्छ।
- Transliteration (ISO)
- Dhārā 1. Sabai vyaktiharū janmajāt svatantra hun tī sabaiko samān adhikār ra mahatva cha. Nijharūmā vicār śakti ra sadvicār bhaekole nijharūle āpasmā bhatṛtvako bhāvanabāṭa vyavahār garnu parcha.
- Transcription (IPA)
- dʱaɾa
- Gloss (word-to-word)
- Article 1. All human-beings from-birth independent are their all equal right and importance is. In themselves, intellect and conscience {endowed therefore} they {one another} brotherhood's spirit {treatment with} do must.
- Translation (grammatical)
- Article 1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
See also
Footnotes
Bibliography
Further reading
-
पोखरेल, मा. प्र. (2000), ध्वनिविज्ञान र नेपाली भाषाको ध्वनि परिचय, नेपाल राजकीय प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठान, काठमाडौँ।
-
Schmidt, R. L. (1993) A Practical Dictionary of Modern Nepali.
-
Turner, R. L. (1931) A Comparative and Etymological Dictionary of the Nepali Language.
-
Clements, G.N. & Khatiwada, R. (2007). "Phonetic realization of contrastively aspirated affricates in Nepali." In Proceedings of ICPhS XVI (Saarbrücken, 6–10 August 2007), 629- 632. [3]
-
Hutt, M. & Subedi, A. (2003) Teach Yourself Nepali.
-
Manders, C. J. (2007) नेपाली व्याकरणमा आधार A Foundation in Nepali Grammar.
-
Dashrath Kharel, "Nepali linguistics spoken in Darjeeling-Sikkim"
External links
