Everything about Nepalese Language totally explained
Nepali is an
Indo-Aryan language spoken in
Nepal,
Bhutan, and some parts of
India and
Myanmar (Burma). The word 'Nepali' is also written as 'Nepalese' by few people.
It is the lingua-franca of
Nepal and also one of 23
Official languages of India incorporated in 8th annex of the Indian constitution. It is a lingua-franca of the state of
Sikkim and has official language status in
West Bengal's
Darjeeling district. Similarly it's spoken in State of
Uttaranchal as well as in the state of
Assam. Roughly half of the population of Nepal speaks Nepali as a mother tongue but it's spoken as a second language by most of the Nepali people.
Nepali goes by various names. It was also called
Gorkhali or
Gurkhali, "the language of the
Gurkhas, "and
Parbatiya, "the language of the mountains."
Khaskura is the oldest term, literally
speech of the Khas who were peasants in the Karnali-Bheri basin of far western Nepal since prehistoric or early historic times. Khaskura exists in opposition to
Khamkura, a group of Tibeto-Burman dialects spoken by
Kham peoples in highlands separating the
Karnali-
Bheri basin from the
Gandaki basin in central Nepal.
History
Perhaps 500 years ago, the Khas migrated eastward, bypassing the inhospitable Kham highlands to settle in the lower valleys of the Gandaki basin suited to rice cultivation. One notable extended family settled in
Gorkha, a petty principality about halfway between
Pokhara and Kathmandu. Then in the late 1700s a scion named
Prithvi Narayan Shah raised an army of
Gurungs,
Magars and possibly other hill tribesmen and set out to conquer and consolidate dozens of petty principalities in the Himalayan foothills. Since Gorkha had replaced the original Khas homeland as the center of political and military initiative, Khaskura was redubbed
Gorkhali, for example
language of the Gorkhas.
Prithvi Narayan's especially notable military achievement was conquest of the urbanized Kathmandu Valley, on the eastern rim of the Gandaki basin. This region was also called
Nepal at the time. Kathmandu became Prithvi Narayan's new capital, then he and his heirs extended their domain east into the
Koshi basin, north to the Tibetan Plateau, south into the plains of northern India, and west of the Karnali/Bheri basin.
Expansion, particularly to the north, west, and south brought the growing state into conflict with British and Chinese territorial ambitions. This led to wars that trimmed it back to roughly Nepal's present borders or less, however both great powers understood the value of a buffer state and didn't attempt to reduce the new country further. Since the Kathmandu Valley or
Nepal had become the new center of political initiative, this word gradually came to refer to the entire realm and not just the Kathmandu Valley. And so
Gorkhali, language of Gorkha, was again redubbed
Nepali.
Nepali is the easternmost of the
Pahari languages, a group of related languages spoken across the lower elevations of the
Himalaya range, from eastern Nepal through the Indian states of
Uttarakhand and
Himachal Pradesh. The influence of the Nepali language can also be seen in Bhutan and some parts of Myanmar. Nepali developed in proximity to a number of
Tibeto-Burman languages, most notably
Nepal Bhasa, and shows
Tibeto-Burman influences.
Nepali is closely related to Hindi but is more conservative, borrowing fewer words from Persian and English and using more
Sanskritic derivations. Today, Nepali is commonly written in the
Devanagari script. There is some record of using
Takri script in the history of Nepali especially in western Nepal,
Utarakhand, and
Himanchal.
Bhujimol is an older script native to Nepal. Nepali is mutually intelligible with Hindi and Urdu speakers.
Nepali developed a great literature within a short period of hundred years in the nineteenth century, fueled by
Adhyatma Ramayana,
Sundarananda Bara (1833),
Birsikka, an anonymous collection of folk-tales, and a
Ramayana by
Bhanubhakta. The contribution of trio-lauretes
Poudyal,
Devkota and
Sama took Nepali to the level of other world languages. The contribution of laureates outside Nepal, especially from Darjeeling and
Varanasi, is also worth noting.
The sole use of Nepali in the courts and government of Nepal is being challenged. The issue of recognition of for other ethnic language in Nepal was one of talking points raised by the
Maoist insurgency. A Cabinet Minister, Matrika Yadav recently took ministerial oath in the
Maithili language, rather than Nepali.
Scholars Kamal Malla and Tej. Kansakar comment of the Sanskrit derivation of Nepali:
» "
Janaka, Yajnavalkya, Valmiki, Kapila and Gautama Buddha have greatly contributed to the Sanskrit and Prakrita from which the Nepali language seeks its origins."
See also:
Lhotshampa
Grammar
Phrases
Examples of phrases in Nepali include:
- namaste. नमस्ते — all-purpose Hindu greeting, often translated as "I salute the god within you". Its literal Sanskrit meaning is "your homage" and in common usage simply means "hello" or "goodbye."
tapāī̃ko/timro nām ke ho? तपाईंको/तिम्रो नाम के हो? - What is your name?
mero nām Ālok ho. मेरो नाम आलोक हो — My name is Alok.
tapāī/timi lai kasto cha? तपाईंलाई/तिमीलाई कस्तो छ? — How are you?
The following are more commonly used:
ke cha? के छ? (informal), sañcai hunuhuncha? सञ्चै हुनुहुन्छ? (formal)
khānā khāne ṭhāũ kahā̃ cha? खाना खाने ठाउँ कहाँ छ? — Where is the place to eat?
kāṭhmāḍaũ jāne bāṭo dherai lāmo cha. काठ्माडौँ जाने बाटो धेरै लामो छ — The road to Kathmandu is very long.
nepālmā baneko नेपालमा बनेको — Made in Nepal.
ma nepālī hũ म नेपाली हूँ — I'm Nepali.
pugyo पुग्यो — That is enough (mainly used while eating/amount of food/and various other amounts).Further Information
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