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Help:IPA/Nepali

{{IPA key|H:IPA-NE}}

Charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Nepali pronunciations in Wikipedia articles. For a guide to adding IPA characters to Wikipedia articles, see Template:IPA and {{section link|Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pronunciation#Entering IPA characters}}.

See Nepali phonology for a more thorough look at the sounds of Nepali.

Key

style="background:none;"
style="vertical-align:top;"

|

{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em; text-align: center;"

! colspan="5" | Consonants

rowspan="2" |IPA

! colspan="2" |Examples

! rowspan="2" |English Approximation

Nepali

!IAST

{{IPA link|b}}

|बाटो

| bāṭo

| style="text-align:left;" | cabbie

bʱ

|भट्टी

| bhaṭṭī

| style="text-align:left;" | clubhouse

{{IPA link|d̪|d}}Nepali contrasts dental {{IPAblink|t̪|t}} and {{IPAblink|d̪|d}} with apical postalveolar {{IPAblink|ʈ}} and {{IPAblink|ɖ}} (as well as aspirated variants). Both sets sound like {{IPAc-en|t}} and {{IPAc-en|d}} to most English speakers although the dental [t] and [d] are used in place of the English {{IPAc-en|θ}} and {{IPAc-en|ð}} for some speakers with th-stopping.

|दाउरा

|dāurā

| style="text-align:left;" | width

dʱ

|धान

| dhān

| style="text-align:left;" | adhere (but dental)

{{IPA link|ɖ}}Due to a process of h-deletion in some words, ɦ may be replaced by a retroflex flap [{{IPA link|ɽ}}] if words are pronounced with long vowels e.g. पहाडी which is phonetically {{IPA|[paːɽi]}} can be analyzed phonemically as {{IPA|/pʌhaɖi/}}. Additionally, [ɽ] can occur if ɖ or ɖʱ are flapped in postvocalic position.

|डमरु

| ḍamaru

| style="text-align:left;" | American bird

{{IPA link|ɽ}}Due to a process of h-deletion in some words, ɦ may be replaced by a retroflex flap [{{IPA link|ɽ}}] if words are pronounced with long vowels e.g. पहाडी which is phonetically {{IPA|[paːɽi]}} can be analyzed phonemically as {{IPA|/pʌhaɖi/}}. Additionally, [ɽ] can occur if ɖ or ɖʱ are flapped in postvocalic position.

|गाडी

| gāḍī

| style="text-align:left;" | American bird

ɖʱ

|ढाल

| ḍhāl

| style="text-align:left;" | American birdhouse

{{IPA link|d͡z}}

|जल

| jal

| style="text-align:left;" | dads

d͡zʱ

|झरना

| jharanā

| style="text-align:left;" | dad's house

{{IPA link|ɡ}}

|गीत

| gīt

| style="text-align:left;" | again

ɡʱ

|घर

| ghar

| style="text-align:left;" |loghouse

{{IPA link|ɦ}}

|हलो

| halo

| style="text-align:left;" |ahead

{{IPA link|k}}

|कलम

| kalam

| style="text-align:left;" |scan

kʰ

|खाना

| khānā

| style="text-align:left;" |can

{{IPA link|l}}

|लामो

| lāmo

| style="text-align:left;" |leaf

{{IPA link|m}}

|माटो

| māṭo

| style="text-align:left;" |much

{{IPA link|n}}

|नाम

| nām

| style="text-align:left;" |not

{{IPA link|ŋ}}

|नङ

| naṅ

| style="text-align:left;" |sing

{{IPA link|ɳ}}/ɳ/ may occur as a retroflex nasal flap [ɽ̃] in spellinɡ pronunciations of some Sanskrit loanwords.

|अण्डा

| aṇḍā

| style="text-align:left;" |American burn

{{IPA link|p}}

|पल

| pal

| style="text-align:left;" |span

pʰVoiced and voiceless aspirated/murmured labials and velars can undergo fricativization, therefore, realized as the corresponding homorganic fricatives e.g. /sʌpʰa/ transcribed phonetically as [sʌɸa], /bʱ/as [{{IPA link|β}}], /kʰ/ as [{{IPA link|x}}], and /ɡʱ/ as [{{IPA link|ɣ}}].

|फल

| phal

| style="text-align:left;" |pan

{{IPA link|r}}{{IPA|/r/}} is usually trilled [r] but may be tapped [{{IPAplink|ɾ}}] when in intervocalic position.

|रातो

| rāto

| style="text-align:left;" |Trilled ring

{{IPA link|ɾ}}{{IPA|/r/}} is usually trilled [r] but may be tapped [{{IPAplink|ɾ}}] when in intervocalic position.

|तारा

| tārā

| style="text-align:left;" |American atom

{{IPA link|s}}{{IPA|/s/}} phonetically may be either [s] or [{{IPAplink|ʃ}}].

|सानो

| sāno

| style="text-align:left;" |sun

{{IPA link|t͡s}}

|चोर

| cor

| style="text-align:left;" |bats

t͡sʰ

|छाना

| chānā

| style="text-align:left;" |cats head

{{IPA link|t̪|t}}

|तर

| tara

| style="text-align:left;" |stick (but dental)

tʰ

|थाल

|thāl

| style="text-align:left;" | tub (but dental)

{{IPA link|ʈ}}

|टमाटर

| ṭamāṭar

| style="text-align:left;" |American parts

ʈʰ

|ठीक

| ṭhīk

| style="text-align:left;" |American partake

{{IPA link|w}}The combination of the labio-velar approximant /w/ and /e, i, o, ʌi̯, r, w, j/ is constrained in Nepali, thus the orthographic ⟨व⟩ is pronounced as a bilabial stop /b/ in such cases.

|हावा

| hawa

| style="text-align:left;" |want

{{IPA link|j}}

|याद

| yād

| style="text-align:left;" |yes

|

class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em 2em; text-align: center;"

! colspan="5" | Vowels

rowspan="2" |IPA

! colspan="2" |Examples

! rowspan="2" |English Approximation

Nepali

!IAST

colspan="4" |Monophthongs
{{IPA link|ä|a}}

| आमा

| āmā

| style="text-align:left;" | father

{{IPA link|ʌ}}

| असल

| asal

| style="text-align:left;" | cut (most dialects outside Northern England, English Midlands and Republic of Ireland; no equivalent in these dialects)

{{IPA link|e}}

|केरा

| kerā

| style="text-align:left;" |Scottish may

rowspan="2" |{{IPA link|i}}

|इनाम

| inām

| rowspan="2" style="text-align:left;" |happy

ईनार

|īnār

{{IPA link|o}}

|थोपा

| thopā

| style="text-align:left;" | force

rowspan="2" |{{IPA link|u}}

|उमेर

| umēr

| rowspan="2" style="text-align:left;" |cool

ऊन

|ūn

colspan="4" |Diphthongs
{{IPA|ʌi̯}}

|ऐना

| ainā

| style="text-align:left;" |Canadian writer

{{IPA|ʌu̯}}

|मौका

|maukā

| style="text-align:left;" |Canadian about

{{IPA|ou̯}}

|धोऊ

|dhoū

| style="text-align:left;" |goal

{{IPA|oi̯}}

|खोइ

|khoi

| style="text-align:left;" |toy

{{IPA|au̯}}

|पाउ

| pāu

| style="text-align:left;" |now

{{IPA|ei̯}}

|केही

|kehī

| style="text-align:left;" |day

{{IPA|ai̯}}

|माइत

|māita

| style="text-align:left;" |my

{{IPA|iu̯}}

|जीउ

| jīu

| style="text-align:left;" |similar to few

{{IPA|ui̯}}

|दुई

| duī

| style="text-align:left;" |booyah; Gruyère

{{IPA|eu̯}}

|एउटा

| euṭā

| style="text-align:left;" | somewhat like go (some dialectsThese dialects include Southern England (including Received Pronunciation), English Midlands, Australian, New Zealand, the Southern American, Midland American, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Western Pennsylvania and younger Californian English. Other dialects of English, such as most other forms of American, Northern England, Welsh, Scottish and Irish English, have no close equivalent vowel.); similar to hey ooh elided into a single syllable

colspan="4" |Vowel Diacritic
{{IPA link|◌̃}}

| आँसु

| ā̃su

| style="text-align:left;" | nasal vowel [{{IPA|ʌ̃}}], [{{IPA|ã}}], [{{IPA|ũ}}], etc.)

class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em 2em; text-align: center;"

! colspan="3"| Suprasegmentals

IPAcolspan="2" |
{{IPA link|̤ː|◌ ̤ː}}

| style="text-align: left;" | Doubled vowel
(placed after vowelWords are pronounced with long vowels due to the process of intervocalic h deletion, e.g पहाडी phonemically {{IPA|/pʌɦaɖi/}} is realized phonetically as {{IPA|[paːɽi]}}.)

{{IPA link|◌ː}}

| style="text-align: left;" | Doubled consonant
(placed after consonant)

|}

Notes

{{reflist}}

Bibliography

{{refbegin}}

  • {{citation

|last=Khatiwada

|first=Rajesh

|year=2009

|title=Nepali

|journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association

|volume=39

|issue=3

|pages=337–380

|doi=10.1017/S0025100309990181

|doi-access=free

}}

  • {{citation

|last=Pokharel

|first=Madhav Prasad

|year=1989

|title=Experimental analysis of Nepali sound system

|type=Ph.D.

|publisher=University of Pune, India

}}

  • {{Citation

|last=Masica

|first=Colin

|authorlink=Colin Masica

|year=1991

|title=The Indo-Aryan Languages

|place= Cambridge

|publisher=Cambridge University Press

|isbn=978-0-521-29944-2

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J3RSHWePhXwC&printsec=frontcover&dq=indo-aryan+languages

}}.

  • {{Citation

|last1= Hutt

|first1= Michael

|last2= Subedi

|first2= Abhi

|year=1999

|title=Teach Yourself Nepali

|publisher=McGraw-Hill

|edition=2003

|isbn=978-0-07-142468-4

}}.

  • {{citation

|last=Acharya

|first=Jayaraj

|year=1991

|title=A Descriptive Grammar of Nepali and an Analyzed Corpus

|publisher=Georgetown University Press

|isbn=0878400737

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z_JoCIRN_xwC

}}

{{refend}}

See also

  • {{clc|Pages with Nepali (macrolanguage) IPA|pages}}

{{IPA keys}}