Nar Phu language
{{short description|Sino-Tibetan variety spoken in the two villages of Nar and Phu, in Nepal}}
{{Infobox language
|name=Nar Phu
|states=Nepal
|region=Manang district
|speakers=600
|date=2011
|ref=e18
|familycolor=Sino-Tibetan
|fam2=Tamangic
|fam3=Manang
|dia1=Nar (Lower Nar)
|dia2=Phu (Upper Nar)
|iso3=npa
|glotto=narp1239
|glottorefname=Nar Phu
|notice=IPA
}}
Nar Phu, or ’Narpa, is a Sino-Tibetan variety spoken in the two villages of Nar and Phu, in the Valley of the Nar Khola in the Manang district of Nepal. It forms a dialect continuum with Manang and may be intelligible with it; however, the Nar and Phu share a secret language to confound Gyasumdo and Manang who would otherwise understand them.
Phonology
=Vowels=
=Consonants=
| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
! colspan=2| ! Bilabial ! Dental ! Velar |
| rowspan=2| Plosive
! unaspirated | {{IPA|p}} | {{IPA|t}} | {{IPA|ʈ}} | | {{IPA|k}} |
|---|
| aspirated
| {{IPA|pʰ}} | {{IPA|tʰ}} | {{IPA|ʈʰ}} | | {{IPA|kʰ}} |
| rowspan=2| Affricate
! unaspirated | | {{IPA|ts}} | | {{IPA|tɕ}} | |
| aspirated
| | {{IPA|tsʰ}} | | {{IPA|tɕʰ}} | |
| colspan=2| Fricative
| | {{IPA|s}} | | {{IPA|ɕ}} | |
| colspan=2| Nasal
| {{IPA|m}} | {{IPA|n}} | | {{IPA|ɲ}} | {{IPA|ŋ}} |
| rowspan=2| Lateral
! voiced | | {{IPA|l}} | | | |
| voiceless
| | {{IPA|l̥}} | | | |
| rowspan="2"| Rhotic
! voiced | | {{IPA|r}} | | | |
| voiceless
| | {{IPA|r̥}} | | | |
| colspan="2"| Approximant
| {{IPA|w}} | | | {{IPA|j}} | {{IPA|ɰ}} |
Comparatively to the English language, the /g/ is not in the language.
=Tones=
Nar Phu distinguishes four tones: high falling, high level, low rising murmured, and mid/low falling murmured.
Language Patterns
Nar-Phu has a different vowel system than other Tamangic languages, due to the amount of front vowels. Nar-Phu is a four-tone language. Tones 1 and 4 are falling; tones 3 and 4 are murmured. Tone 2 is distinguished by its clear, high quality. Nar-Phu has no formal gendered language system, but some suffixes are used to describe animals, even castrated male animals. Honorific Noun phrases are used when there is not a noun in place for said words.
Swadesh List
- čhipruŋ - Nar
- ŋêe min - my name is
- cɦecuke - children
- tɦosor - happy/happier/happiness
- læ̂se/yarcʌkômpʌ - Yarsagompa
- šiŋ - wood
- kɦêpɛ - eighth month
- ɦyâŋi - yaks
- momori - momo
- kɦeskʌ - gas
- læ̂pa - cup
- bɦaʈʈi - hotel
- eki - again
- mɦi - dies
- molompapɛ - religious books
- molom - worship
[1]
References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- Noonan, Michael (2003). "Nar-Phu" Sino-Tibetan Languages, edited by Randy LaPolla and Graham Thurgood, 336-352. London: Routledge.
- Kristine A. Hildebrandt (2013). “Converb and aspect marking polysemy in Nar” Responses to Language Endangerment: In Honor of Mickey Noonan, edited by Elena Mihas, Bernard Perley, Gabriel Rei-Doval, and Kathleen Wheatley, 97-117. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
- Kristine A. Hildebrandt, D.N. Dhakal, Oliver Bond, Matt Vallejo and Andrea Fyffe. (2015). “A sociolinguistic survey of the languages of Manang, Nepal: Co-existence and endangerment.” [https://web.archive.org/web/20160616212827/http://www.nfdin.gov.np/securi/ NFDIN Journal], 14.6: 104-122.
- Mandala collections. Nar-Phu | Mandala Collections - Audio-Video. (n.d.). Retrieved December 10, 2021, from
https://av.mandala.library.virginia.edu/collection/nar-phu .
External links
- [https://mananglanguages.isg.siue.edu/ Manang Languages Project of Kristine Hildebrandt]
- [https://www.marveltreks.com/trip/nar-phu-valley-trek/ Nar Phu Valley Trekking Nepal]
- [https://audio-video.shanti.virginia.edu/collection/nar-phu Nar-Phu language archive] at the University of Virginia [http://www.thlib.org/ Tibetan and Himalayan Library]
{{Bodic languages}}