Nepali language

{{see also|Name of Nepal}}

File:"Languages & Nations of India" and "Political Divisions of India"in 1858, 10 of 'From New York to Delhi, by way of Rio de Janeiro, Australia, and China' (11053770654) (cropped).jpg {{c.}} 1858; It refers to the language as "Nepalee".]]

The term Nepali derived from Nepal was officially adopted by the Government of Nepal in 1933, when Gorkha Bhasa Prakashini Samiti (Gorkha Language Publishing Committee), a government institution established in 1913 (B.S. 1970) for advancement of Gorkha Bhasa, renamed itself as Nepali Bhasa Prakashini Samiti (Nepali Language Publishing Committee) in 1933 (B.S. 1990), which is currently known as Sajha Prakashan.{{cite web |title=साझा प्रकाशन एक झलक |url=https://sajha.org.np/chinari/28/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030115002/https://sajha.org.np/chinari/28/ |archive-date=30 October 2021 |access-date=30 October 2021 |website=Sajha Prakashan}} Conversely, the term Gorkhali in the former national anthem entitled "Shriman Gambhir" was changed to Nepali in 1951.{{cite news |date=June 2003 |title=The kings song |newspaper=Himal Southasian |url=http://www.himalmag.com/component/content/article/4214-.html |url-status=dead |access-date=15 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025182216/http://www.himalmag.com/component/content/article/4214-.html |archive-date=25 October 2012}} However, the term Nepali was used before the official adoption notably by Jaya Prithvi Bahadur Singh, now considered one of the national heroes of Nepal, who advocated for the embracement of the term.{{cite web |last1=Vasistha |first1=Kedar |title='गोर्खा पत्रिकाहरू'को पदचाप |url=https://gorkhapatraonline.com/arts/2021-05-07-36969 |access-date=9 November 2021 |website=Gorakhapatra Online |archive-date=9 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109071349/https://gorkhapatraonline.com/arts/2021-05-07-36969 |url-status=live}} जङ्गबहादुरलाई पनि घिसार्ने गरिएको पाइन्छ तर उनको पालामा गोर्खा भाषा वा नेपाली भाषा नभनी पाष्या बोली वा पर्वते भाषाको प्रचलन रहेको देखिन्छ । तर उक्त सनद जारी भएको एक वर्षपछिको जङ्गबहादुरको एक पत्रमा उनले गोर्खा वा गोर्खाली वा नेपाली भाषाका नमुना भनी नभनी पाष्या (पाखे) बोली भनेका छन् ।

The initial name of Nepali language was "Khas Kura" ({{langx|ne|खस कुरा|label=none}}), meaning language or speech of the Khas people, who are descended from the ancient Khasas of Mahabharata, as the language developed during the rule of the Khasa Kingdom in the western Nepal.{{cite news |date=3 October 2020 |title=5 features of Nepali, Nepal's lingua franca, that you are unaware of |publisher=Online Khabar |agency=Online Khabar |url=https://english.onlinekhabar.com/features-of-nepali-nepals-lingua-franca-that-you-are-unaware-of.html |url-status=live |access-date=30 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030103855/https://english.onlinekhabar.com/features-of-nepali-nepals-lingua-franca-that-you-are-unaware-of.html |archive-date=30 October 2021}}{{sfn|Jain|Cardona|2007|p=543}} Following the Unification of Nepal led by Shah dynasty's Prithvi Narayan Shah, Nepali language became known as Gorakhā Bhāṣā ({{langx|ne|गोरखा भाषा|label=none}}; language of the Gorkhas) as it was spoken by Gorkhas.{{cite web |last1=Maharjan |first1=Rajendra |title=एकल राष्ट्र–राज्यको धङधङी |url=https://ekantipur.com/opinion/2021/06/15/162372365631162234.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030115001/https://ekantipur.com/opinion/2021/06/15/162372365631162234.html |archive-date=30 October 2021 |access-date=30 October 2021 |website=EKantipur |publisher=Kantipur Publication Limited}}आजभन्दा करिब नौ दशकअघि मात्रै देशको नाम 'नेपाल' का रूपमा स्विकारिएको हो भने, पहिले खस–पर्वते–गोर्खाली भनिने भाषालाई 'नेपाली' नामकरण गरिएको हो ।{{cite book |last1=Baniya |first1=Karnabahadur |url=https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/nutaj/article/download/23470/19875/72601 |title=सेनकालीन पाल्पाको संस्कृति : एक ऐतिहासिक विवेचना |publisher=Tribhuvan Multiple Campus |location=Palpa |pages=3–4 |access-date=9 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109072853/https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/nutaj/article/download/23470/19875/72601 |archive-date=9 November 2021 |url-status=live}} The people living in the Pahad or the hilly region, where it does not generally contain snow, called the language {{lang|ne-Latn|Parvate Kurā}} ({{lang|ne|पर्वते कुरा}}), meaning "the speech of the hills".Lienhard, Siegfried (1992). Songs of Nepal: An Anthology of Nevar Folksongs and Hymns. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas. {{ISBN|81-208-0963-7}}. Page 3.{{cite book |last1=Shrestha |first1=Shiva Raj |url=http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/ancientnepal/pdf/ancient_nepal_143_03.pdf |title=Khaptad Region in Mythology |page=10 |access-date=9 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109071349/http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/ancientnepal/pdf/ancient_nepal_143_03.pdf |archive-date=9 November 2021 |url-status=live}}

{{see also|Sanskrit|Prakrit|Apabhraṃśa|Khasa Prakrit language|Dardic languages}}

File:Indo-Aryan languages alignment.svg family.]]

Early forms of present-day Nepali developed from the Middle Indo-Aryan apabhraṃśa Vernaculars of present-day western Nepal in the 10th–14th centuries, during the times of the Khasa Kingdom.{{Cite web |last=Bandhu |first=C.M |title=The Role of the Nepali Language in Establishing The National Unity and Identity of Nepal |url=https://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/kailash/pdf/kailash_15_0304_01.pdf |access-date=1 February 2023 |website=Digital Himalaya |publisher=The Royal Nepal Academy}} The language evolved from Sanskrit, Prakrit, and Apabhraṃśa. Following the decline of the Khasa Kingdom, it was divided into Baise Rajya (22 principalities) in Karnali-Bheri region and Chaubise rajya (24 principalities) in Gandaki region. The currently popular variant of Nepali is believed to have originated around 500 years ago with the mass migration of a branch of Khas people from the Karnali-Bheri-Seti eastward to settle in lower valleys of the Karnali and the Gandaki basin.{{Cite web |last=Wagley |first=Namit |date=14 February 2015 |title=Nepal Ka Khas Jaati |url=https://www.spotlightnepal.com/2015/02/14/nepal-ka-khas-jaati/ |access-date=21 February 2023 |website=SpotlightNepal}}

During the times of Sena dynasty, who ruled a vast area in Terai and central hills of Nepal, Nepali language became influenced by the Indian languages including Awadhi, Bhojpuri, Braj Bhasha and Maithili. Nepali speakers and Senas had a close connect, subsequently, the language became the lingua franca in the area. As a result, the grammar became simplified, vocabulary was expanded, and its phonology was softened, after it was syncretised, Nepali lost much of the complex declensional system present in the older languages. In the Kathmandu Valley (then known as Nepal Mandala), Nepali language inscriptions can be seen during the reigns of Lakshmi Narasimha Malla and Pratap Malla, which indicates the significant increment of Nepali speakers in Kathmandu Valley.{{sfn|Jain|Cardona|2007|p=544}}

File:Mandhata Shahi- SAKE-1612.jpg, Raika Mandhata Shahi, at Saka Era 1612 (1747 BS) in old Nepali language using Devanagari script]]

The institutionalisation of the Nepali language is believed to have started with the Shah kings of Gorkha Kingdom, in the modern day Gorkha District of Nepal.{{Cite web |title=शाह राजाहरूको छत्रछायामा नेपाली साहित्यको विकास |url=https://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/ancientnepal/pdf/ancient_nepal_30-39_01.pdf |website=Digital Himalaya |publisher=Ancient Nepal |language=ne}} Following the Unification of Nepal, the language moved to the court of the Kingdom of Nepal in the 18th century, where it became the state language. One of the earliest works in the Middile Nepali is written during the reign of Ram Shah, King of Gorkha, a book by unknown writer called Ram Shah ko Jivani (A Biography of Ram Shah). Prithvi Narayan Shah's Divyopadesh, written toward the end of his life, around 1774–75, contains old Nepali dialect of the era, is considered as the first work of essay of Nepali literature.{{Cite web |title=Divyopadesh can lead to national prosperity |url=https://theannapurnaexpress.com/news/divyopadesh-can-lead-to-national-prosperity-36880 |access-date=28 February 2023 |website=The Annapurna Express}}

File:Bhanubhakta Ramayana manuscript (cropped).png's Bhanubhakta Ramayana led to "cultural, emotional and linguistic unification" of Nepal.]]

During this time Nepali developed a standardised prose in the Lal mohar (royal charter)—documents related to the Nepalese Kingdom dealing with diplomatic writings, tax, and administrative records. The language of the Lal mohar is nearly modern with some minor differences in grammar and with a pre-modern orthography.{{Cite thesis |title=भारतमा नेपाली भाषा र साहित्यको उत्थानमा पारसमणी प्रधानले गरेका योगदानको बिश्लेषणात्मक मुल्यांकन |chapter-url=http://ir.nbu.ac.in/handle/123456789/1723 |publisher=University of North Bengal |year=1999 | chapter=8|language=ne |first=Yash |last=Yanjan}} Few changes including changing Kari (करि) to Gari (गरि) and merging Hunu (हुनु) with cha (छ) to create huncha (हुन्छ) were done. The most prominent work written during this time was Bhanubhakta Acharya's Bhanubhakta Ramayana, a translation of the epic Ramayana from Sanskrit to Nepali for the first time.{{Cite web |title=Nepali poet Bhanubhakta Acharya's 209th birth anniversary, a peek into the 'Adikavi's' life |url=https://www.aninews.in/news/national/general-news/nepali-poet-bhanubhakta-acharyas-209th-birth-anniversary-a-peek-into-the-adikavis-life20220713120813/ |access-date=28 February 2023 |website=ANI News}} Acharya's work led to which some describe as "cultural, emotional and linguistic unification" of Nepal, comparatively to Prithvi Narayan Shah who unified Nepal.{{Cite book |last=Acharya |first=Madhu Raman |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FubZAAAAMAAJ |title=Nepal Culture Shift!: Reinventing Culture in the Himalayan Kingdom |date=2002 |publisher=Adroit Publishers |isbn=978-81-87392-26-2 |pages=18}}{{Cite book |last1=Korhonen |first1=Teppo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RiISAQAAIAAJ |title=Making and Breaking of Borders: Ethnological Interpretations, Presentations, Representations |last2=Ruotsala |first2=Helena |last3=Uusitalo |first3=Eeva |date=2003 |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |isbn=978-951-746-467-3 |pages=172}}

{{See also|Nepali Language Movement}}

The modern period of Nepali begins in the early 20th century. During this time the ruling Rana dynasty made various attempts to make Nepali the language of education, notably, by Dev Shumsher and Chandra Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana, who established Gorkhapatra, and the Gorkha Bhasa Prakashini Samiti respectively.{{Cite book |last=Pradhan |first=Uma |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2BzhDwAAQBAJ |title=Simultaneous Identities: Language, Education, and Nationalism in Nepal: Language, Education, and Nationalism in Nepal |date=3 December 2020 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-48992-8 |pages=40–60}} At this time, Nepali had limited literature compared to Hindi and Bengali languages, a movement notably in Varanasi, and Darjeeling was started to create uniformed Nepali identity, which was later adopted in Nepal following the 1951 Nepalese revolution and during the Panchayat system. In 1957, Royal Nepal Academy was established with the objectives of developing and promoting Nepali literature, culture, art and science.{{Cite book |last=Whelpton |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KoNT6tjk9mQC |title=A History of Nepal |date=17 February 2005 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-80470-7 |pages=160–170}} During Panchayat, Nepal adopted a "One King, One Dress, One Language, One Nation" ideology, which promoted Nepali language as basis for Nepali nationalism, this time is considered to be a Golden Age for the language.{{Cite web |title=In Nepal, Calls Grow for the Restoration of a Hindu State |url=https://thediplomat.com/2021/12/growing-calls-for-restoring-hindu-state-in-nepal/ |access-date=1 March 2023 |website=The Diplomat}}{{Cite book |last=Gautam |first=Bhim Lal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QRomEAAAQBAJ |title=Language Contact in Nepal: A Study on Language Use and Attitudes |date=27 March 2021 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=978-3-030-68810-3 |pages=30–40}}

File:Bhanubhakta Acharya Darjeeling 202401.jpg, Darjeeling]]

In West Bengal, Nepali language was recognised by West Bengal Government in 1961 as the official language for the Darjeeling district, and Kalimpong and Kurseong.{{Cite book |last=Pradhan |first=Indramani |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kRsb6uTKuQYC |title=Parasmani Pradhan |date=1997 |publisher=Sahitya Akademi |isbn=978-81-260-0366-2 |pages=12}} The Nepali Language Movement took place in India around 1980s to include Nepali language in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India.{{Cite book |last1=Reddy |first1=Sunita |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lPyuEAAAQBAJ |title=Ethnomedicine and Tribal Healing Practices in India: Challenges and Possibilities of Recognition and Integration |last2=Guite |first2=Nemthianngai |last3=Subedi |first3=Bamdev |date=19 February 2023 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=978-981-19-4286-0 |pages=150–155}} In 1977, Nepali was officially accepted by Sahitya Academy, an organisation dedicated to the promotion of Indian literature.{{Cite book |last=Samanta |first=Amiya K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J4GqdfG0EU8C |title=Gorkhaland Movement: A Study in Ethnic Separatism |date=2000 |publisher=APH Publishing |isbn=978-81-7648-166-3 |pages=80–90}} After Sikkim was annexed by India, the Sikkim Official Languages Act, 1977, made Nepali as one of the official languages of state.{{Cite web |title=The Sikkim Official Languages Act, 1977 |url=https://sikkim.gov.in/uploads/Gazette/1977_THE_SIKKIM_OFFICIAL_LANGUAGES_ACT_20221029.pdf |website=Government of Sikkim}} On 20 August 1992, the Lok Sabha passed a motion to add the Nepali language to the Eighth Schedule.{{Cite web |title=Struggle for Recognition of Nepali Language: A Brief Outline |url=http://www.sikkimexpress.com/news-details/struggle-for-recognition-of-nepali-language-a-brief-outline |access-date=19 October 2022 |website=Sikkim Express}}

Nepali written in the Devanagari script is the official language of Nepal.{{Cite journal |last=Yadav |first=Raj Narayan |date=2 December 2013 |title=Language Planning and Language Ideology: The Majority and Minority Dichotomy in Nepal |url=https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/TUJ/article/view/26242 |journal=Tribhuvan University Journal |volume=28 |issue=1–2 |pages=197–202 |doi=10.3126/tuj.v28i1-2.26242 |issn=2091-0916|doi-access=free}}{{Cite web |date=20 September 2015 |title=The Constitution of Nepal |url=https://lawcommission.gov.np/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Constitution-of-Nepal.pdf |access-date=14 December 2022 |website=Nepal Law Commission |archive-date=1 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101160439/https://www.lawcommission.gov.np/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Constitution-of-Nepal.pdf |url-status=live}}

On 31 August 1992, Nepali was added to the list of scheduled languages of India.{{Cite web |title=Nepali becomes one of the official languages of India |url=https://nepalilanguage.org/success-stories/nepali-an-official-language-of-india |access-date=14 December 2022 |website=nepalilanguage.org |archive-date=19 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221019190546/https://nepalilanguage.org/success-stories/nepali-an-official-language-of-india |url-status=live}} Nepali is the official language of the state of Sikkim and Gorkhaland of West Bengal.

Despite being spoken by about a quarter of the population,{{cite news |last=Koirala |first=Keshav P. |date=6 February 2017 |title=Where in US, elsewhere Bhutanese refugees from Nepal resettled to |work=The Himalayan Times |url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/where-in-earth-have-been-bhutanese-refugees-from-nepal-resettled/ |access-date=14 December 2022 |archive-date=14 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221214133735/https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/where-in-earth-have-been-bhutanese-refugees-from-nepal-resettled/ |url-status=live}} Nepalese has no official status in Bhutan.{{cite book |author=Eur |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e5Az1lGCJwQC |title=Far East and Australasia 2003 – Regional surveys of the world |publisher=Psychology Press |year=2002 |isbn=1-85743-133-2 |edition=34 |pages=181–183}}

File:Nepali language map.svg.]]

According to the 2011 national census, 44.6% of the population of Nepal speaks Nepali as its first language.{{cite web|year=2013|title=Major highlights|url=http://cbs.gov.np/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Major-Finding.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130717170017/http://cbs.gov.np/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Major-Finding.pdf|archive-date=17 July 2013|access-date=12 September 2013|publisher=Central Bureau of Statistics|page=4}} and 32.8% speak Nepali as a second language.{{cite web|title=Nepali (npi)|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/18/language/npi/|access-date=6 October 2016|work=Ethnologue|archive-date=9 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009110245/http://www.ethnologue.com/18/language/npi/|url-status=live}} Ethnologue reports 12,300,000 speakers within Nepal (from the 2011 census). It is spoken by 20,250,952, about 77.20% of the population, as their first language and second language.{{Cite web |title=Language map of Nepal: Interactive (EN) |url=https://translatorswithoutborders.org/language-map-of-nepal-interactive-en/ |access-date=4 April 2023 |website=Translators without Borders}}

{{pie chart

|label1=West Bengal|value1=36|color1=maroon

|label2=Assam|value2=20|color2=deepskyblue

|label3=Sikkim|value3=12|color3=lavender

|label4=Rest of Northeast India|value4=8|color4=darkblue

|label5=Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand|value5=12|color5=orange

|label6=Other states|value6=12|color6=grey

|caption=Total number of Nepali speakers in India by state (2011 census){{Cite web|url=https://nepalindata.com/ne/Darjeeling--India%E2%80%99s-Nepali-language-hub/|title=Darjeeling, India's Nepali language hub

|publisher=Nepal In Data|access-date=16 March 2023}}}}

According to the 2011 census of India, there were a total of 2,926,168 Nepali language speakers in India.{{cite web |title=Language – India, States And Union Territories (Table C-16) |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/2011Census/C-16_25062018_NEW.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://censusindia.gov.in/2011Census/C-16_25062018_NEW.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |access-date=27 August 2020 |website=census.gov.in}}

In Bhutan, native Nepali speakers, known as Lhotshampa, are estimated at 35%{{cite web|date=2 February 2010|title=Background Note: Bhutan|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35839.htm|access-date=2 October 2010|publisher=U.S. Department of State|archive-date=12 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211112050953/https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35839.htm|url-status=live}} of the population. This number includes displaced Bhutanese refugees, with unofficial estimates of the ethnic Bhutanese refugee population as high as 30 to 40%, constituting a majority in the south (about 242,000 people).{{cite book|last1=Worden|first1=Robert L.|url=https://archive.org/details/nepalbhutancount00sava/page/424|title=Nepal and Bhutan: Country Studies|last2=Savada|first2=Andrea Matles|publisher=Federal Research Division, United States Library of Congress|year=1991|isbn=978-0-8444-0777-7|edition=3rd|pages=[https://archive.org/details/nepalbhutancount00sava/page/424 424]|chapter=Chapter 6: Bhutan - Ethnic Groups|access-date=2 October 2010|chapter-url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/bttoc.html}}

Nepali is the third-most spoken language in the Australian state of Tasmania, where it is spoken by 1.3% of its population,{{cite web |title=Snapshot of Tasmania | date=28 June 2022 |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/snapshot-tas-2021 |archive-date=29 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629022223/https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/snapshot-tas-2021|url-status=live |website=Australian Bureau of Statistics|access-date=21 July 2022}} and fifth-most spoken language in the Northern Territory, Australia, spoken by 1.3% of its population.{{cite web|url=https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/snapshot-nt-2021|title=Snapshot Northern Territory, Housing and Population Census 2021|date=28 June 2022|website=Australian Bureau of Statistics|access-date=21 July 2022|archive-date=21 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220721094557/https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/snapshot-nt-2021|url-status=live}} Nepali is the most spoken language other than English in Rockdale and Kogarah. In Granville, Campsie and Ashfield it is the second most commonly spoken language other than English. Allawah and Hurstville have third most Nepali speaking population in New South Wales. There are regular Nepali language News papers and Magazines in Australia.

{{Main|Nepali phonology}}

Vowels and consonants are outlined in the tables below.

Nepali distinguishes six oral vowels and five nasal vowels. /o/ does not have a phonemic nasal counterpart, although it is often in free variation with [õ].

Nepali has ten diphthongs: /ui̯/, /iu̯/, /ei̯/, /eu̯/, /oi̯/, /ou̯/, /ʌi̯/, /ʌu̯/, /ai̯/, and /au̯/.

[j] and [w] are nonsyllabic allophones of [i] and [u], respectively. Every consonant except [j], [w], and /ɦ/ has a geminate counterpart between vowels. /ɳ/ and /ʃ/ also exist in some loanwords such as /baɳ/ {{lang|ne|बाण}} "arrow" and /nareʃ/ {{lang|ne|नरेश}} "king", but these sounds are sometimes replaced with native Nepali phonemes. The murmured stops may lose their breathy-voice between vowels and word-finally. Non-geminate aspirated and murmured stops may also become fricatives, with /pʰ/ as [ɸ], /bʱ/ as [β], /kʰ/ as [x], and /ɡʱ/ as [ɣ]. Examples of this are /sʌpʰa/ 'clean' becoming [sʌɸa] and /ʌɡʱaɖi/ 'before' becoming [ʌɣaɽi].{{Cite journal |last=Khatiwada |first=Rajesh |date=December 2009 |title=Nepali |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0025100309990181/type/journal_article |journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association |volume=39 |issue=3 |pages=373–380 |doi=10.1017/S0025100309990181 |issn=0025-1003}}

Typically, sounds transcribed with the retroflex symbols ⟨ʈ, ʈʰ, ɖ, ɖʱ, ɽ, ɳ, ɽ̃⟩ are not purely retroflex [ʈ, ʈʰ, ɖ, ɖʱ, ɽ, ɳ, ɽ̃] but apical postalveolar [t̠, t̠ʰ, d̠, d̠ʱ, ɾ̠, n̠, ɾ̠̃]. Some speakers may use purely retroflex sounds after /u/ and /a/, but other speakers use the apical articulation in all positions.

Final schwas may or may not be preserved in speech. The following rules can be followed to figure out whether or not Nepali words retain the final schwa:

1. Schwa is retained if the final syllable is a conjunct consonant. {{Lang|ne|अन्त}} ({{Transl|Ne|anta}}, 'end'), {{Lang|ne|सम्बन्ध}} ({{Transl|ne|sambandha}}, 'relation'), {{Lang|ne|श्रेष्ठ}} ({{Transl|ne|śreṣṭha}}, 'greatest'/a last name).
   Exceptions: conjuncts such as {{Lang|Ne|ञ्च}} {{Lang|Ne|ञ्ज}} in {{Lang|ne|मञ्च}} ({{Transl|ne|mañc}}, 'stage') {{Lang|ne|गञ्ज}} ({{Transl|ne|gañj}}, 'city') and occasionally the last name {{Lang|Ne|पन्त}} ({{Transl|ne|panta}}/{{Transl|ne|pant}}).
2. For any verb form the final schwa is always retained unless the schwa-cancelling halanta is present. {{Lang|ne|हुन्छ}} ({{Transl|Ne|huncha}}, 'it happens'), {{Lang|Ne|भएर}} ({{Transl|Ne|bhaera}}, 'in happening so; therefore'), {{Lang|Ne|गएछ}} ({{Transl|Ne|gaecha}}, 'he apparently went'), but {{Lang|Ne|छन्}} ({{Transl|Ne|chan}}, 'they are'), {{Lang|Ne|गईन्}} ({{Transl|Ne|gain}}, 'she went'). Meanings may change with the wrong orthography: {{Lang|Ne|गईन}} ({{Transl|Ne|gaina}}, 'she didn't go') vs {{Lang|Ne|गईन्}} ({{Transl|Ne|gain}}, 'she went').
3. Adverbs, onomatopoeia and postpositions usually maintain the schwa and if they don't, halanta is acquired: {{Lang|Ne|अब}} ({{Transl|Ne|aba}} 'now'), {{Lang|Ne|तिर}} ({{Transl|Ne|tira}}, 'towards'), {{Lang|Ne|आज}} ({{Transl|Ne|āja}}, 'today') {{Lang|Ne|सिम्सिम}} ({{Transl|Ne|simsim}} 'drizzle') vs {{Lang|Ne|झन्}} ({{Transl|Ne|jhan}}, 'more').
4. Few exceptional nouns retain the schwa such as: {{Lang|Ne|दु:ख}} ({{Transl|Ne|dukha}}, 'suffering'), {{Lang|Ne|सुख}} ({{Transl|Ne|sukha}}, 'pleasure').

Note: Schwas are often retained in music and poetry to add extra syllables when needed.

{{Main|Nepali grammar}}

Nepali is a highly fusional language with relatively free word order, although the dominant arrangement is SOV (subject–object–verb). There are three major levels or gradations of honorifics, as well as two more based on dialect and class: low, medium, high, very high, and royal. Low honorific is used where no respect is due, medium honorific is used to signify equal status or neutrality, and high honorific signifies respect. The very high grade is used by some speakers, and the highest level royal honorific, was used to refer to members of the royal family, and by the royals among themselves. Often it would also use unique or uncommon vocabulary.{{sfn|Jain|Cardona|2007|p=571}}

Like all modern Indo-Aryan languages, Nepali grammar has syncretised heavily, losing much of the complex declensional system present in the older languages. Instead, it relies heavily on periphrasis, a marginal verbal feature of older Indo-Aryan languages.{{sfn|Jain|Cardona|2007|p=596}}

Nepali makes frequent use of infixes to show verbal negation, which in turn are used as echo responses to yes-no questions.

{{See also|Devanagari script}}

Nepali is generally written in Devanagari script. In certain regions, the Tibetan script was also used in regions with predominantly Tibetic population, with common Tibetan expressions and pronunciation.{{Cite book |title=Ten documents from Mustang in the Nepali language (1667-1975 A.D.) |date=2001 |publisher=VGH Wissenschaftsverlag |isbn=978-3-88280-061-6 |editor-last=Karmācārya |editor-first=Mādhavalāla |series=Results of the Nepal German Project on High Mountain Archaeology |location=Bonn |editor-last2=Nepal German Project on High Mountain Archaeology}}{{Cite web |title=Nepali History |url=http://lisindia.ciil.org/Nepali/Nepali_hist.html |access-date=1 August 2024 |website=lisindia.ciil.org}}

In the section below Nepali is represented in Latin transliteration using the IAST scheme and IPA. The chief features are: subscript dots for retroflex consonants; macrons for etymologically, contrastively long vowels; h denoting aspirated plosives. Tildes denote nasal vowels.

{{main|Nepali literature}}

{{unreferenced section|date=November 2024}}

File:Bhanubhakta Acharya.jpg, Aadi Kavi in Nepali-language literature]]

Nepali developed significant literature within a short period of a hundred years in the 19th century. This literary explosion was fuelled by Adhyatma Ramayana; Sundarananda Bara (1833); Birsikka, an anonymous collection of folk tales; and a version of the ancient Indian epic Ramayana by Bhanubhakta Acharya (d. 1868). The contribution of trio-laureates Lekhnath Paudyal, Laxmi Prasad Devkota, and Balkrishna Sama took Nepali to the level of other world languages. The contribution of expatriate writers outside Nepal, especially in Darjeeling and Varanasi in India, is also notable. Nepali-language speakers are rapidly migrating around the globe in last a couple of decades and many books of Nepali language literature are published from different corners of the world. Diasporic literature has developed new ways of thinking and created a new branch in Nepali language literature.

Dialects of Nepali include Acchami, Baitadeli, Bajhangi, Bajurali, Bheri, Dadeldhuri, Dailekhi, Darchulali, Darchuli, Gandakeli, Humli, Purbeli, and Soradi. These dialects can be distinct from Standard Nepali. Mutual intelligibility between Baitadeli, Bajhangi, Bajurali (Bajura), Humli and Acchami is low. The dialect of the Nepali language spoken in Karnali Province is not mutually intelligible with Standard Nepali. The language is known by its old name as Khas Bhasa in Karnali.

The following is a sample text in Nepali, of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, with a transliteration (IAST) and transcription (IPA).{{cite web |title=Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Nepali language |url=https://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Documents/UDHR_Translations/nep.pdf |access-date=3 February 2021 |website=ohchr.org |archive-date=17 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517005406/https://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Documents/UDHR_Translations/nep.pdf |url-status=live}}

; Nepali in Devanagari Script

: धारा १. सबै व्यक्तिहरू जन्मजात स्वतन्त्र हुन् ती सबैको समान अधिकार र महत्व छ। निजहरूमा विचार शक्ति र सद्विचार भएकोले निजहरूले आपसमा भातृत्वको भावनाबाट व्यवहार गर्नु पर्छ।

; Transliteration (ISO)

: Dhārā 1. Sabai vyaktiharū janmajāt svatantra hun tī sabaiko samān adhikār ra mahatva cha. Nijharūmā vicār śakti ra sadvicār bhaekole nijharūle āpasmā bhatṛtvako bhāvanabāṭa vyavahār garnu parcha.

; Transcription (IPA)

: [dʱaɾa ek sʌbʌi̯ bektiɦʌɾu d͡zʌnmʌd͡zat sotʌntɾʌ ɦun ti sʌbʌi̯ko sʌman ʌd(ʱ)ikaɾ rʌ mʌːtːo t͡sʰʌ nid͡zɦʌɾuma bit͡saɾ sʌkti ɾʌ sʌdbit͡sar bʱʌekole nid͡zɦʌɾule apʌsma bʱatɾitːoko bʱawʌnabaʈʌ bebaːr ɡʌɾnu pʌɾt͡sʰʌ]

; Gloss (word-to-word)

: Article 1. All human-beings from-birth independent are their all equal right and importance is. In themselves, intellect and conscience {endowed therefore} they {one another} brotherhood's spirit {treatment with} do must.

; Translation (grammatical)

: Article 1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

• Nepal Sambat
• Nepali language movement

{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

{{notelist}}

{{Refbegin|30em}}

• {{cite journal |author=Richard Burghart |title=The Formation of the Concept of Nation-State in Nepal |jstor=2056748 |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |volume=44 |issue=1 |year=1984 |pages=101–125 |doi=10.2307/2056748 |s2cid=154584368}}
• {{Cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iUHfBQAAQBAJ&q=The+Indo-Aryan+Languages| title=The Indo-Aryan Languages| isbn=9781135797119| last1=Jain| first1=Danesh| last2=Cardona| first2=George| date=26 July 2007| publisher=Routledge| access-date=26 November 2021| archive-date=15 January 2023| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115123456/https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Indo_Aryan_Languages/iUHfBQAAQBAJ?hl=en| url-status=live}}
• {{cite book |last= Hodgson |first= Brian Houghton |year= 2013 |title= Essays on the Languages, Literature, and Religion of Nepál and Tibet |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=DuUxTMez9n4C&q=hodgson+essays+on+the+languages |edition= Reprint |publisher= Cambridge University Press |page= |isbn= 9781108056083 |access-date= 27 March 2014 |archive-date= 15 January 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230115123456/https://books.google.com/books?id=DuUxTMez9n4C&q=hodgson+essays+on+the+languages |url-status= live}}

{{Refend}}

{{Refbegin|40em}}

• {{lang|ne|पोखरेल}}, {{lang|ne|मा}}. {{lang|ne|प्र}}. (2000), {{lang|ne|ध्वनिविज्ञान र नेपाली भाषाको ध्वनि परिचय}}, {{lang|ne|नेपाल राजकीय प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठान}}, {{lang|ne|काठमाडौँ}}।
• Schmidt, R. L. (1993) [https://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/schmidt/ A Practical Dictionary of Modern Nepali.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126134212/https://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/schmidt/ |date=26 January 2021}}
• Turner, R. L. (1931) [https://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/turner/ A Comparative and Etymological Dictionary of the Nepali Language.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190913064420/https://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/turner/ |date=13 September 2019}}
• Clements, G.N. & Khatiwada, R. (2007). "Phonetic realization of contrastively aspirated affricates in Nepali." In Proceedings of ICPhS XVI (Saarbrücken, 6–10 August 2007), 629- 632. [http://www.icphs2007.de/conference/Papers/1650/1650.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090306173708/http://www.icphs2007.de/conference/Papers/1650/1650.pdf |date=6 March 2009}}
• Hutt, M. & Subedi, A. (2003) Teach Yourself Nepali.
• {{cite journal|doi=10.1017/S0025100309990181|title=Nepali|journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association|volume=39|issue=3|pages=373–380|year=2009|last1=Khatiwada|first1=Rajesh|doi-access=free}}
• Manders, C. J. (2007) {{lang|ne|नेपाली व्याकरणमा आधार}} A Foundation in Nepali Grammar.
• Dashrath Kharel, "Nepali linguistics spoken in Darjeeling-Sikkim"

{{Refend}}

{{interWiki|code=ne}}

{{Wikivoyage|Nepali phrasebook|Nepali|a phrasebook}}

{{Wiktionary|Category:Nepali language}}

• List of Nepali words at Wiktionary, the free dictionary
• [http://www.omniglot.com/writing/nepali.htm Omniglot – Nepali Language]
• [https://barala.com.np/nepali-unicode.php Barala – Easy Nepali Typing]
• {{lang|ne|नेपाली बृहत् शब्दकोश}} {{!}} Nepali Brihat Shabdakosh (Comprehensive Nepali Dictionary) {{!}} [https://nepalacademy.org.np/ "Nepal Academy"]
• {{lang|ne|नेपाली बृहत् शब्दकोश}} {{!}} Nepali Brihat Shabdakosh – Nepali Dictionary [https://www.mankoaawaz.com/2014/08/download-nepali-dictionary-pdf.html "Nepali Brihat Shabdakosh Latest Edition"]

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