Linguistic situation in Nepal and preservation of its endangered

languages: An overview

Krishna PARAJULICentral Department of Linguistics

Tribhuvan University, Nepal27th of March 2014

Email: kepiparajuli@gmail.com

Nepal

Highest mountain: Sagarmatha(Mount Everest, 8848 masl)

Birthplace of Gautam Buddha

Nine-storey-palace, Kathmandu

Fifty-five-window-palace, Bhaktapur

Kumari: The living Goddess

Pashupati temple: Famous Hindu shrine

Swyambhunath: Famous Buddhist shrine

Nyatapola: A five-storey temple built in Pagoda style

Krishna temple: Famous for its Shikhara style

Tentative plan of presentationNepal at a glanceLanguages in the past and the present: An overviewLanguage policyStatus of languages at presentStatus of language documentation and institutional efforts…

Linguistic Society of Nepal (LSN), Nepal Academy (NA) Central Department of Linguistics (CDL, TU) National Foundation for Development of Indigenous

Nationalities (NFDIN) and othersScripts

1. Nepal at a glanceTotal population26,494,504 (About 27 million) as of June 22, 2011Distance from the East to the West885 KMState of Nepal Nepal is an independent, indivisible, sovereign, secular, inclusive and federal, democratic republican state (The Interim Constitution of Nepal 2063 BS (2007 AD) Part 1: 4 (1)Mother TongueThere are 122 languages spoken as mother tongue reported in census 2011. (but 124, including others and not reported)

1. Nepal at a glanceArea1,47,181 Sq KMCaste/Ethnicity125 caste/ethnic groups ReligionThere are ten types of religion categories reported in the censusThe highest literacy rate 86.3 (Kathmandu district)(Source: Volume 01, National Population and Housing Census (NPHC) 2011 (National

Report) Government of Nepal National Planning Commission Secretariat, Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Kathmandu, Nepal November, 2012)

2. Languages of Nepal: Past and presentYear No. of languages1952/54 (AD) 2009/2011 (BS): 441961 (AD) 2018 (BS): 361971 (AD) 2028 (BS): 171981 (AD) 2038 (BS): 181991 (AD) 2048 (BS): 312001 (AD) 2058 (BS): 92 (and 93 including others)2011 (AD) 2068 (BS): 122 (but 124 including

others and not reported (Source: Reports of CBS)

3. Constitutional provisions onlanguage-issues The Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990

Each community shall have rights to operate schools upto the primary level in its mother tongue for imparting education to the community’s children.

The constitution has guaranteed the right to preserve and promote the languages, scripts and cultures (Article 18.1)

The Interim Constitution of Nepal, 2063 BS (2007) AD3. 5. Language of the Nation:

(1) All the languages spoken as mother tongues in Nepal are the languages of nation.

3. Constitutional provisions onlanguage-issues

(2) The Nepali language in Devanagari script shall be the official language.

(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in Clause ( 2), nothing shall be deemed to prevent the using of any language spoken as the mother tongue in a local body and office.

17. Right relating to education and culture 1. Every community shall have the right to get basic education in its own mother tongue, as provided in law.

3. Every community residing in Nepal shall have the right to preserve and promote its language, script, culture, cultural civilization and heritage. (Page:10)

4. Linguistic profile of NepalOut of 124 languages,

121 belong to four major language families: Indo-Aryan branch of Indo-European (IE) language family

(Some of them even in IE family)Tibeto-Burman (Trans-Himalayan)/Sino TibetanDravidian Austro-Asiatic

4. Linguistic profile of Nepal Language isolate: Kusunda Sign language: 1 One of the groups is categorized as others The last one is under the category of not reported

(Source: CBS, 2011)

5. Languages by percentage

Nepali 44.6% (11,826,953) of the total populationMaithili 11.7% (3,092,530) ” Bhojpuri 6.0 % (1,584,958) ” Tharu 5.8% (1,529,875) ” Tamang 5.1% (1, 353,311) ” Newar 3.2% (8,46,557) ”Bajjika 3.0% (7,93,418) ”Magar 3.0% (788530) ”Doteli3.0% (7,87,827) ”Urdu 2.6% (6,91,546) ”Others: 12% ”

(Source: CBS report, 2011)

6. “In languages we live” or we leave the languages: A search for identityKusunda 28Kaike 50Bankariya 69Kagate 99Sadhani 122Lingkhim 129(Source: CBS, 2011) (Less than 150 speakers)

6. “In languages… Kurmali 227Khariya 238Malpande 247Surel 287Phangduwali 290Dhuleli 347Manange 392Sam 401Khamchi (Raute) 461Byansi 480Dadeldhuri 488

Sonaha 579Belhare 599Lhomi 808Jumli 851(Source: CBS, 2011) (Less than 1,000 speakers)

7. Caste/Ethnicity and mother tonguesOne caste/ethnic group and one language

Tharu, Tamang, Gurung, Limbu, Sherpa, Bote, Kumal, Rajbanshi, Majhi, Danuwar, Bhote, Dhimal, Thakali, Darai, Lepcha, (Lapche), Byangshi, Raute, Raji…

One caste/ethnic group and several languagesRai-Kirati: Bantawa, Chamling, Thulung, Kulung, Nachhiring, Wambule, Lohorung, Koyee, Sunuwar, Chhintang, Puma, Mewahang, Sampang, Chhiling, Bahing, Dumi, Dungmali, Waling/Walung, Yamphu/Yamphe, Belhare, Yakkha, Phangduwali, Athpahariya.. etc

Several caste/ethnic groups and one language Newar..

(Based on the report of National Languages Policy Recommendation Commission, 1994 and CBS report 2011)

8. Status of language documentation and preservation Central Department of Linguistics (CDL) at Tribhuvan University (TU)

Language Documentation Chhintang and Puma Documentation Project (CPDP) (Under

the financial and technical support of Volkswagen Foundation, MPI, DOBES and University of Leipzig, Germany)

http://dobes.mpi.nl/projects/chintang/ Linguistic and Ethnographic Documentation of Baram

(LEDB) (Under the financial support of SOAS , UK) Prepared a grammar, multilingual dictionary and history and

culture of the Baram language. http://elar.soas.ac.uk/deposit/0007

8. Status of language documentation and preservation

Multilingual dictionary (in collaboration with the National Foundation for Development of Indigenous Nationalities (NFDIN)

Theses: MA (43 languages; 116 Theses)Ph. D. Dissertation (25) in more than 7 languagesLinguistic Survey of Nepal (LinSuN)

8. Status of language documentation and preservation Nepal AcademyMultilingual dictionary

Bhojpuri-Nepali-English dictionaryMaithili-Nepali-English dictionaryLimbu-Nepali-English dictionary

GrammarsGrammar of the Limbu language (1. Limbu 2. Nepali)Classical Limbu language: Grammar of the MundhumStandardization of the Limbu languageGrammar of the Magar language (Dhut) ( मगर भाषा ( ढुट व्याकरण)

by Lok Bahadur Thapa Magar)

8. Status of language documentation and preservation

History and literature History and literature of the Newar language History and literature of the Tamang language

A collection of seminar papers and mother tongue poetry recitation ( संगोष्ठीपत्र तथा मातृभाषा कवि�ता सँगालो) organized to mark the Mother Tongue Day, 2010). It consists of 28 languages

Magazines, journals and reference materials in many languagesPragya, Kavita, Samakalin sahitya Sayapatri, Journal of Nepali literature and culture (Half yearly), Aagan, Thaybhu, Phaktanglung, Nepalka matribhasa ( नेपालका मातृभाषा: भाग १ ) (mother tongues of Nepal) I and more to mention

8. Status of language documentation and preservation National Foundation for Development of Indigenous Nationalities (NFDIN)

NFDIN has provided the researchers with the resources in more than 40 languages

It has started to conduct Ethno Linguistic Survey of Nepal (ELSUN) and very recently conducted the survey on 12 different languages spoken in Dolakha district.

It has also produced multilingual dictionaries (10 languages) and documentation in (18 languages) in collaboration with the Department of Linguistics at Tribhuvan University (These are as follows):

8. Status of language documentation and preservation

A Basic Dura-Nepali-English dictionaryA Basic Mugali-Nepali-English dictionaryDictionary of the dialect of Mahottari Danuwars (with CD)Kumal-Nepali-English dictionaryGurung-Nepali-English dictionaryKumal-Nepali-English dictionaryA Basic Lohorung-Nepali-English dictionaryA Basic Sherpa-Nepali-English dictionaryA Basic Mewahang-Nepali-English dictionaryA Basic Baram-Nepali-English dictionary

8. Status of language documentation and preservation NFDIN

Language documentation (18 languages) The documentation of the Hayu language The documentation of the Bhujel language The documentation of Kodku Pahari lanuage The documentation of the Meche language The documentation of the Bahing language The documentation of the Rajbanshi language The documentation of the Byanshi language The documentation of the Boto boli (Raute/Khamchi) language

8. Status of language documentation and preservation

The documentation of the Kaike language (with CD) The Documentation of the Jhagar Language (with CD) The documentation of the Santhali language The documentation of the Kissan (Sadri) language The documentation of the Bankariya language The documentation of the Done bhasa (Danuwar)

language The documentation of the Thakali language The documentation of the Dumi language The documentation of the Raji language The documentation of the Koyee language

(Source: NFDIN and CDL, TU)

8. Status of language documentation and preservation 9.4. Gorkhapatra Corporation From the 18th of September 2007(1st of Asoj 2064 BS), Government of Nepal started to publish news, views, and other activities of the mother tongue speakers via its official media the Gorkhapatra (the official newspaper of the Government of Nepal) in 29 languages.

8. Status of language documentation and preservation (The news coverage is in the Devanagari script and the language is Kumal an Indo-Aryan language)

8. Status of language documentation and preservation Community involvement: Lohorung

Multimodal dictionaryhttp://desceco.org/lohorung/browse/detail/4KSV4KWA4KSD4KS

s4KS-http://desceco.org/lohorung/browse/detail/4KSV4KWAOuCkrOC

kvgSpoken corporaAudio-visual materials

Linguistic Society of Nepal

9. ScriptsDevanagari Nepali and many other languages

of Nepal Sambota/Tibetan/Uchchayan Tibetan, SherpaRanjana NewarBhujinmo (भुजि ँमो) NewarPachunmo (पचुँमो) NewarGolmo (गोलमो) NewarLitumo (लिलतुमो) NewarKunmo कँुमो NewarGurumukhi PanjabiBangla/Bangali Bangla/Bangali

9. Scripts…Sirijunga Kirat and LimbuRong LepchaTamu /Khema GurungAakkha MagarArabi UrduRoman EnglishMithilakshar /Tirhuta?Kaithi MaithiliSanthali/Olchiki/Olchemet/Ol SanthalTamhik TamangKaithiBhojpuri

(Source: : A collection of seminar papers and mother tongue poetry recitation ( संगोष्ठीपत्र तथा मातृभाषा कवि�ता सँगालो) organized to mark the Mother Tongue Day, 2010, Appencix 2).

10. Resources in mother and other tongue

12.Resources…

Raute: Nomadic group of Nepal

Rautes appointed as forest guards (Source: The Kathmandu Post, Thursday, March 4, 2014)

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