Newar language
Sino-Tibetan language of central-eastern Nepal / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Newar (English: /nəˈwɑːr/)[2] or Newari,[lower-alpha 1] known officially in Nepal as Nepal Bhasa,[4] 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 Nepal.
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Newar | |
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𑐣𑐾𑐥𑐵𑐮 𑐨𑐵𑐳𑐵, Nepal Bhasa | |
𑐣𑐾𑐰𑐵𑑅 𑐨𑐵𑐫𑑂, Nevāh Bhāy | |
Pronunciation | [newaː bʱæː] |
Native to | Nepal |
Region | Nepal Mandala |
Ethnicity | 1.3 million Newars (2021 census)[1] |
Native speakers | 880,000 (2021 census)[1] |
Early form | |
Dialects |
|
Ranjana script, Pracalit script, Bhujimol script, Devanagari and various Nepalese scripts | |
Official status | |
Official language in | India
|
Regulated by | Nepal Bhasa Academy |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-2 | new Nepal Bhasa, Newari |
ISO 639-3 | Variously:new – Newarinwx – Middle Newarphj – Pahari Newar |
new Newari | |
nwx Middle Newar | |
Glottolog | newa1247 |
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"Nepal Bhasa" literally means "Nepalese language"; however, the language is not the same as Nepali (Devanāgarī: नेपाली), the country's current official language of the central government. The two languages belong to different language families (Sino-Tibetan and Indo-European, respectively), but centuries of contact 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, Newar suffered from official suppression.[5] From 1952 to 1991, the percentage of Newar speakers in the Kathmandu Valley dropped from 75% to 44%[6] and today Newar culture and language are under threat.[7] The language has been listed as being "Definitely endangered language" by UNESCO.[8]