Sunwar language
| Sunuwar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Region | Nepal |
Native speakers | 38,000 (2011)[1] |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | suz |
| Glottolog | sunw1242 |
| ELP | Sunwar |
Sunuwar, or Kõinch (कोँइच; kõica; other spellings are Koinch and Koincha), is a Kiranti language spoken in Nepal by the Sunuwar people. It was first comprehensively attested by the Himalayan Languages Project. It is also known as Kõits Lo (कोँइच लो ; kõica lo), Kiranti-Kõits (किराँती-कोँइच ; kirā̃tī-kõica), Mukhiya (मुखिया ; mukhiyā).[2][3]
Geographical distribution
Sunuwar is spoken in the following locations of Nepal (Ethnologue).
- Eastern hills of Dolakha District and Ramechhap District, Janakpur Zone
- Northwestern Okhaldhunga District, Sagarmatha Zone
Vocabulary
Seu+wa+la (Sewala)
| Sunuwar | English |
|---|---|
| Namsewal | Hello / Good Bye |
| Sew | (Respect) / (Greeting) / I bow to you |
| Maahr | What |
| Dohpachaa | How to |
| Dohshow | How much |
| Dohmoh | How big |
| Go | I |
| Gopuki | We are |
| Ge | You (informal) |
| Gepukhi | You are (informal) |
| Goi | You (formal) |
| GoiPuki | You are (formal) |
| Daarshow | Beautiful |
| Rimso | Good |
| MaDarshow | Ugly |
Language Structure
In linguistic typology, a subject+object+verb (SOV) language is one in which the subject, object, and verb of a sentence always or usually appear in that order. If English were SOV, "Sam oranges ate" would be an ordinary sentence, as opposed to the actual Standard English "Sam ate oranges". (A Grammar of Sunuwar) [4]
| Language | S | O | V |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunuwar | Go | Khamay | Jainu |
| English | I | Rice | Eat |
Sunuwar people called "Khangsa" sign language with voice and direct action, for foreign people who don't understand a sunuwar language.
Area
Sunuwar language is spoken in villages in Dolakha, Ramechhap and Okhaldhunga, about 120 kilometers east of Kathmandu.[3]
Writing systems
Though Sunuwar is most commonly written with the Devanagari script, a native writing system, Jenticha, has seen limited use since the 1940s.
Numerals and alphabet (Devanagari)
Numerals
| 1 | ichi/kaa | 2 | ni/nishi | 3 | sa/saam | 4 | le | 5 | nga |
| 6 | ruku/roku | 7 | chani | 8 | sasi | 9 | van | 10 | gau |
Vowels
| अ | a | आ | ā | इ | i | ई | ī | उ | u | ऊ | ū |
| ए | e | ऎ | ai | ओ | o | औ | au | ऑ | ang | ऒ | aha |
Consonants
| क | ka | ख | kha | ग | ga | घ | gha | ङ | ṅga | च | cha | छ | chha | ज | ja | झ | jha |
| ञ | ña | ट | ṭa | ठ | ṭha | ड | ḍa | ढ | ḍha | ण | ṇa | त | ta | थ | tha | द | da |
| ध | dha | न | na | प | pa | फ | pha | ब | ba | भ | bha | म | ma | य | ya | र | ra |
| ल | la | व | wa | श | śha | ष | ṣra | स | sa | ह | ha | व्ह | hha |
References
- ^ Sunuwar at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Ager, Simon. "Jenticha alphabet, and the Sunuwar language". Omniglot. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
- ^ a b Borchers, Dörte (2008). A grammar of Sunuwar: descriptive grammar, paradigms, texts and glossary ([Online-Ausg.]. ed.). Leiden: Brill. pp. 1–2. ISBN 9789004167094.
- ^ "A Grammar of Sunwar". Dörte Borchers. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
External links
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