Dhut magar (Template:Lang-ne, Template:IPA-ne) is a language spoken mainly in Nepal, Southern Bhutan, and in Darjeeling and Sikkim, India, by the Magar people. It is divided into two groups (Eastern and Western) and further dialect divisions give distinct tribal identity.[1] In Nepal 788,530 people speak the language.
While the government of Nepal developed Magar language curricula, as provisioned by the constitution, the teaching materials have never successfully reached Magar schools, where most school instruction is in the Nepali language.[2] It is not unusual for groups with their own language to feel that the "mother-tongue" is an essential part of identity.
Dhut Magar language is sometimes lumped with Kham Magar language spoken further west in Bheri, Dhaulagiri, and Rapti zones. Although the two languages share many common words, they have major structural differences and are not mutually intelligible.[3]
Geographical distribution
Western Magar
Western Magar (dialects: Palpa and Syangja) is spoken in the following districts of Nepal (Ethnologue).
- Lumbini Zone: Palpa District
- Gandaki Zone: Syangja District, and Tanahu District
- Small border area in Dhawalagiri Zone: Parbat District
- Scattered throughout Bheri Zone: especially in Surkhet District, Jajarkot District, and Dailekh District
- Magars are also live in the district named parbat which is located in the western part of Nepal.
Eastern Magar
Eastern Magar (dialects: Gorkha, Nawalparasi, and Tanahu) is spoken in the following districts of Nepal (Ethnologue).
- Zone 1: central mountains of Nepal east of the Bagmati River
- Gandaki Zone: Tanahu District and southern Gorkha District
- Lumbini Zone: Palpa District and Nawalparasi District
- Small border area in Bagmati Zone: Dhading District
- Zone 2: eastern Nepal
- Sindhuli District, Janakpur Zone
- Okhaldhunga District, Sagarmatha Zone
- Udayapur District
- Scattered communities in central Kosi ZoneDhankuta District Bhojpur and southern Mechi ZoneIllam Jhapa District
- Some Place/State of India Sikkim Darjeeling Assam Manipur
- Southern Part of Bhutan
Phonology
Consonants
*-only occur in the Tanahu dialect.
Template:IPA is only a marginal phoneme.[4]
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link | |
| Mid | Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link | |
| Template:IPA link | |||
| Open | Template:IPA link |
| Diphthongs |
|---|
| Template:IPA |
| Template:IPA |
| Template:IPA |
| Template:IPA |
| Template:IPA |
| Template:IPA |
| Template:IPA |
| Phoneme | Allophones |
|---|---|
| Template:IPA | Template:IPA |
| Template:IPA | Template:IPA |
| Template:IPA | Template:IPA |
| Template:IPA | Template:IPA |
| Template:IPA | Template:IPA |
| Template:IPA | Template:IPA |
References
- ↑ The Eastern Magar of Nepal. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
- ↑ Mother Tongue Education for Social Inclusion and Conflict Resolution. Foundation for Endangered Languages. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
- ↑ The Tibeto-Burman Languages of Nepal - A General Survey. Contributions to Nepalese Studies({Template:Date).
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 A descriptive grammar of two Magar dialects of Nepal: Tanahu and Syangja Magar{{#if:Grunow-Hårsta|, Grunow-Hårsta}(2008)
Further reading
- Template:Cite encyclopedia
- Shepherd, Gary, and Barbara Shepherd. A Vocabulary of the Magar Language. Comparative vocabularies of languages of Nepal. Kirtipur: Summer Institute of Linguistics [and] Institute of Nepal Studies, Tribhuvan University, 1972.
- Shepherd, Gary, and Barbara Shepherd. Magar Phonemic Summary. Tibeto-Burman phonemic summaries, 8. Kirtipur: Summer Institute of Linguistics, Tribhuvan University, 1971.
External links
- detailed language map, western Nepal. Eastern Magar is language #33; Western Magar is #113.
- ELAR archive of Magar language documentation materials
- The Magar language - Linguistics research - Folktales in Magar (Western) - Nepal
Template:Sino-Tibetan languages Template:Greater Magaric languages Template:Languages of Nepal Template:Languages of Northeast India Template:Authority control