Newar language

Newar was Nepal Mandala'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.[5] The Language Commission of Nepal has recommended Bagmati Province to provide Nepal Bhasa (Newar) the status of official language, alongside Tamang. The commission also recommends Nepal Bhasa (Newar) for official status in specific areas and purposes in Province No. 1 and Gandaki Province.[39] At local levels, Nepal Bhasa (Newar) has official status in Kathmandu Metropolitan City,[40] Lalitpur Metropolitan City[41] and Kirtipur Municipality[42] Chandragiri Municipality, Shankharapur Municipality, Tarkeshwor Municipality of Kathmandu district; Banepa Municipality, Dhulikhel Municipality of Kavre district; Godavari Municipality of Lalitpur district; and Bhaktapur Municipality, 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.[41]

Newar is an additional official language in Sikkim for the purpose of preservation of culture and tradition in the state.[43] The official weekly publication Sikkim Herald has a Newar Edition.[44] The Information & Public Relations Department also broadcasts news bulletin in Newar.[45]

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

The language flourished as an administrative and literary language during the medieval period.[25] 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.[62]

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 and the use of a tiger skin as his seat.

Newar began to be sidelined after the Gorkha conquest of Nepal and the ouster of the Malla dynasty by the Shah dynasty in the late 18th century. Since then, its history has been one of constant suppression and struggle against official disapproval.[63]

Following the advent of the Shahs, the Gorkhali language became the court language,[64] and Newar was replaced as the language of administration.[65] However, Newar continued to remain in official use for a time as shown by the 1775 treaty with Tibet which was written in it.[25] A few of the new rulers cultivated the language. Kings Prithvi Narayan Shah, Rana Bahadur and Rajendra Bikram Shah composed poetry and wrote plays in it.

Newar suffered heavily under the repressive policy of the Rana dynasty (1846–1951 AD) when the regime attempted to wipe it out.[66][67] In 1906, legal documents written in Newar were declared unenforceable, and any evidence in the language was declared null and void.[68] The rulers forbade literature in Newar, and writers were sent to jail.[69] In 1944, Buddhist monks who wrote in the language were expelled from the country.[70][71]

Moreover, hostility towards the language from neighbours grew following massive migration into the Kathmandu Valley leading to the indigenous Newars becoming a minority.[72] During the period 1952 to 1991, the percentage of the valley population speaking Newar dropped from 74.95% to 43.93%.[73] The Nepal Bhasa movement arose as an effort to save the language.

Sit-in outside the prime minister's residence to mark Black Day on 1 June 2013.

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 till today.[74] 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 system (1960–1990).[75]

At various times, the government has forbidden literature in Newar, banned the official use and removed it from the media and the educational system.[76] 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 has sometimes combined with the movement for religious and political freedom in Nepal.

Cover of Buddha Dharma wa Nepal Bhasa ("Buddhism and Nepalese") magazine dated 1929.

'Aesop's Fables' in Newar by Jagat Sundar Malla, first published in 1915.

The period between 1909 and 1941 is considered as the renaissance era of Newar.[77] During this period, a few authors braved official disapproval and started writing, translating, educating and restructuring the language. Writers Nisthananda Bajracharya, Siddhidas Mahaju, Jagat Sundar Malla and Yogbir Singh Kansakar are honored as the Four Pillars of Nepal Bhasa. Shukraraj Shastri and Dharmaditya Dharmacharya 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 in 1928. His other works include Nepal Bhasa Reader, Books 1 and 2 (1933) and an alphabet book Nepali Varnamala (1933).[78]

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 ("Buddhism and Nepalese") from Kolkata 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 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.

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 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,[79] an epic poem on the life of Gautama Buddha.[69] 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.[80]

The efforts of Newar authors coincided with the revival of Theravada Buddhism 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.[81][82]

Outside the Kathmandu Valley in the 1940s, poets like Ganesh Lal Shrestha of Hetauda composed songs and put on performances during festivals.[83]

Nepal Bhasa Patrika daily newspaper dated 5 November 1960.

Following the overthrow of the Rana dynasty 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.[84] 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.[63] In 1958, Kathmandu Municipality passed a resolution that it would accept applications and publish major decisions in Newar in addition to the Nepali language.[85]

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 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.[86]

In 1963, Kathmandu Municipality's decision to recognize Newar was revoked. In 1965, the language was also banned from being broadcast over Radio Nepal.[87] 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.[88] Students were discouraged from choosing their native language as an elective subject because it was lumped with technical subjects.[74] 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.[89]

Some lines by the famous poet Durga Lal Shrestha of this era are as follows:[90]

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.

After the 1990 People's Movement that brought the Panchayat system to an end, the languages of Nepal enjoyed greater freedom.[91] 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.[92]

In 1997, Kathmandu Metropolitan City 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.[93]

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.[94] 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.[95][96]

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 in Nepal Bhasa[97]).

The number of schools teaching Newar has increased, and Newar is also being offered in schools outside the Kathmandu Valley.[98]

Inscriptions written in Newar occur across Nepal Mandala and outside.

In Gorkha, the Bhairav Temple at Pokharithok Bazaar contains an inscription dated Nepal Sambat 704 (1584 AD), which is 185 years before the conquest of the Kathmandu Valley by the Gorkha Kingdom. The Palanchowk Bhagawati Temple situated to the east of Kathmandu contains an inscription recording a land donation dated Nepal Sambat 861 (1741 AD).[99]

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.[100]

Outside Nepal, Newar has been used in Tibet. Official documents and inscriptions recording votive offerings made by Newar traders have been found in Lhasa.[101] 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) in the Jokhang Temple.[102]

Dramas 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 Era) calendar for the performance of specific drama. Most of the dramas are performed by specific Guthis.

Poetry writing constituted a splendid part of medieval Malla aristocracy. Many of the kings were well-renowned poets. Siddhidas Mahaju and Chittadhar Hridaya are two great poets in the language.

Prose fiction 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.

The art of verbal storytelling 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.

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 /t/, /d/, /dʱ/ or /ɖ/ (in Dolakha only).
• /s/ can be heard as [ɕ] when occurring before front vowels/glide /i, e, j/.
• In Kathmandu Newar, /ŋ/ only occurs as word-final.
• Affricates /tɕ, dʑ/ can also shift to retracted sounds [t̠s̠, d̠z̠] when occurring before back vowels.

• Green vowels occur only in Kathmandu Newar.
• /o, oː/ and /u/ can also be heard as [ɔ, ɔː], and [ʊ].
• In Kathmandu Newar, the back vowel sound in dark red occurs as [ɔ], [ə], or [ɑ].
• In Dolakha Newar, the back vowel sound in dark red can be [ɑ], [ʌ], or [ə].[109][110][111]
• The following nasal vowels can also be distinguished in vowel length as /ĩː ẽː ɔ̃ː ãː õː ũː/.

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

Special consonant in Nepal omitted.

k क	kʰ ख	g ग	gʱ घ	ŋ ङ
t͡ɕ च	t͡ɕʰ छ	d͡ʑ ज	d͡ʑʱ झ	ɲ ञ
ʈ ट	ʈʰ ठ	ɖ ड	ɖʱ ढ	ɳ ण
t त	tʰ थ	d द	dʱ ध	n न
p प	pʰ फ	b ब	bʱ भ	m म
y य	r र	l ल	w व
ɕ श	ʂ ष	s̪ स	h ह

kʂ क्ष

t̪r त्र

d͡ʑɲ ज्ञ

Vowel diacritics applied to [kə]

Vowel diacritics applied to [ɡə]

Vowel diacritics applied to [bə]

There are 3 series of vowel diacritics – the [kə]-like system, the [ɡə]-like system, and the [bə]-like system.

• Use the [kə]-like system when applying to [kə], [d͡ʑə], [mʱə], [hʲə], [kʂə], and [d͡ʑɲə]
• Use the [ɡə]-like system when applying to [ɡə], [kʰə], [ɲə], [ʈʰə], [ɳə], [tʰə], [dʱə], and [ɕə]
• Use the [bə]-like system when applying to [bə], [ɡʱə], [ŋə], [t͡ɕə], [t͡ɕʰə], [d͡ʑʱə], [ʈə], [ɖə], [ɖʱə], [tə], [də], [nə], [nʱə], [pə], [pʰə], [bə], [bʱə], [mə], [jə], [rə], [hʳə], [lə], [lʱə], [wə], [wʱə], [ʂə], [sə], [hə], [trə]

Note that many of the consonants mentioned above (e.g. [bʱə], [ɖʱə], [ɡʱə], etc.) occur only in loan words and mantras.

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

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

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 vowels (monophthongs and diphthongs), anusvara and visarga, stops (plosives and nasals) (starting in the back of the mouth and moving forward), and finally the liquids and fricatives, written in IAST 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 ⟨ny⟩ 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: /kʰaː/) 'is').

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.[115]

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.

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

• The same numericals in Devnagari are:

Nepala Bhasa Roman Transliteration (NBRT) was introduced in 2021, with some modifications to International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration.[116]

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.

Statement sentence-
This language is a SOV (subject–object–verb) 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".

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".