Newar Language
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Newar (), or Newari and known officially in Nepal as Nepal Bhasa, is a
Sino-Tibetan language Sino-Tibetan, also cited as Trans-Himalayan in a few sources, is a family of more than 400 languages, second only to Indo-European in number of native speakers. The vast majority of these are the 1.3 billion native speakers of Chinese languages. ...
spoken by the
Newar people Newar (; new, नेवार, endonym: Newa; new, नेवा, Pracalit script:) or Nepami, are the historical inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley and its surrounding areas in Nepal and the creators of its historic heritage and civilisation ...
, the indigenous inhabitants of
Nepal Mandala Nepal Mandala ( ne, नेपाल मण्डल) is an ancient confederation on the Indian subcontinent, marked by cultural, religious and political boundaries which lies in present-day central Nepal. It consists of the Kathmandu Valley and ...
, which consists of the
Kathmandu Valley The Kathmandu Valley ( ne, काठमाडौं उपत्यका; also known as the Nepal Valley or Nepa Valley ( ne, नेपाः उपत्यका, Nepal Bhasa: 𑐣𑐾𑐥𑐵𑑅 𑐐𑐵𑑅, नेपाः गाः)), ...
and surrounding regions in
Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
. "Nepal Bhasa" literally means "Nepalese language", however the language is not the same as Nepali (
Devanāgarī Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the a ...
: नेपाली), the country's current official language of the central government. The two languages belong to different language families (Sino-Tibetan and
Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutc ...
, respectively), but centuries of
contact Contact may refer to: Interaction Physical interaction * Contact (geology), a common geological feature * Contact lens or contact, a lens placed on the eye * Contact sport, a sport in which players make contact with other players or objects * ...
have resulted in a significant body of shared vocabulary. Newar was Nepal's administrative language from the 14th to the late 18th century. From the early 20th century until
democratisation Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an authoritarian regime to a full ...
, Newar suffered from official suppression. From 1952 to 1991, the percentage of Newar speakers in the Kathmandu Valley dropped from 75% to 44% and today Newar culture and language are under threat. The language has been listed as being "definitely endangered" by
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
.


Name

The name Nepal Bhasa, which literally means ''Nepal Language'', originates from
Nepal Mandala Nepal Mandala ( ne, नेपाल मण्डल) is an ancient confederation on the Indian subcontinent, marked by cultural, religious and political boundaries which lies in present-day central Nepal. It consists of the Kathmandu Valley and ...
. Until 1960s, the Kathmandu Valley was known as ''Nepal Valley'' or ''Nepa Valley''.उनले भनेका थिए– ‘तिब्बतको दक्षिणमा ‘नेपाल’ छ, त्यसका बासिन्दालाई ‘नेवार’ भनिन्छ ।’ यो सन्दर्भलाई पत्याउने हो भने त्यतिखेर ‘नेपाल’ काठमाडौं वरिपरि मात्र भएको देशको नाम थियो र अहिले ‘नेपाली’ भनिए जस्तो त्यो ‘नेपाल’ देशका बासिन्दालाई ‘नेवार’ भनिन्थ्यो । उनीहरूले बोल्ने भाषालाई ‘नेपाल भाषा’ भनिन्थ्यो । यसको गहिरो अर्थ छ– ‘नेवार’ कुनै जात, जाति वा नश्ल समुुदाय हैन, एक ऐतिहासिक राष्ट्र वा राष्ट्रियता हो । A government report from 1961 describes the valley being grouped as ''Kathmandu District'', which is different from today's
Kathmandu District Kathmandu District ( ne, काठमाडौं जिल्ला; Nepal Bhasa: ये: जिल्ला) is a district located in Kathmandu Valley, Bagmati Province of Nepal. It is one of the 77 districts of Nepal, covers an area of , ...
, marks the commencement of referring the valley as Kathmandu Valley. The term ''Nepa Valley'' is still used among
Newa Newar (), or Newari and known officially in Nepal as Nepal Bhasa, is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Newar people, the indigenous inhabitants of Nepal Mandala, which consists of the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding regions in Nepa ...
populationहाल काठमाडौँ उपत्यका भनेर चिनिएको, पहिले नेपाल खाल्डो(नेपाः गाः) भनेर परिचित नेपाः उपत्यका, राजधानी यस्तो छ, यस्तो हुनुपर्छ, विकास यो हो, त्यो हो भन्ने आम जनमानसमा एउटा मानसिकता नै छ।लिपि नखःकै कार्यक्रममा 'सेभ नेपाः भ्याली' अभियन्ताहरू पनि रञ्जना लिपिमा आफ्नो उपस्थिति देखाए। काठमाडाैं उपत्यकामा विकासका नाममा सम्पदा मासिँदै गएपछि काठमाडाैं उपत्यका (नेपाः भ्याली) बचाउन लागिपरेका हुन्, उनीहरू।नेपाः देश आजको काठमाडौँ उपत्यका हो । and local governments, while senior citizens still tend to refer the valley as ''Nepal''.यो कुनै तर्क हैन, एक ऐतिहासिक सत्य हो । यसलाई पुष्टि गर्न डेशीदेरी जस्तो कुनै विदेशी विद्वानको सहारा लिइरहनु पर्दैन । हाम्रो पुस्ता बाल्यकालमा हुँदासम्म बूढो पुस्ताले काठमाडौं जानुलाई ‘नेपाल जानु’ भन्थे । ‘तीन शहर नेपाल’ भन्ने गीत खुबै चलेको थियो । स्वयं मेरी हजुरआमाले मलाई ‘नेपाल भ्रमणको संस्मरण’ सुनाएको सम्झना छ । मेरा हजुरबा आफूलाई ‘माझ किरातको बाहुन हुँ’ भन्ने गर्नुहुन्थ्यो । ‘माझ किरात’ बाट ‘नेपाल’ गए/आएको २२ दिनको पैदलयात्राको कथा हजुरआमाले बेलीविस्तार सुनाउँदा म मन्त्रमुग्ध भई सुनिरहन्थें । A larger region surrounding the valley is known as Nepal Mandala. Therefore, the language spoken in Nepal Valley and Nepal Mandala became known as Nepal Bhasa.When we were on the top of Chandragiri Mountain, I asked them- "Which one is Nepal?" They helped me to recognize Bhadgaun (Now Bhaktapur), Patan and Kathmandu. My heart, at that time, felt to be the King of those Three Cities.....also to see the Kathmandu Valley (the then Nepal).....Not to be recognized and arrested by the King of Nepal (Kathmandu) I was using Sayakhu( Woolen Blanket)....We may not conquer Nepal (Kathmandu) without sufficient human resource like in Kurukshetra... The earliest occurrences of the name ''Nepālabhāṣā'' (
Devanāgarī Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the a ...
: नेपालभाषा) or ''Nepālavāc'' (
Devanāgarī Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the a ...
: नेपालवाच) can be found in the manuscripts o
a commentary to the ''Nāradasaṃhitā''
dated 1380 AD, an
a commentary to the ''Amarkośa''
dated 1386 AD. Since then, the name has been used widely on inscriptions, manuscripts, documents and books. In the 1920s, the name of the language known as Khas Kura, Gorkhali or Parbatiya was changed to Nepali,Lienhard, Siegfried (1992). ''Songs of Nepal: An Anthology of Nevar Folksongs and Hymns.'' New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas. . Page 3.आजभन्दा करिब नौ दशकअघि मात्रै देशको नाम ‘नेपाल’ का रूपमा स्विकारिएको हो भने, पहिले खस–पर्वते–गोर्खाली भनिने भाषालाई ‘नेपाली’ नामकरण गरिएको हो । Conversely, the term Gorkhali in the former
national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...
entitled "Shreeman Gambhir" was changed to Nepali in 1951. ''Gorkha Bhasa Prakashini Samiti'' (Gorkha Language Publishing Committee), a government institution established in 1913 (B.S. 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''. The term ''Newari'' is considered as a derogatory term. On 7 September 1995, the cabinet of ministers decided to use "Nepala Bhasa" instead of "Newari". On 13 November 1998, the Minister of Information and Communication issued another directive to use the name Nepal Bhasa instead of Newari. However, the Central Bureau of Statistics has not been doing so. A colloquial term is ''Newa Bhaay'' (
Devanāgarī Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the a ...
: नेवा: भाय्,
IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...
: Nevāḥ Bhāy) is also used.


Geographic distribution

Newar is spoken by over a million people in Nepal according to the 2001 census. * In Nepal:
Kathmandu Valley The Kathmandu Valley ( ne, काठमाडौं उपत्यका; also known as the Nepal Valley or Nepa Valley ( ne, नेपाः उपत्यका, Nepal Bhasa: 𑐣𑐾𑐥𑐵𑑅 𑐐𑐵𑑅, नेपाः गाः)), ...
(including
Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...
, Lalitpur,
Bhaktapur , motto = ne, पुर्खले सिर्जेको सम्पत्ती, हाम्रो कला र संस्कृति , lit=Creation of our ancestors, our heritage and culture , image_map ...
and
Madhyapur Thimi Madhyapur Thimi, also known as Thimi, ( ne, मध्यपुर थिमि) is a municipality in Bhaktapur District in the Bagmati Zone of central Nepal. Thimi lies between Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur in the Kathmandu Valley. It is one o ...
municipalities),
Dolakha District Dolakha, often known as Dolkha or Dholkha (Nepal Bhasa:दोलखा जिल्ला)), a part of Bagmati Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Charikot as its district headquarters, covers an area of a ...
, Banepa,
Dhulikhel Dhulikhel is a municipality in Kavrepalanchok District of Nepal. Two major highway B.P. Highway and Arniko Highway passes through Dhulikhel. Araniko Highway connects Kathmandu, Nepal's capital city with Tibet's border town of Kodari. Dhulikhel ...
, Bandipur, Bhimphedi (Makwanpur),
Panauti Panauti ( ne, पनौती) is a municipality in Kavrepalanchok District in Bagmati Province of Nepal located 32 km Southeast of the capital Kathmandu. The town is currently listed as a UNESCO tentative site since 1996. Origin Panauti i ...
, Palpa, Trishuli, Nuwakot, Bhojpur, Chitlang,
Narayangarh, Chitwan Bharatpur (, ne, भरतपुर, ) is a city in southern central Nepal. It is the third most populous city of Nepal after Kathmandu and Pokhara with 369,377 inhabitants in 2021. It is also the second largest metropolitan city in Nepa ...
. * In India:
West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
&
Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...
* In Tibet: Khasa With an increase in emigration, various bodies and societies of Newar-speaking people have emerged in countries such as the US, the UK, Australia, and Japan.


Official status


Nepal

Newar was
Nepal Mandala Nepal Mandala ( ne, नेपाल मण्डल) is an ancient confederation on the Indian subcontinent, marked by cultural, religious and political boundaries which lies in present-day central Nepal. It consists of the Kathmandu Valley and ...
's (then only known as Nepal) administrative language from the 14th to the late 18th century. From the early 20th century until democratization, Newar suffered from official suppression. The Language Commission of Nepal has recommended
Bagmati Province Bagmati Province ( ne, बाग्मती प्रदेश, ''Bagmati Pradesh'') is one of the seven provinces of Nepal established by the constitution of Nepal. The province is Nepal's second-most populous province and fifth largest provinc ...
to provide Nepal Bhasa (Newar) the status of official language, alongside
Tamang The Tamang (; Devanagari: तामाङ; ''tāmāṅ'') are an Tibeto-Burmese ethnic group of Nepal. In Nepal Tamang/Moormi people constitute 5.6% of the Nepalese population at over 1.3 million in 2001, increasing to 1,539,830 as of the 2011 c ...
. The commission also recommends Nepal Bhasa (Newar) for official status in specific areas and purposes in
Province No. 1 Province No. 1 (proposed names: Kirat Autonomous State, Kirat, Limbuwan, Khambuwan Rashtriya Morcha, Nepal, Khambuwan, Mount Everest, Sagarmatha, Virata, Birat and Koshi River, Koshi) is the easternmost of the seven Provinces of Nepal, province ...
and
Gandaki Province Gandaki Province ( ne, गण्डकी प्रदेश ) ), is one of the seven federal provinces established by the current constitution of Nepal which was promulgated on 20 September 2015. Pokhara is the province's capital city. It borde ...
. At local levels, Nepal Bhasa (Newar) has official status in
Kathmandu Metropolitan City , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Provi ...
, Lalitpur Metropolitan City and Kirtipur Municipality
Chandragiri Municipality Chandragiri is a List of cities in Nepal, municipality in Kathmandu District in Bagmati Province of Nepal that was declared as municipality on 2 December 2014 by merging the former Village development committee (Nepal), Village Development Committ ...
, Shankharapur Municipality, Tarkeshwor Municipality of Kathmandu district;
Banepa Municipality Banepa ( ne, बनेपा) is a municipality and historical town in a valley situated at about above sea level in central Nepal which is at about east from Kathmandu. At the time of the 2011 Nepal census, it has a population of 55,528. The ...
,
Dhulikhel Municipality Dhulikhel is a List of cities in Nepal, municipality in Kavrepalanchok District of Nepal. Two major highway B.P. Koirala Highway, B.P. Highway and Arniko Highway passes through Dhulikhel. Araniko Highway connects Kathmandu, Nepal's capital city ...
of Kavre district; Godavari Municipality of Lalitpur district; and
Bhaktapur Municipality , motto = ne, पुर्खले सिर्जेको सम्पत्ती, हाम्रो कला र संस्कृति , lit=Creation of our ancestors, our heritage and culture , image_map ...
, Madhyapur Thimi Municipality of Bhaktapur district have recognized Nepal Bhasa in some ways. Similarly, Bhimeshor Municipality has recognized and made policy-level decisions for Dolakha Nepal Bhasa.


India

Newar is an additional official language in
Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...
for the purpose of preservation of culture and tradition in the state. The official weekly publication ''Sikkim Herald'' has a Newar Edition. The Information & Public Relations Department also broadcasts news bulletin in Newar.


Education

Nepal Bhasa is included as elective mother tongue subject in schools by Curriculum Development Committee. Tribhuvan University offers Bachelors, Masters, Mphil and PhD degree in Nepal Bhasa. Expiates can study Nepal Bhasa at Bishwa Bhasa Campus in Kathmandu. Kathmandu Metropolitan City and Kirtipur Municipality is teaching Nepal Bhasa as a local language. Newar is taught in schools of Sikkim.


Relationship with other Tibeto-Burman languages

The exact placement of Newar within the Tibeto-Burman language family has been a source of controversies and confusion. Robert Shafer classified Newar as part of his Bodic division of Sino-Tibetan. George Van Driem classified Newar within the Mahakiranti grouping but he later retracted his hypothesis in 2003. Moreover, he proposed a new grouping called "Maha-Newari" which possibly includes Baram–Thangmi. T. R. Kansakar attributes the difficulty about the placement of Newar to the inability of scholars to connect it with the migration patterns of the Tibeto-Burman speakers. Since Newar separated from rest of the family very early in history, it is difficult or at least arbitrary to reconstruct the basic stratum that contributed to present day Newar speech. He underscored the point that the language evolved from mixed racial/linguistic influences that do not lend easily to a neat classification. A classification (based on Glover's) indicating a percentage of shared vocabulary within the labeled branch and an approximate time of split: ɫ "%" indicates lexical similarity/common vocabulary between Newar and the other languages in the branch. The date indicates an approximate time when the language diverged.
ɞ Van Driem labelled this branch as "Parakiranti" and included it together with Kiranti branch to form Maha Kiranti group. However, he would later drop this hypothesis.
ʌ All languages within this branch have extensive Indo-Aryan vocabulary. It is hypothesised that either ancient IndoAryan admixture happened before Newar-Thangmi-Baram split or that Thangmi-Baram borrowed through Newari.


History and development

According to the linguist, Glover, Newari and the
Chepang language Chepang may refer to: * Chepang people, a group indigenous to the lands of Nepal * Chepang language, the language of the Chepang people {{dab ...
must have diverged around 2200 BC. It is estimated that Newari shares 28% of its vocabulary with Chepang. At the same time, a very large and significant proportion of Newari vocabulary is Indo-European in origin, by one estimate more than 50%, indicating an influence of at least 1600 years from Indo-European languages, first from Sanskrit, Maithili, Persian, and Urdu and today from Hindi, Nepali and English. Newar words appeared in
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
inscriptions in the Kathmandu Valley for the first time in the fifth century. The words are names of places, taxes and merchandise indicating that it already existed as a spoken language during the Licchavi period (approximately 400-750 AD). Inscriptions in Newar emerged from the 12th century, the
palm-leaf manuscript Palm-leaf manuscripts are manuscripts made out of dried palm leaves. Palm leaves were used as writing materials in the Indian subcontinent and in Southeast Asia reportedly dating back to the 5th century BCE. Their use began in South Asia and ...
from Uku Bahah being the first example. By the 14th century, Newar had become an administrative language as shown by the official proclamations and public notices written in it. The first books, manuals, histories and dictionaries also appeared during this time. The ''Gopalarajavamsavali'', a history of Nepal, appeared in 1389 AD. From the 14th century onwards, an overwhelming number of stone inscriptions in the Kathmandu Valley, where they are a ubiquitous element at heritage sites, are in Newar. Newar developed as the court and state language of Nepal from the 14th to the late 18th centuries. It was the definite language of stone and copper plate inscriptions, royal decrees, chronicles, Hindu and Buddhist manuscripts, official documents, journals, title deeds, correspondence and creative writing. Records of the life-cycle ceremonies of Malla royalty and the materials used were written in Newar. The period 1505–1847 AD was a golden age for
Newar literature The Newar language of Nepal has the fourth oldest literature tradition among the Sino-Tibetan languages (after Chinese, Tibetan and Burmese). The earliest known document in Newar is called "The Palmleaf from Uku Bahal" which dates from 1114 duri ...
. Poetry, stories, epics, and dramas were produced in great numbers during this time which is known as the Classical Period. Since then it entered a period of decline due to official disapproval and oftentimes outright attempts to stamp it out. Newar can be classified into the old and new eras. Although there is no specific demarcation between the two, the period 1846–1941 AD during the
Rana Rana may refer to: Astronomy * Rana (crater), a crater on Mars * Delta Eridani or Rana, a star People, groups and titles * Rana (name), a given name and surname (including a list of people and characters with the name) * Rana (title), a histori ...
regime is taken as the dividing period between the two.Pulangu Nepalbhasa Wangmaya-muna by Kashinath Tamot # All measures are in pixels ImageSize = width:800 height:390 PlotArea = left:0 right:150 bottom:250 top:10 AlignBars = early DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:-2500 till:2100 TimeAxis = orientation:hor ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:400 start:-2400 # there is no automatic collision detection, # so shift texts up or down manually to avoid overlap Define $dx = 25 # shift text to right side of bar PlotData= bar:Age color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:S from:start till:-2200 shift:(-20, 0) text:Antiquity from:-2200 till:400 shift:($dx, 0) color:yellow text:Proto Newari from:400 till:2000 shift:($dx, 0) color:green text:Historical Age at:2000 shift:(10, -140) text:AD at:-2200 shift:(0, -150) text:←Proto-Newari diverges from Proto-Chepangi at:-200 shift:(-160, -165) text:Arrival of Charumati in the Valley→ at:-200 shift:(0, -180) text:←start of Indo-Aryanization through Magadhi Prakrit? at: 200 shift:(-190, -195) text:Ascension of Lichhavi King Jayavarma-I→ at: 200 shift:(0, -210) text:←start of Sanskritization? at: 1300 shift:(-181, -225) text:Arrival of last Karnat King Nanyadeva→ at: 1300 shift:(0, -240) text:←start of Maithali influence at: 1400 shift:(0, -255) text:←start of Persian/Arabic influence at: 1600 shift:(-135, -270) text:start of Khas Bhasa influence→ at: 600 shift:(-240, -285) text:Rise of Songtsen Gampo and influence of Tibetan→ at: 1920 shift:(0, -300) text:←Hindi and English influence bar:Era5 color:blue width:18 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:S from:-200 till:1980 shift:(0, 0) text:Indo-Aryanization period from:1980 till:2000 shift:(0, 0) text:←Recent attempts to de-Sanskritize bar:Era color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:S from:400 till:1200 shift:(-20, 0) text:Ancient Era from:1200 till:1850 shift:(-20, 0) color:yellow text:Medieval era from:1850 till:1940 shift:(7, 0) color:black text:Dark era bar:Era2 color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:S from:1909 till:1940 shift:(5, 0) color:blue text:Renaiassance bar:Era3 color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:S from:1950 till:2000 shift:(5, 0) color:green text:Modern Era bar:Era4 color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:S from:1960 till:1990 shift:(2, 0) color:black text:Dark era


Ancient era

An example of the language of the ancient period is provided by the following line from the palm-leaf manuscript from Uku Bahah which dates from 1114 AD. It is a general discussion of business transactions.
:छीन ढाको तृसंघष परिभोग। छु पुलेंग कीत्य बिपार वस्त्र बिवु मिखा तिवु मदुगुन छु सात दुगुनव ल्है :chīna ḍhākō tr̥saṃghaṣa paribhōga, chu pulēṃga kītya bipāra vastra bivu mikhā tivu maduguna chu sāta dugunava lhai


Medieval era

The language flourished as an administrative and literary language during the medieval period. Noted royal writers include Mahindra Malla, Siddhi Narsingh Malla, and Jagat Prakash Malla. An example of the language used during this period is provided by the following lines from ''Mooldevshashidev'' written by Jagat Prakash Malla.
:धु छेगुकि पाछाव वाहान :dhu chēguki pāchāva vāhāna :तिलहित बिया हिङ लाहाति थाय थायस :tilahita biyā hiŋa lāhāti thāya thāyasa
The verse is a description of
Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
and the use of a tiger skin as his seat.


Dark age

Newar began to be sidelined after the
Gorkha The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with endonym Gorkhali ), are soldiers native to the Indian Subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of Northeast India. The Gurkha units are composed of Nepalis and Indian Gorkhas and are recruit ...
conquest of Nepal and the ouster of the
Malla dynasty Malla may refer to: Places ;Bolivia *Malla, Bolivia, a locality * Malla Jawira, a river * Malla Jaqhi, a mountain * Malla Municipality * Malla Qullu, a mountain ;India * Mallapuram, Tamil Nadu *Malla (tribe), an ancient republic, one of the s ...
by the
Shah dynasty The Shah dynasty ( ne, शाह वंश), also known as the Shahs of Gorkha or the Royal House of Gorkha, was the ruling Chaubise Thakuri dynasty ; and the founder of Gorkha Kingdom from 1559 to 1768 and later the unified Kingdom of Nepal ...
in the late 18th century. Since then, its history has been one of constant suppression and struggle against official disapproval. Following the advent of the Shahs, the Gorkhali language became the court language, and Newar was replaced as the language of administration. However, Newar continued to remain in official use for a time as shown by the 1775 treaty with Tibet which was written in it. A few of the new rulers cultivated the language. Kings
Prithvi Narayan Shah Maharajadhiraj Prithvi Narayan Shah (1723–1775) ( ne, श्री ५ बडामहाराजाधिराज पृथ्वीनारायण शाह देव) was the last ruler of the Gorkha Kingdom and first monarch of the ...
,
Rana Bahadur Rana Bahadur Shah, King of Nepal ( ne, श्री ५ महाराजाधिराज रण बहादुर शाह देव) (1775–1806) was the King of Nepal from 1777 to 1799. In 1777, he succeeded to the throne after the deat ...
and
Rajendra Bikram Shah Rajendra Bikram Shah ( ne, श्री ५ महाराजाधिराज राजेन्द्र विक्रम शाह देव) (1813–1881) was King of Nepal from 1816 to 1847. His reign saw the rise of the Ranas; in 184 ...
composed poetry and wrote plays in it. Newar suffered heavily under the repressive policy of the
Rana dynasty Rana dynasty ( ne, राणा वंश, IAST=Rāṇā vaṃśa , ) is a Chhetri dynasty that imposed totalitarianism in the Kingdom of Nepal from 1846 until 1951, reducing the Shah monarch to a figurehead and making Prime Minister and other ...
(1846–1951 AD) when the regime attempted to wipe it out. In 1906, legal documents written in Newar were declared unenforceable, and any evidence in the language was declared null and void. The rulers forbade literature in Newar, and writers were sent to jail.Lienhard, Siegfried (1992). ''Songs of Nepal: An Anthology of Nevar Folksongs and Hymns.'' New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas. . Page 4. In 1944, Buddhist monks who wrote in the language were expelled from the country. Moreover, hostility towards the language from neighbours grew following massive migration into the Kathmandu Valley leading to the indigenous Newars becoming a minority. During the period 1952 to 1991, the percentage of the valley population speaking Newar dropped from 74.95% to 43.93%. The
Nepal Bhasa movement Nepal Bhasa movement (Newar: नेपालभाषा आन्दोलन) refers to the struggle for linguistic rights by Newar speakers in Nepal in the face of opposition from the government and hostile neighbors. The campaign aims to in ...
arose as an effort to save the language.


''Nepal Bhasa'' movement

Newars have been fighting to save their language in the face of opposition from the government and hostile neighbours from the time of the repressive
Rana regime Rana dynasty ( ne, राणा वंश, IAST=Rāṇā vaṃśa , ) is a Chhetri dynasty that imposed totalitarianism in the Kingdom of Nepal from 1846 until 1951, reducing the Shah monarch to a figurehead and making Prime Minister and other ...
till today. The movement arose against the suppression of the language that began with the rise of the Shah dynasty in 1768 AD, and intensified during the Rana regime (1846–1951) and
Panchayat The Panchayat raj is a political system, originating from the Indian subcontinent, found mainly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. It is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent, and historical ment ...
system (1960–1990). At various times, the government has forbidden literature in Newar, banned the official use and removed it from the media and the educational system. Opponents have even petitioned the Supreme Court to have its use barred. Activism has taken the form of publication of books and periodicals to public meets and protest rallies. Writers and language workers have been jailed or expelled from the country, and they have continued the movement abroad. The struggle for
linguistic rights Linguistic rights are the human and civil rights concerning the individual and collective right to choose the language or languages for communication in a private or public atmosphere. Other parameters for analyzing linguistic rights include the ...
has sometimes combined with the movement for religious and political freedom in Nepal.


Renaissance era

The period between 1909 and 1941 is considered as the renaissance era of Newar. During this period, a few authors braved official disapproval and started writing, translating, educating and restructuring the language. Writers
Nisthananda Bajracharya Nisthananda Bajracharya ( ne, निष्ठानन्द बज्राचार्य) (9 December 1858 – 29 November 1935) was a Nepalese author who marked a turning point in Nepal Bhasa literature by breaking away from the classical st ...
,
Siddhidas Mahaju Siddhidas Mahaju ( ne, सिद्धिदास महाजु) (alternative name: Siddhidas Amatya) (15 October 1867 – 29 December 1929) was a Nepalese poet and one of the Four Pillars of Nepal Bhasa. He was at the forefront in the end ...
,
Jagat Sundar Malla Jagat Sundar Malla (1882 - 1952) () was a Nepalese teacher and writer who dedicated his life to the education of the common people.. Malla opened a school in his home defying government repression as the Rana regime disapproved of any move to spr ...
and
Yogbir Singh Kansakar Yogbir Singh Kansakar ( ne, योगवीरसिं कंसकार) (alternative name: Jogbir Singh Kansakar) (16 April 1885 - 29 March 1942) was a Nepalese poet, social reformer and one of the Four Pillars of Nepal Bhasa. He worked to ...
are honored as the
Four Pillars of Nepal Bhasa Four Pillars of Nepal Bhasa ( ne, नेपालभाषाका चार स्तम्भ, Newar: नेपाल भाषाया प्यंगः थां) are the four leaders who spearheaded the campaign to revive the Newar lang ...
.
Shukraraj Shastri Shukra Raj Shastri (Nepali: ) (born Shukra Raj Joshi) (1894–24 January 1941) was a Nepalese intellectual and fighter for democracy who was executed by the autocratic Rana dynasty. He is one of the four martyrs of the Nepalese revolution that t ...
and
Dharmaditya Dharmacharya Dharmaditya Dharmacharya ( ne, धर्मादित्य धर्माचार्य) (born Jagat Man Vaidya) (1902–1963) was a Nepalese author, Buddhist scholar and language activist. He worked to develop Nepal Bhasa and revive Therava ...
were also at the forefront of the Renaissance. In 1909, Bajracharya published the first printed book using movable type. Shastri wrote a grammar of the language entitled ''Nepal Bhasa Vyakaran'', the first one in modern times. It was published from
Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
in 1928. His other works include ''Nepal Bhasa Reader'', Books 1 and 2 (1933) and an alphabet book ''Nepali Varnamala'' (1933). Mahaju's translation of the Ramayan and books on morals and ethics, Malla's endeavours to impart education in the native language and other literary activities marked the renaissance. Dharmacharya published the first magazine in Newar ''
Buddha Dharma wa Nepal Bhasa Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...
'' ("Buddhism and Nepalese") from
Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
in 1925. Also, the Renaissance marked the beginning of the movement to get official recognition for the name "Nepal Bhasa" in place of the
Khas Khas people (; ne, खस) popularly known as Khas Arya are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group native to the Himalayan region of South Asia, what is now present-day Nepal, Indian states of Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Sikkim. Historical ...
imposed term "Newari". Some of the lines of Mahaju read as follows:
:सज्जन मनुष्या संगतनं मूर्ख नापं भिना वै :sajjana manuṣyā saṃgatanaṃ mūrkha nāpaṃ bhinā vai :पलेला लपते ल वंसा म्वति थें ल सना वै :palēlā lapatē la vaṃsā mvati thēṃ la sanā vai
The verse states that even a moron can improve with the company of good people just like a drop of water appears like a pearl when it descends upon the leaves of a lotus plant.


Modern Newar


Jail years

The years 1941–1945 are known as the jail years for the large number of authors who were imprisoned for their literary or political activities. It was a productive period and resulted in an outpouring of literary works. Chittadhar Hridaya,
Siddhicharan Shrestha Siddhicharan Shrestha (Devanagari: सिद्धिचरण श्रेष्ठ; 21 May 1912 – 4 June 1992) was one of the most prominent writers of Nepal. He contributed to the struggle against the autocratic Rana regime (1846–1951) thr ...
and Phatte Bahadur Singh were among the prominent writers of the period who were jailed for their writings. While in prison, Hridaya produced his greatest work ''Sugata Saurabha'', an epic poem on the life of
Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
. Shrestha wrote a collection of poems entitled ''Seeswan'' ("Wax Flower", published in 1948) among other works. Singh (1902–1983) was sentenced to life imprisonment for editing and publishing an anthology of poems by various poets entitled ''Nepali Bihar''. The efforts of Newar authors coincided with the revival of
Theravada ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
in Nepal, which the rulers disliked equally. In 1946, the monks who had been exiled by the Ranas in 1944 for teaching Buddhism and writing in Newar were allowed to return following international pressure. Restrictions on publication were relaxed, and books could be published after being censored. The monks wrote wide-ranging books on Buddhism and greatly enriched the corpus of religious literature. Outside the
Kathmandu Valley The Kathmandu Valley ( ne, काठमाडौं उपत्यका; also known as the Nepal Valley or Nepa Valley ( ne, नेपाः उपत्यका, Nepal Bhasa: 𑐣𑐾𑐥𑐵𑑅 𑐐𑐵𑑅, नेपाः गाः)), ...
in the 1940s, poets like
Ganesh Lal Shrestha Ganesh Lal Shrestha ( ne, गणेशलाल श्रेष्ठ) (July 1911 – 24 July 1985) was a Nepalese poet, musician and social worker. He wrote in Nepali, Nepal Bhasa and Tamang languages. His songs denounced the social inequali ...
of
Hetauda Hetauda ( ne, हेटौडा, ) is a sub-metropolitan city in the Makwanpur District of Bagmati Province in central Nepal. It is the administrative headquarters of the Makwanpur District and the capital of Bagmati Province as declared by m ...
composed songs and put on performances during festivals.


The 1950s

Following the overthrow of the
Rana dynasty Rana dynasty ( ne, राणा वंश, IAST=Rāṇā vaṃśa , ) is a Chhetri dynasty that imposed totalitarianism in the Kingdom of Nepal from 1846 until 1951, reducing the Shah monarch to a figurehead and making Prime Minister and other ...
and the advent of democracy in 1951, restrictions on publication in Newar were removed. Books, magazines and newspapers appeared. A daily newspaper '' Nepal Bhasa Patrika'' began publication in 1955. Textbooks were published and Newar was included in the curriculum. Nepal Rastriya Vidhyapitha recognised Newar as an alternative medium of instruction in the schools and colleges affiliated to it. Literary societies like Nepal Bhasa Parisad were formed and Chwasa: Pasa returned from exile. In 1958, Kathmandu Municipality passed a resolution that it would accept applications and publish major decisions in Newar in addition to the Nepali language.


Second dark age

Democracy lasted for a brief period, and Newar and other languages of Nepal entered a second Dark Age with the dissolution of parliament and the imposition of the
Panchayat The Panchayat raj is a political system, originating from the Indian subcontinent, found mainly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. It is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent, and historical ment ...
system in 1960. Under its policy of "one nation, one language", only the Nepali language was promoted, and all the other languages of Nepal were suppressed as "ethnic" or "local" languages. In 1963, Kathmandu Municipality's decision to recognize Newar was revoked. In 1965, the language was also banned from being broadcast over Radio Nepal. Those who protested against the ban were put in prison, including Buddhist monk Sudarshan Mahasthavir. The New Education System Plan brought out in 1971 eased out Nepal's other languages from the schools in a bid to diminish the country's multi-lingual traditions. Students were discouraged from choosing their native language as an elective subject because it was lumped with technical subjects. Page 75. Nepal's various languages began to stagnate as the population could not use them for official, educational, employment or legal purposes. Birat Nepal Bhasa Sahitya Sammelan Guthi (Grand Nepal Bhasa Literary Conference Trust), formed in 1962 in Bhaktapur, and Nepal Bhasa Manka Khala, founded in 1979 in Kathmandu, are some of the prominent organizations that emerged during this period to struggle for language rights. The names of these organizations also annoyed the government which, on one occasion in 1979, changed the name of Brihat Nepal Bhasa Sahitya Sammelan Guthi in official media reports. Some lines by the famous poet
Durga Lal Shrestha Durga Lal Shrestha (born July 1935) is a Nepalese poet of Nepal Bhasa and Nepali. He was conferred with the title of ''Janakavi'' ( lit. people's poet) by Nepal Bhasha Parishad in 2003. He is considered as a progressive litterateur. He was award ...
of this era are as follows:
:घाः जुयाः जक ख्वइगु खः झी :स्याःगुलिं सः तइगु खः :झी मसीनि ! झी मसीनि ! :धइगु चिं जक ब्वैगु खः :We are crying because we are wounded :We are shouting because of the pain :All in all, we are demonstrating :That we are not dead yet.


Post-1990 People's Movement

After the 1990 People's Movement that brought the Panchayat system to an end, the languages of Nepal enjoyed greater freedom. The 1990 constitution recognized Nepal as a multiethnic and multilingual country. The Nepali language in the Devanagari script was declared the language of the nation and the official language. Meanwhile, all the languages spoken as native languages in Nepal were named national languages. In 1997,
Kathmandu Metropolitan City , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Provi ...
declared that its policy to officially recognize Nepal Bhasa would be revived. The rest of the city governments in the Kathmandu Valley announced that they too would recognize it. However, critics petitioned the Supreme Court to have the policy annulled, and in 1999, the Supreme Court quashed the decision of the local bodies as being unconstitutional.


Post-2006 People's Movement

A second People's Movement in 2006 ousted the Shah dynasty and Nepal became a republic which gave the people greater linguistic freedom. The 2007 Interim Constitution states that the use of one's native language in a local body or office shall not be barred. However, this has not happened in practice. Organizations with names in Newar are not registered, and municipality officials refuse to accept applications written in the language. The restoration of democracy has been marked by the privatization of the media. Various people and organizations are working for the development of Newar. Newar has several newspapers, a primary level curriculum, several schools, several FM stations (selected time for Newar programs), regular TV programs and news (on Image TV Channel), Nepal Bhasa Music Award (a part of Image Award) and several websites (including a
Wikipedia Wikipedia is a multilingual free online encyclopedia written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and using a wiki-based editing system. Wikipedia is the largest and most-read refer ...
in Nepal Bhasa). The number of schools teaching Newar has increased, and Newar is also being offered in schools outside the Kathmandu Valley.


Outside Nepal Mandala

Inscriptions written in Newar occur across
Nepal Mandala Nepal Mandala ( ne, नेपाल मण्डल) is an ancient confederation on the Indian subcontinent, marked by cultural, religious and political boundaries which lies in present-day central Nepal. It consists of the Kathmandu Valley and ...
and outside. In
Gorkha The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with endonym Gorkhali ), are soldiers native to the Indian Subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of Northeast India. The Gurkha units are composed of Nepalis and Indian Gorkhas and are recruit ...
, the Bhairav Temple at Pokharithok Bazaar contains an inscription dated
Nepal Sambat Nepal Sambat, also spelled as Nepala Sambata, (Nepal Bhasa: , Nepali: ) is the lunisolar calendar used by the Newari people of Nepal. The Calendar era began on 20 October 879 AD, with 1142 in Nepal Sambat corresponding to the year 2021–2022 A ...
704 (1584 AD), which is 185 years before the conquest of the Kathmandu Valley by the
Gorkha Kingdom Gorkha Kingdom ( ne, गोरखा राज्य) was a member of the Chaubisi rajya, a confederation of 24 states on the Indian subcontinent ruled by Khas people. In 1743 CE, the kingdom began a campaign of military expansion, annexing se ...
. The Palanchowk Bhagawati Temple situated to the east of Kathmandu contains an inscription recording a land donation dated Nepal Sambat 861 (1741 AD). In Bhojpur in east Nepal, an inscription at the Bidyadhari Ajima Temple dated Nepal Sambat 1011 (1891 AD) records the donation of a door and tympanum. The Bindhyabasini Temple in Bandipur in west Nepal contains an inscription dated Nepal Sambat 950 (1830 AD) about the donation of a tympanum. Outside Nepal, Newar has been used in
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
. Official documents and inscriptions recording votive offerings made by
Newar Newar (; new, नेवार, endonym: Newa; new, नेवा, Pracalit script:) or Nepami, are the historical inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley and its surrounding areas in Nepal and the creators of its historic heritage and civilisatio ...
traders have been found in
Lhasa Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level city, prefecture-level Lhasa (prefecture-level city), Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Regio ...
. A copper plate dated Nepal Sambat 781 (1661 AD) recording the donation of a tympanum is installed at the shrine of Chhwaskamini Ajima (Tibetan:
Palden Lhamo Palden Lhamo ("Glorious Goddess",Volkmann, Rosemarie: "Female Stereotypes in Tibetan Religion and Art: the Genetrix/Progenitress as the Exponent of the Underworld" ''in'' , sa, Śrīdēvī, mn, Ukin Tengri) or RematiDowman, Keith. (1988). ''T ...
) in the
Jokhang The Jokhang (, ), also known as the Qoikang Monastery, Jokang, Jokhang Temple, Jokhang Monastery and Zuglagkang ( or Tsuklakang), is a Buddhist temple in Barkhor Square in Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Tibetans, in ...
Temple.


Literature

Newar literature has a long history. It has one of the oldest literatures of the
Sino-Tibetan languages Sino-Tibetan, also cited as Trans-Himalayan in a few sources, is a family of more than 400 languages, second only to Indo-European in number of native speakers. The vast majority of these are the 1.3 billion native speakers of Chinese languages. ...
(together with Chinese, Tibetan, Tangut, Burmese, Yi, etc.)


Drama

Drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
s are traditionally performed in open Dabu (stage). Most of the traditional dramas are tales related to deities and demons. Masked characters and music are central elements to such dramas. Most of them are narrated with the help of songs sung at intervals. Such dramas resemble dance in many cases. The theme of most dramas is the creation of a social well-being with morals illustrating the rise, turbulence, and fall of evil. There is fixed dates in the
Nepal Sambat Nepal Sambat, also spelled as Nepala Sambata, (Nepal Bhasa: , Nepali: ) is the lunisolar calendar used by the Newari people of Nepal. The Calendar era began on 20 October 879 AD, with 1142 in Nepal Sambat corresponding to the year 2021–2022 A ...
(Nepal Era) calendar for the performance of specific drama. Most of the dramas are performed by specific
Guthi Gosthi or Guthi ('';'' Newar: , romanized: '; etymologically from ) is a social organization that maintains the socio-economic order of Nepalese society.Title:नेपाली संस्कृतिका छटाहरु, Author:Mangala De ...
s.


Poetry

Poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
writing constituted a splendid part of medieval Malla aristocracy. Many of the kings were well-renowned poets.
Siddhidas Mahaju Siddhidas Mahaju ( ne, सिद्धिदास महाजु) (alternative name: Siddhidas Amatya) (15 October 1867 – 29 December 1929) was a Nepalese poet and one of the Four Pillars of Nepal Bhasa. He was at the forefront in the end ...
and Chittadhar Hridaya are two great poets in the language.


Prose fiction

Prose
fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...
in Newar is a relatively new field of literature compared to other fields. Most fiction was written in poetry form until the medieval era. Consequently, almost all prose fiction belongs to the modern Newar era. Collections of short stories in Newar are more popular than novels.


Story

The art of verbal
story Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Story, a narrative (an account of imaginary or real people and events) ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting * Story (American English), or storey (British ...
telling is very old in Newar. There are a variety of mythical and social stories that have aided in establishing the norm of Kathmandu valley. Stories ranging from the origin of Kathmandu valley to the temples of the valley and the important monuments have been passed down verbally in Newar and very few exist in written form. However, with an increase in the literacy rate and an awareness among the people, folklore stories are being written down. Stories on other topics are also becoming popular.


Dialects

Kansakar (2011) recognizes three main Newar dialect clusters. *Western: Tansen (Palpa), Butwal, Old Pokhara, Dumre, Bandipur, Ridhi (Gulmi), Baglung, Dotili / Silgadi *Central:
Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...
, Lalitpur,
Bhaktapur , motto = ne, पुर्खले सिर्जेको सम्पत्ती, हाम्रो कला र संस्कृति , lit=Creation of our ancestors, our heritage and culture , image_map ...
, Thimi, Kirtipur, Chitlang, Lele, Balaju, Tokha, Pharping, Thankot, Dadikot, Balami, Gopali, Bungamati, Badegaon, Pyangaon, Chapagaon, Lubhu, Sankhu, Chakhunti, Gamtsa Gorkha, Badikhel (Pahari),
Kavrepalanchok District Kavrepalanchok District ( ne, काभ्रेपलाञ्चोक जिल्ला; ) is one of the 77 districts of Nepal. The district, with Dhulikhel as its district headquarters, covers an area of . It is a part of Bagmati Provinc ...
dialects (Banepa, Nala, Sangaa, Chaukot, Panauti, Dhulikhel, Duti), Khampu, Khopasi *Eastern: Chainpur, Dharan, Dolakha, Sindhupalchok, Taplejung, Terhathum, Bhojpur, Dhankuta, Narayangadh, Jhapa, Ilam Kansakar (2011) also gives the following classification of Newar dialects based on verb conjugation morphology. *Central **Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Kirtipur, Chitlang, Lele **Bhaktapur, Thimi *Eastern **Dolakha, Tauthali, Jethal, Listikot, Doti **Pahari (Badikhel) Kapali (1141 N.S.) gives the following classification of Nepal Bhasa dialects based on mutual intelligibility. *Nepa Valley (Kathmandu Valley) ** Eastern - includes the region of Bhaktapur, Sakwa and seven villages of Kavre. ** Western - includes Kathmandu and Lalitpur *Dwalkha- includes Dolakha and Charikot of Dolakha district, Tauthali and Jethal of Sindupalchok district, and Duti of Kavre district. * Smaller dialects based on locality **Pyang gaan, a village in Lalitpur * Smaller dialects based on caste group ** Gopali ** Balami ** Pahari Other ways Nepal Bhasa is classified are as follows:- ;Bhaktapur :Also known as ''Khwapey Bhāy'' , this dialect is more archaic than the standard. Variations exist in the use of this form of language in Bhaktapur, Banepa, Panauti, and Dhulikhel. ;Chitlang :This dialect is used in
Chitlang Chitlang (Nepali:चित्लाङ, Nepal Bhasa:चिलं/चिलिम]) is a village located in Thaha Municipality of Makwanpur District, Bagmati Province, Nepal. Religions of chitlang Geography Chitlang sits southwest of Kathmandu v ...
, a place south of Kathmandu valley in Makawanpur district. This is one of the biggest Newar bastions at Chitlang. Balami caste predominates there. ; Dolakha Newar language, Dolakha :This is the most preserved form of the language and resembles the old Newar. ;Kathmandu-Lalitpur :Kathmandu dialect, also known as ''Yenmi Bhāy'' , is one of the dominant forms of the language and very close to the standard form of the language used in academia and media. It is also the most widely used dialect. It is spoken especially in
Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...
. Lalitpur dialect, also known as ''Yeley Bhāy'' , is the most dominant form of language and is the standard form of language used in academics and media. It is also very widely used dialect. It is especially spoken in Lalitpur. Due to the similarity between Kathmandu and Lalitpur dialects, it is often grouped as one. Almost 95% of Nepal Bhasa publications are in this dialect. ;Pahari :Pahari variation of Nepal Bhasa is spoken among the Pahari caste. ;Pyangaan :A variation of Nepal Bhasa spoken in Pyaangaan town of Lalitpur district.
Religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...
s play a
register Register or registration may refer to: Arts entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc. * ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller * Registration (organ), th ...
-like role in dialectical diversity though they are minor. It has been recorded from the Malla period.
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
and
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
were present at that age and few words in
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
and
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
of Newar differs. With the recent growth of
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
,
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
, other religions, and
atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...
in Nepal, the diversity in the speech registers regarding religious terminology has become more extended, such as omitting the word ''dyaḥ'' (, '
god In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
') after the name of a deity by many people whereas it is retained in
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
and
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
.


Phonology


Consonants

; Notes * Marginal phonemes are in parentheses. * Allophonic variants are in Square brackets. * Green phonemes occur only in Kathmandu Newar. * Sounds in Light salmon occur only in Dolakha Newar. * Tap consonants mainly occur as word-medial alternates of //, //, // or // (in Dolakha only). * // can be heard as [] when occurring before front vowels/glide //. * In Kathmandu Newar, // only occurs as word-final. * Affricates // can also shift to retracted sounds [] when occurring before back vowels.


Vowels

*Green vowels occur only in Kathmandu Newar. * // and // can also be heard as [], and []. * In Kathmandu Newar, the back vowel sound in dark red occurs as [], [], or []. * In Dolakha Newar, the back vowel sound in dark red can be [], [], or []. * The following nasal vowels can also be distinguished in vowel length as //.


Diphthongs


Writing systems

Nepal Bhasa is currently written in Nepal Lipi, Ranajana Lipi and Devanagari script. The script originally used, ''Nepal Lipi'' or "Nepalese script", fell into disuse at the beginning of the 20th century when writing in the language and the script was banned, which resulted in emergence of Devanagari script. However, in past decades attempts are being made for revival. Nepal Lipi, also known as ''Nepal Akha'', emerged in the 10th century. Over the centuries, a number of variants of Nepali Lipi have appeared. Nepal has been written in a variety of
abugida An abugida (, from Ge'ez language, Ge'ez: ), sometimes known as alphasyllabary, neosyllabary or pseudo-alphabet, is a segmental Writing systems#Segmental writing system, writing system in which consonant-vowel sequences are written as units; ...
scripts: *
Brahmi script Brahmi (; ; ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as 'lath' o ...
* Gupta script *
Kutila script The Kutila inscription of Bareilly is an inscription in the Kutila script (कुटिल लिपि) dating to 992 CE that provides crucial evidence in tracing the shared descent of the Devanagari and Bengali-Assamese scripts of Northern a ...
*
Prachalit script Prachalit Nepal script is a type of abugida script developed from the Nepalese scripts, which are a part of the family of Brahmic scripts descended from Brahmi script. It is used to write Nepal Bhasa, Sanskrit and Pali. Various publications are ...
*
Ranjana script The Rañjanā script (Lantsa) is an abugida writing system which developed in the 11th centuryJwajalapa
* Bhujinmol script *Kunmol script *Kwenmol script * Litumol script *Hinmol script *
Golmol script Gol va Mol ( fa, گل ومل, also known as Gol Mol, Golmol, and Golomel) is a village in Olya Rural District, in the Central District of Ardestan County, Isfahan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, an ...
*Pachumol script *Devanagari script Devanagari is the most widely used script at present, as it is common in Nepal and India.
Ranjana script The Rañjanā script (Lantsa) is an abugida writing system which developed in the 11th centuryJwajalapa
was the most widely used script to write Classical Nepalese in ancient times. It is experiencing a revival due to the recent rise of cultural awareness. The
Prachalit script Prachalit Nepal script is a type of abugida script developed from the Nepalese scripts, which are a part of the family of Brahmic scripts descended from Brahmi script. It is used to write Nepal Bhasa, Sanskrit and Pali. Various publications are ...
is also in use. All used to write Nepal but Devanagari are descended from a script called the
Nepal script Nepalese scripts ( Nepal Lipi: 𑐣𑐾𑐥𑐵𑐮 𑐁𑐏𑐮, Devanagari: नेपाल आखल) are alphabetic writing systems employed historically in Nepal Mandala by the indigenous Newars for primarily writing Nepal Bhasa. It is also ...
.


Ranjana alphabet

Classical Nepalese materials written in Ranjana can be found in present-day Nepal, East Asia, and Central Asia.


Consonants

Special consonant in Nepal omitted.


Vowels

There are 3 series of vowel diacritics - the -like system, the -like system, and the -like system. * Use the -like system when applying to , , , , , and * Use the -like system when applying to , , , , , , , and * Use the -like system when applying to , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Note that many of the consonants mentioned above (e.g. , , , etc.) occur only in loan words and mantras.


Consonant-free vowels


Numerals

*The numerals used in Ranjana script are as follows (from 0 to 9):


Devanagari orthography

Modern Newar is written generally with the Devanagari script, although formerly it was written in the Ranjana and other scripts. The letters of the Nagari alphabet are traditionally listed in the order
vowel A vowel is a syllabic speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness and also in quantity (leng ...
s (monophthongs and
diphthong A diphthong ( ; , ), also known as a gliding vowel, is a combination of two adjacent vowel sounds within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: that is, the tongue (and/or other parts of the speech o ...
s),
anusvara Anusvara (Sanskrit: ') is a symbol used in many Indic scripts to mark a type of nasal sound, typically transliterated . Depending on its location in the word and the language for which it is used, its exact pronunciation can vary. In the context ...
and
visarga Visarga ( sa, विसर्गः, translit=visargaḥ) means "sending forth, discharge". In Sanskrit phonology ('' ''), ' (also called, equivalently, ' by earlier grammarians) is the name of a phone voiceless glottal fricative, , written as: ...
, stops (
plosive In phonetics, a plosive, also known as an occlusive or simply a stop, is a pulmonic consonant in which the vocal tract is blocked so that all airflow ceases. The occlusion may be made with the tongue tip or blade (, ), tongue body (, ), lips ...
s and nasals) (starting in the back of the mouth and moving forward), and finally the
liquid A liquid is a nearly incompressible fluid that conforms to the shape of its container but retains a (nearly) constant volume independent of pressure. As such, it is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, gas, a ...
s and
fricative A fricative is a consonant produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. These may be the lower lip against the upper teeth, in the case of ; the back of the tongue against the soft palate in t ...
s, written in
IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...
as follows (see the tables below for details): :a ā i ī u ū ṛ ṝ ḷ ḹ; e ai o au :ṃ ḥ :k kh g gh ṅ; c ch j jh ñ; ṭ ṭh ḍ ḍh ṇ; t th d dh n; p ph b bh m :y r l v; ś ṣ s h Kathmandu Newar does not use ñ for the palatal nasal but instead writes this sound with the ligature as for example in the word ''nyā'' 'five'. Orthographic vowel length (i vs ī and u vs ū) represents a difference of vowel length while the vowels with no orthographic length (a and ā) is indicated with the visarga (e.g. ''khāḥ'' (IPA: ) 'is').


Vowels

The vowels, called ''mā ākha'' (माआखः), meaning "mother letters", used in Newar are: Even though ऋ, ॠ, ऌ, ॡ are present in Newar, they are rarely used. Instead, some experts suggest including अय् (ay) and आय् (aay) in the list of vowels.


Consonants

The consonants, called ''bā ākha'' (बाआखः), meaning "father letters", used in Newar are: ङ्ह, ञ्ह, ण्ह, न्ह, म्ह, ह्य, ह्र, ल्ह and व्ह are sometimes included in the list of consonants as they have a specific identity in Nepal. The use of ङ and ञ was very common in the old form of language. However, in the new form, especially in writing, the use of these characters has diminished. The use of ण, त, थ, द, ध, न, श, ष, क्ष, त्र, ज्ञ is limited by the new grammar books to the loan words only.


Complex/compound consonants

Besides the consonants mentioned above, combined consonants called ''chinā ākha'' (चिना आखः) are used.


Numerals

*The same numericals in Devnagari are:


Romanization

Nepala Bhasa Roman Transliteration (NBRT) was introduced in 2021, with some modifications to
International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Brahmic family, Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that ...
.


Grammar

Newar language is one of the few Tibeto-Burman languages with a
clusivity In linguistics, clusivity is a grammatical distinction between ''inclusive'' and ''exclusive'' first-person pronouns and verbal morphology, also called ''inclusive " we"'' and ''exclusive "we"''. Inclusive "we" specifically includes the addressee ...
distinction.


Noun Cases

Noun cases in Newar have six cases and are differentiated based on whether the term in question is animate or inanimate. The following charts provides case endings that can be affixed on the end of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives in IAST transliteration for contemporary and old (or "classical") Newar.


Sentence structure

Statement sentence-
This language is a SOV (
subject–object–verb Subject ( la, subiectus "lying beneath") may refer to: Philosophy *'' Hypokeimenon'', or ''subiectum'', in metaphysics, the "internal", non-objective being of a thing **Subject (philosophy), a being that has subjective experiences, subjective con ...
) language. For instance, "My name is Bilat (Birat)" is "Jigu Na'aa Bilat Khaa'a " which word by word translation becomes, "My (Jigu) Name (Na'aa) Bilat is (Khaa'a)". Interrogative sentence-
Wh-question:
In the case of Newar language, Wh-questions are rather "G-questions" with "when/which" being replaced by "Gublay/Gugu" respectively. There is an additional "Guli" which is used for "How much/How many". A S-word "Soo" is used for "who". "Chhoo/Schoo (with a silent 's')" is used for "What", and "Gathey" is used for "How".


Affixes

''Suffix''- "''Chaa''" and "''Ju''" are two popular suffixes. "''Chaa''" is added to signify "''junior''" or "''lesser''". But when added to a name, it is used derogatorily. For example, ''kya'ah-chaa'' means nephew where "''chaa''" is being added to ''kya'ah(son)''. When added to name like ''Birat'' for "''Birat-chaa''", it is being used derogatorily. The suffix "''ju''" is added to show respect. For example, "''Baa-ju''" means "''father-in-law''" where "''ju''" is added to "''Baa(father)''". Unlike "''chaa''", "''ju''" is not added to a first/last name directly. Instead, honorific terms like "''Bhaaju''" is added for males and "''Mayju''" for females. Example, "''Birat bhaaju''" for a male name (''Birat'') and "''Suja Mayju''" for a female name (''Suja''). ''Prefix'' – "''Tap'ah''" is added to denote "remote" or "distant" relative ('distance' in relationship irrespective of spatial extent). A distant (younger) brother (''kija'') becomes "''tap'ah-kija''". "''Tuh''" is added to denote "higher". Father (''baa'')'s senior brother is referred to as "''Tuh-baa''".


Indo-Aryan loanwords

Newar is one of the most Aryanized Sino-Tibetan languages. Below are some basic words borrowed from
Indo-Iranian languages The Indo-Iranian languages (also Indo-Iranic languages or Aryan languages) constitute the largest and southeasternmost extant branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family (with over 400 languages), predominantly spoken i ...
:


The Newar language and the Newar community

Nepal Bhasa is the native language of Newars. Newars form a very diverse community with people from Sino-Tibetan, ASI and ANI origin. Newars follow Hinduism and Buddhism, and are subdivided into 64 castes. The language, therefore, plays a central unifying role in the existence and perpetuation of the Newar community. The poet Siddhidas Mahaju concluded that the Newar community and its rich culture can only survive if the Newar language survives (भाषा म्वासा जाति म्वाइ). The Newars enjoyed promotions in various areas since Kathmandu become the capital of the country as they rose in ranks throughout the government, royal courts and businesses. Newar faced a decline during the Shah era when this language was replaced by Khas Kura (later renamed Nepali) as the national language and after the introduction of the "One nation, one language" policy of King Mahendra.


See also

*
Languages of Nepal Languages of Nepal constitutionally called Nepalese languages are the languages having at least an ancient history or origin inside the sovereign territory of Nepal spoken by Nepalis. The 2011 National census lists 123 languages spoken as a mot ...
* List of Newar-language writers *
Nepal Bhasa journalism Nepal Bhasa journalism began in 1925 with the publication of the magazine ''Buddha Dharma wa Nepal Bhasa'' (Devanagari: बुद्ध धर्म व नॆपाल भाषा). It was the first magazine to be published in Nepal Bhasa. It wa ...
* Newa (Unicode block)


Notes


References


Further reading

*Bendix, E. (1974) ‘Indo-Aryan and Tibeto-Burman contact as seen through Nepali and Newari verb tenses’, International Journal of Dravidian Linguistics 3.1: 42–59. *—— (1992) ‘The grammaticalization of responsibility and evidence: the interactional potential of evidential categories in Newari’, in J. Hill and J.T. Irvine (eds) Responsibility and Evidence in Oral Discourse, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. *Driem, G. van (1993) ‘The Newar verb in Tibeto-Burman perspective’, Acta Linguistica Hafniensia 26: 23–43. *Genetti, C. (1988) ‘A syntactic correlate of topicality in Newari narrative’, in S. Thompson and J. Haiman (eds) Clause Combining in Grammar and Discourse, Philadelphia: John Benjamins. *—— (1994) ‘A descriptive and historical account of the Dolakha Newari dialect’, Monumenta Serindica 24, Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, Tokyo: Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. *Hale, A. (1973) ‘On the form of the verbal basis in Newari’, in Braj Kachru et al. (eds) Issues in Linguistics: Papers in Honor of Henry and Renee Kahane, Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press. *—— (1980) ‘Person markers: finite conjunct and disjunct forms in Newari’, in R. Trail (ed.) Papers in Southeast Asian Linguistics 7 (Pacific Linguistics Series A, no. 53), Canberra: Australian National University. *—— (1985) ‘Noun phrase form and cohesive function in Newari’, in U. Piepel and G. Stickel (eds.) Studia Linguistica Diachronica et Synchronica, Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. *—— (1986) ‘Users’ guide to the Newari dictionary’, in T. Manandhar (ed.) Newari–English Dictionary, Delhi: Agam Kala Prakashan. *—— (1994) ‘Entailed kin reference and Newari -mha’, paper presented to the 27th International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages and Linguistics, Paris, France. *Hale, A. and Mahandhar, T. (1980) ‘Case and role in Newari’, in R. Trail (ed.) Papers in Southeast Asian Linguistics 7 (Pacific Linguistics Series A, no. 53), Canberra: Australian National University. *Hargreaves, D. (1986) ‘Independent verbs and auxiliary functions in Newari’ Proceedings of the Twelfth Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society 12: 401–12. *—— (1991) ‘The conceptual structure of intentional action: data from Kathmandu Newari’, Proceedings of the Seventeenth Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society 17: 379–89. *—— (1996) ‘From interrogation to topicalization: PTB *la in Kathmandu Newar’, Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area 19.2: 31–44. * *Jørgenson, H. (1931) ‘A dictionary of the Classical Newari’, Det. Kgl. Danske Videnskabernes Selskab, Historisk-filologiske Meddelelser 23.1. *—— (1941) ‘A grammar of the Classical Newari’, Det. Kgl. Danske Videnskabernes Selskab, Historisk-filologiske Meddelelser 27.3. *Jos, L. K. (1992)
S 1112 S, or s, is the nineteenth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphab ...
‘Nep%l bh%M%y% bh%M%vaijñ%nika vyakaraNa’ (A linguistic grammar of nep%l bh%Ma (Newar)), Kathmandu: Lacoul Publications. *Kansakar, T. R. (1982) ‘Morphophonemics of the Newari verb’, in T.R. Kansakar (ed.) Occasional Papers in Nepalese Linguistics 12–29. Linguistic Society of Nepal Publication No.1, Lalitpur, Nepal. *—— (1997) ‘The Newar language: a profile’, New%h Vijñ%na: Journal of Newar Studies 1.1: 11–28. *Kölver, U. (1976) ‘Satztypen und verbsubcategorisierung der Newari’, Structura 10, Munich: Fink Verlag. *—— (1977) ‘Nominalization and lexicalization in Newari’, Arbeiten des Kölner Universalen-Projekts 30. *Kölver, U. and Shresthacarya, I. (1994) A Dictionary of Contemporary Newari, Bonn: VGH Wissenschaftsverlag. *Manandhar, T. (1986) Newari-English Dictionary, Delhi: Agam Kala Prakashan. *Malla, K. P. (1982) Classical Newari Literature: A Sketch, Kathmandu: Educational Enterprise Pvt. Ltd. *—— (1985) ‘The Newari language: a working outline’, Monumenta Serindica No. 14., Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, Tokyo: Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. *Shakya, D. R. (1992) ‘Nominal and verbal morphology in six dialects of Newari’, unpublished masters thesis, University of Oregon. *Shrestha, Uma (1990) ‘Social networks and code-switching in the Newar community of Kathmandu City’, unpublished PhD dissertation, Ball State University. *Shresthacharya, I. (1976) ‘Some types of reduplication in the Newari verb phrase’, Contributions to Nepalese Studies 3.1: 117–27. *—— (1981) ‘Newari root verbs’, Bibliotheca Himalayica 2.1, Kathmandu:
Ratna Pustak Bhandar Ratna Pustak Bhandar is a privately owned distributor, publisher and retailer of books in Nepal's capital city, Kathmandu, and is the oldest bookstore in Nepal.
.


External links

* List of Newar words at
Wiktionary Wiktionary ( , , rhyming with "dictionary") is a multilingual, web-based project to create a free content dictionary of terms (including words, phrases, proverbs, linguistic reconstructions, etc.) in all natural languages and in a number ...
, the free dictionary * Michael Noonan
Recent Language Contact in the Nepal Himalaya (PDF)



Online Nepalbhasa Dictionary and Learning Tools nepalbhasa.orgtype in Nepali Unicode and Nepal bhasha
{{Authority control Newar Languages of Nepal Languages written in Devanagari Languages of Sikkim Languages of Bhutan