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| Newar | |
|---|---|
| 𑐣𑐾𑐥𑐵𑐮 𑐨𑐵𑐳𑐵, Nepal Bhasa | |
| 𑐣𑐾𑐰𑐵𑑅 𑐨𑐵𑐫𑑂, Nevāh Bhāy | |
 "Nepal Bhasa" written in the Ranjana script and the Prachalit Nepal script | |
| 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 |
 | |
Newar (English: /nəˈwɑːr/),[2] known officially in Nepal as Nepal Bhasa,[3] 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. The term "Newari" is also used to refer to the language, although it is considered to be a derogatory term by some Newar speakers.[4][5]
"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.[6] From 1952 to 1991, the percentage of Newar speakers in the Kathmandu Valley dropped from 75% to 44%[7] and today Newar culture and language are under threat.[8] The language has been listed as being "Definitely endangered language" by UNESCO.[9]
Name
The official and historical name of the language, Nepal Bhasa, which literally means Nepal Language, originates from Nepal.[10][11] Historically, Nepal was only used to refer to the Kathmandu Valley and its surroundings, where the language was native to.[12][13][14] A larger region surrounding the valley is known as Nepal Mandala. Therefore, the language spoken in Nepal Mandala became known as Nepal Bhasa.[11][15][16]
The term Nepa Valley is still used among the native Newar population[17][18][19][20] and local governments[21] to refer to the Kathmandu Valley while senior citizens still tend to refer the valley as Nepal.[22] A government report from 1961 describes the valley being grouped as Kathmandu District, which is different from today's Kathmandu District, marks the commencement of referring the valley as Kathmandu Valley.[23][24]
The earliest occurrences of the name Nepālabhāṣā (Devanāgarī: नेपालभाषा) or Nepālavāc (Devanāgarī: नेपालवाच) used to refer to the language, can be found in the manuscripts of a commentary to the Nāradasaṃhitā, dated 1380, and a commentary to the Amarkośa, dated 1386.[25][26] Some inscriptions from the Malla Dynasty refer to the language as deśabhāṣā (Devanagari: देशभाषा, "language of the country").[27] The name "Nepal Bhasa" is used ubiquitously in sources from the Malla dynasty to refer to the language.[27] Similarly, Father Cassiano da Macerata, a Capuchin missionary who visited Nepal in the 1740s referred to the language as Nepalese.[28]
The origin of the term "Newari" to refer to the language is thought to of a recent origin; coined by Brian Hodgson in 1847 and since then most western scholars have used the term to refer to the language.[29] The term "Newari" is considered by many Newars to be derogatory as it is the Sanskritisation of "Newar".[5] "Newar" is generally believed to be releated with the word "Nepal", possibly derived by the replacement of the 'la' sound with a 'ra' sound, a common practice in historical documents from Nepal.[30] Historically, the term "Newar" itself was rarely used, only finding use in the travellouge of some of the Capuchin missionaries who visited Nepal during the Malla dynasty.[31] Only two sources from the Malla dynasty use the term "Newar" to refer to the language or its script; the multilingual stone inscription of Pratap Malla uses "nevāra ākhara" ("newar alphabet") to refer to the Pracalit script and a stone inscription from 1652 uses the term nevārabhāṣā ("newar language") to refer to the language.[31]
In the 1920s, the name of the language known as Khas Kura,[32] Gorkhali or Parbatiya[33] was changed to Nepali,[34][35][36] Conversely, the term Gorkhali in the former national anthem entitled "Shreeman Gambhir" was changed to Nepali in 1951.[37] 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.[38]
The term Newari is considered as a derogatory term.[39] On 7 September 1995, the cabinet of ministers decided to use "Nepala Bhasa" instead of "Newari".[40][41][42] On 13 November 1998, the Minister of Information and Communication issued another directive to use the name Nepal Bhasa instead of Newari.[43][44] However, the Central Bureau of Statistics has not been doing so.[45]
A colloquial term is Newa Bhaay (Devanāgarī: नेवा: भाय्, IAST: 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 (including Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur and Madhyapur Thimi municipalities), Dolakha District, Banepa, Dhulikhel, Bandipur, Bhimphedi (Makwanpur), Panauti, Palpa, Trishuli, Nuwakot, Bhojpur, Chitlang, Narayangarh, Chitwan.[46][47]
- In India: West Bengal & Sikkim[48]
- In Tibet: Lhasa
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'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.[6] 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.[49] At local levels, Nepal Bhasa (Newar) has official status in Kathmandu Metropolitan City,[50] Lalitpur Metropolitan City[51] and Kirtipur Municipality[52] 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.[51]
India
Newar is an additional official language in Sikkim for the purpose of preservation of culture and tradition in the state.[53] The official weekly publication Sikkim Herald has a Newar Edition.[54] The Information & Public Relations Department also broadcasts news bulletin in Newar.[55]
Education
Nepal Bhasa is included as elective mother tongue subject in schools by Curriculum Development Committee.[56] Tribhuvan University offers Bachelors, Masters, Mphil and PhD degree in Nepal Bhasa.[57] Expatriates[who?] can study Nepal Bhasa at Bishwa Bhasa Campus in Kathmandu.[58] Kathmandu Metropolitan City and Kirtipur Municipality are teaching Nepal Bhasa as a local language.[59] Newar is taught in schools of Sikkim.[60]
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.[61] 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.[62]
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.[63]
A classification (based on Glover's[64]) indicating a percentage of shared vocabulary within the labeled branch and an approximate time of split:[citation needed]
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