Teach Yourself Nepali Complete Course 0071424687, 9780071424684 [PDF]

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teach yourself nepali michaelhutt ano abhisubedi



For over 60 years, more Ìhan 40 millionpeoplôhaveleamtover 750 $bjects Ìhe tê€ch yourselÍ \ /qí witì impressive resufts. be whereyouwantto be withteach youFelt



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ploass ForUKoÍdoronquirlos: coniact Booleoint Ltd,130MiltonPaÍk,Aiingdon. oxon. gI1! 4SB:I0lophon8: {44 (011 Pz|nrj. Fax.+tA(0)12354üX54,Linìsareopen 09.üF17,00, Monday to Satuíday, wiüìa 24-houÍ m6asag6 answErino s€Íì,/ice. Dú s úoui ourütlssandhowt0orderareavallabls atwü,wl€actwursslÍ.co.uk ploas€ ForUSAoÍdãr6nquiÍi€s: conüctMccaw-Hill Customcr SsÍüc€s. P0Box545. Blacldlch 0H43004{t15,USA. TslsDhono: 1-8fl}722-4726. Foc161+755-5645. pleas€ toÍ Canada ordoronquiri€s: conbclMccnw-Hill Bysrson Ld. 300WaterS! Wìiby.onhrio,tl N986,Canada Ì€l€phone: 905,1Í10 5íi00.Far9054305@0. LongronowÍEd astheaulÌìorihtivo sourcrl0r solí-guld€d loaÍning - ryiüÌmoreúìan50 millioncopies soldwoÍldwide over500üü0slnüìe - üo brrh yoü||olls6Íiosincludes fieldsofhngua06s, cnb, hobbies, büsinsss, computino and€ducatlon. gtídsh LibnryCabloguing inPublicalion DatuaúAaguerecord fortìis titl6isa\aihble íromúìoBritish Library. UW oíCwtêssAhloghtd Nunberoffile. tlrstpublished inUKI 909byHodd6r Education, 338EuíonBoad. London, NWl3BH. tirstpublished inUS1999byÌhoÌilcGnw.Hill Companiss, Inc. Thisodiüon Dublished 2003. 'Tïebachyoüsrllname isa rooistorcd tndenaÍkoÍHoddoÍ Hoadline CopyÍight O 1999, 20mMlcha6l HuttandAbhiSüb€di /n UÍ Allrighhresorved. Apartíromanypeflnitod useundor UKcopyÍigtìt law,nopart 0l thispublicaüon maybereproduc€d or lransmitbd in aÍryÍoÍmoÍ W anymoans, phobcopy, electmnlc 0rmochanical, including recording, oÍ aÍìyInÍoÍÍnaúion, stonoeand retÍloval System, wi[ìoutpeÍmlssion inwÍilingÍÍomllìepubllsÌ€r or under licrnce íÍom theCopydght Licenslno Agency Limited. FuÍtÌÌ€r (ÍoÍreprogÍaphtc details otsuchlicencss reproduction) mayb€obbined Íromüe CopyÍight Licsnsino Aoency Limlbd,ofSaffron House, 6-10 KÍtv StÍeet, London, ECINfiS. /nUSAllrightsreseryed. Except aspsrmitod uMertìe unitodSht€sCoDVÍiSht Ac1ol 1976, nopartoÍhis bookmayborsproduc€d oÍdistibubdinanyÍoÍÍnorWanymmns, or sloredin a databaso or rstÍieralsystem, wihod thgpÍiorwÍiüenpeÍmission 0Í thêDublisher Types€t byTÍanset ümited, CowntÍy, Enohnd. Printed inGr8at BÍihinhÍ Hodder Educatlon, a diúsion0Í HoddsÍ Hôadtins, 338Euston Road, London, NWlsBH,byCox& Vvyrmn Ltd,Readlno, B€Íkhko. Thopublishsr lìasus€dtb b€st0ndsavouís toensure llìat$s URLS forexternal vJ€bsfteg Íeforcdb in$is bookaÍecoÍÍoct andactive attìe timeoígoingio press. Howe\aí ihs publisher andüìoauhorhav€no responsibillty íoÍ tlìe wDbsites andcanmalcno liveoÍ thaÌüe coflterÌt willrsmaln r€l6vaÍt, ouaraflhlhata sitowillremain d€c€nt or appr0pÍiato. poliryis b usepapers Hoddor Headlineb tìat arcnatural, renewable andÍocyclaDls products and madsfrom woodgrownin sustainable Íorests.Ìï0 loggingand pÍoc6sses manulactuÍlng areexMedt0coÍìform tolheenvironmenbl r€guhtions 0íthe couftyofoÍioin. lmpr8sslon numbêr 10I I7 6 5 Yoar 2009200820072006



lnfoducüon 1 l||. ilapallrcriptandsoundsy3hm 6 .|r youBlndu? 0l 20 I íE'eüng iE btts isandâ,?inNêpâli; fiÍstp€ílonpionouns (1 tro);second person ()or4; Fonoun I an,)ouaÍe,t{€aÍewilhho;noüns; quesüom asking andansrvering 2 anMng attlv dlege pDnouns (rê,sre,lher; üìiÍdpcrson lìeis,sâô,s,í i6,fieyârewiü ho; f,is,&af,ôhsse andfiose âdjedives g 02 howfárb lt to KeqmaÍdu,brothor? SavietúKalmandu pronouns wilhche;all qüiÍ€anddherai veÍy,írár]1queslioning Ìvods(irìtoÌrogalivss); üs simpls sentence 1rcatandhl po6ho6ilions: {nã,-b4a,dekhi; people usingrslalionship termsto addÍess 03 howmaM 17 5 students atfu lawuqe *hool úìeNopali numêrals; numbers ofpeople 6sewWttpeanr@n



5



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howmaú ofthings; numbeÍs andAnit 7Karnal using items; ofportable possession dassmers without numbers is it? whose I Jyoti'shatses ândnames; .ko,'ki,'kãwilhnouns owneÍship: youknovelc foÍand:ra,ani:t know, words thehã using ndücat I Batan's using'ko,'ki, 'kãwithunchanged ov{nership nry'your'dtt ('direct case')pronouns; using ownership one3olvnremphasizing ki of usg the questions: ãphno;asking



0l



07



08



boú tstlí!s? l0 whose using'ko,-ki -kãÚthchanged ownership inteÍrogaìives: case')pÍonoüns; ('oblique kahãko oíwhaf, keko kaskowhose, 05



oflfrcnwhere? whatdoYoudo? 11flÊ 6ú andthePot ÍormofveÍis:thehabitual thedictionary present usingthehabitual present tênse; tense;dhoraiiasousualy,nâÍaionly' kahile panialso,too,evenkahlle?when?, of modes pani nevel kahilyal kãhlsomel,imes, 'pachiafieÍ' newpostpositions: tÍanôport for lãgi .samma uPto,unÍtt'ko 12wonenìnthevíllages foÍms; feminine present tense: thehabitual ofdaydaysoftheweeK tìmes fÍequency: PaÌak



09



glvem€25Ìupee6 a i*"shaw 13hiring lái thepostposition theimperatives; present tense: thehabitual maÍksr; asobjêct foíns;thepostposition negative altemative paíicìêna; thenegative -tiÍatowards; hav?sandhuncha: laJabut,lathough, OK,a dght thebest 14towtsaN villages likesand andsuperlatives; comparatúês parnu; kinawhY, man using dislikes ôecause klnabhane I cameyesteÍday üopsby 15Sandhya pastforms pasttense;üe simple thesimple oÍhunütobe;thiyoandbhayo; and soneone andmovement location theusesof kehiandkohi so/nefhinú[ 16a visitttotnShanka,'/.asad transitive verbs; andintransitive transitive uses verbsandthesuffix-le;further of'le; paÍtsofthebody l'llgowhenl'veeat9.n 17a dayofrwork twoveÍbswiththesamesubjectthe€ra re participle; speech-malkeÍ thereported inDatieeling encountet 18a chance indai chaì tênses thecontinuous which one?thisone!theusesofcãhii partìciple; otherformsoÍthemnjunctive terms relationship ofage;further expressions



't0



11



12



13



14



inthemaÍtet 19outshowing needed alldavailablet úhinu andpãinu; of Íoodvocabulary; using.lãiinstead lãgi -ko it seemsfineto me n a pbceto stayinf\ahnandu theuseofnouns withlãgnu; feelings: usingadjectives howdoyoulìkeNepal? passive more veós;srim,i'aÍ Ío úth làgnu; making adjectives into adverbs iasto; rirhero hashegone? 21a latestaft present the themmpleted tense; stating timeoÍdayusing bajyo 2 whicllcounües haveyouvisited? pasttense; speech themmpleted reporting ít was: usingbhanêra; because it i8,because the-eko theako participle with-le;using participle ordinal numbers asanadjective; dearRaiu.., B anexchange of lefteÉ the€ko participle âsa verb; using orhearing howlongisit sínce...?:seeing person's the-ekopâÍticiple another actions; thoughts andintentions uiithhoorhoina; usingbheneÍa andbhaneko: whatdoes year ÍhrbwordÍnear?theNepali if it rains... 24outtrcknng rêalconditional sentences; using holãto meanperhaps, niüt be;the-neparticiple the-neparticiple asanadjective; using totalkabout futureaclionsi theverb p[gnutoaffive,suffice



14



t!



l'll go neÍ y3ar



193



25goinghomefü Dasain theprobable fuluretense;theinÍiniüve + lâgnu:t hat doesit costto...?howbng doesit taketo...? wotdsfoí apprcxinâW



148



t!



whatshouldI do?



202



â aïivingat Tibhuvanlnternational Aitpott



17



must,should,don'thaveto, nust,hadto, theverbsmilnuandmilãunu you'rcnotallowedin



211



27Anedcansat Pashupati tenpte



í58



is íta ight to...?usingiheiníinitivê with huncha/hiidaina; theydon'tallowyouto...i bhaeÍabe,'i?g andbhaen pani despite being, Íeligion in Nepal



í8



I canleamNepali



219



fr hownany knguagescanyouspeak? to beableto...:toget to,nanageto, describing a verb;to /eâmto, feac,fo; lo !ÍanlÍo...;verbsmeaning to believe



173



í9



at thedocto/s



227



I Wani vtsilske doctor purpose; expressing beginning to dosomelhing; afierdoingsomelhing; re Ìembering and foÍgelting;beforedoingsomething: postpositions beginning with-bhandã



20 í83



21



the mapot llepal



238 & 0v napof Nepal usingpamüwithlocaüons; above, belov ôeyond morepostposiüons beginning with .bhandã; theuseoÍbhanne lo meanramed theuseofbhannê lo meanItEÍ I usodtosmoke 2Ii 31badhabits thehabitual pastlênse; finishing, stopping,



12



13



U



1



Í-f tl



afretdoiv inmediately quitüngi whiledoing, b' wishing' willhaveto,usedtohave hoping anddeciding shallI maketea? P can@ingtte teaPanY doing may,?verbsinthesubjuncüve; peÍson: verDs colnpound foÍanottìer somelhing



II =



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withdinq tyingândseeking if he'dtâkenlhêmedicine g a deahíntheneighboulnod @nloundverbsúh saknu; done: aheadY theshort sentences; conditional unreal present Íealizatìon: tense; completed attheendoÍsenlences; usingrahecha theveíi clnnufoknow,tore@gnize iÍ thafshowit i8... anda to @ng 34twoPofteÊ verbswithhãlnu;continuous compound usinglahanu;shoÍtreâlconditional tenses



-



Welcometo TeachYourselÍNepali Nopali is a member of the Indo-Aryan group of laÍÌguagesthat Includesmost of the languagesof üe northem half of the Indian aub-continent.Theselânguagesarc derivedfrom Sanshit in rnuch tho eameway that úe EuropeanRomancelanguagesarc derived ftom Latin, and eachhas developedits own distinctive chamcter ovcr thecourseof manycenturies.Nepali is úe lingua ftancaof the ccntsalândeastemHimalaya,and the nationallanguageof NepâI. Íl is alsorecognizedby the Indian Constituúonasa major language of India becauseof its dominancein Sikkim and úe Darjeeling district of West BengâI. Bhutan promotes the use of its own national language, Dzongkh4 but therc too Nepali is widely spokenandunderstood.



senGnces appendices numbers cardinal teÍÍns kinship keyio êxercises glossary Nèpali+ngllsh glossary EnglisH'lepali



2U 302 322



Nepalis oneofthe world's mostlingústically variegatedcountries; morethan40 differentlanguaçs havebeenrecorded.Justoverhalf the populationhasNepali as its mothertongue:the mother-tongue Nepali-speakersare prirnarily the higher caste and poüúcally dominantBúuns (Brahmins)and Cheais. Most of the rest of the populationspeakseither Indo-Aryan languagessuch as Maithili, Bhojpuri, Awadhi andHindi, or Tibeto-Burmanlanguagessuchas Tibetan,Tamang,NewaÍi, Gurüng,MâgaÌ,Rai andLimbu. The use of theselanguageswas discourageduntil 1990,when a democracy in grantingsomeÍights to Nepal's linguistic movementsucceeded minorities.However,the level of bilingualism with Nepali is now very high in mostpartsof úe kingdom. This book is designedto enableúose with no previousknowledge of Nepali to pÍogÍess to a point wherc they câÍl communicate



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canats-o^:L effectively in Nepali on a rangeof everydaytoryü TÌ9 a range oÌ has Nepali ani write úe language.Like every language' who has a hillfarmer A úels of sophisúcation' ttvi", Ïiif".* the same "íO use nìây tongue hnguage as his motheÍ itb;;;-Bú* poüteness' of levels and for ai genders'numbers u"O "nOin* N"paliis a workadaylinÌ-languâgethatenables.him u".""t. t"tï. languagesas rneu to communicatewith peopìe who have other will use variousurbanite ão,frer,ongu". ln contrast.an educated andSenderof number the upon *r""n dependnot only âlso on now but verbs' "*u'ã"dìïít the úe subiectsperformingúe actionsof the royal inside Meanwhite' pijrã tã. .i"".* to L aboutúem' (not vocabulary honorific ancl nalacea cornpletelynew set of verbs coveredhere!) comesinto PlaY' Nepalispeâkers Bv andlaÍse,úe Nepú in this book is úat which arc introduced' úat in tle vaÍious situations ;J.;t;lf;;;*i"tstv moÍe towards err Where choices arise, however, we -the speakers Nepali some srdmmaticallvcorrect. While acceptingúat we tâKe "would not makethe samechoicesin everydayconveÍsatron' exceptions the leaming i i, Uetterto leam rules before ,ft" only a "i"í,ft" Similarly,the languageof úis book admits *f"t. io-,nor. Nepall-sPeaxers many handful of English words' although vocabulary in tíe capitatl do make free use of English ipJ*r.ìy in their conversation.



How to use the book



ftom one to The book is divided into 24 units' Eâch unit contains a dialogue'thereis an OtL G"fl Aial"gt"s (in Unit 13, insteadof fouÍ units ú*õ in unit 20 a prosepassase)'In the fiÍst ;;.-;;;;;i (the scnpr m wmc.n a[ of úe Nepâli aPPeaÍsin boú Devanagari Each dialoguers Nenati is wdtten)-and Roman translieraüon' tbe new vocabularyit contains'and a ;;"; i;ìi;;iy "ontaining *"tlation. Eachdialogu"T p^:"c: it .to1!:"ill^1 ;;;;;úJ rncludtng sectionoi mor. detaiJedgrammaticalexplanation l*": glvenat tneenq is exercise to each key The examplesandexercises' ni,tt" b*k' follo*ed by a completeend vocabulary' the DevanagaÍiscript You shouldbegin by leamingthe charmtersof Although the book can be usedon its own' be of the sounã of each character can onlv -ï,it"ípi.ti*i"íonã;ú;;; Ë book ,fte câssettethat is availableto accompanythe "pp-ïÀãï" -O



*lll ha ol'jroot help to you in developingaccumtepronunciationat af,türly itllgc. You muychoosehow to âpProacheachunit: you might wish to leârn thÉ dlll;guc and its meaningÍiÍst by hearing ând Íepeatingit, and thln woik through the translation and úe gramrnar section to und6ritandwhy it meanswhat it does;âltemâtively,you might prefer lo work ihroughthe grammarsectionfiIst and then tum back to úe dloktgucto seethe grammarin action,asit were.Whicheverway you tppÍoach€achunit, it is importarìtnot to move on unúl you have: a mortcrcdúe dialogue; a fully digested the grammaÍ section and the examples it



conteinsi l68medall nelv vocabulary; completedthe exercisesandcheckedthem againstthe key; rcpeatedthe exercisesif úey were not correctthe fiÍst time' jaÍgonItc grammaticalexplanationsarc intendedto be asclearand frcc ó possible,althoughit is not possibleto explainúe structuÍesof r languagewiúout using somegrarnmaticalterminology' The book cennõtclui- to cover every featureof Nepali, but it doescontainâlÌ of the most commonverb constructionsand a basic vocabularyof rome 1600words.It will equip you with what you needto speakând n:ad, and if you conünuewith Nepali after you have masteredthis book your vocúulary and your familiarity with more complex consEuctionswill gmw very qúckly. As well as helping you to masiertheNepú language,the dialoguesarealsointendedto provide you wiú an insight into Nepali cultureanddâily life' The authorsof úis book wish you all the very bestin your efforts to leamüe Nepali language.



FuÉherreading Oúer begirmers'coursesin Nepali includeTika B. Karki andChij K Shresúais Basic Course in Spoken Nepali (Kathmandu, various editions)andDavitl Matthews'sÁ Coursem NepaÌi(London,School of Oriental and African Studies,1984).The filst of thesehas been used for many years to teach Nepâli to PeaceCorps volunteers without introducingúe Devanagariscript.The secondadoptsa more academicapproachand also intÍoducesmore complex grammatical structures.



Onceyou havecompletedTeachYounelÍ Nepaúi,you might wish to moveon to the later units of the Matthewscourseto supplementyour understandingof Nepali grammar.You will also find the following textbooks useful: M.K. Verma and T.N. Sharma's InteÍnediate Nepali StructuÍeandInteÍrnediateNePaIiÀeader,both publishedby Manohar Publishersin New Delhi in 1979; and Michael Hutt's Modem LitÊÍary Nepali: an IntÍoductory Reader, pubüshed by Oxford University Pressin New Delhi in 1997. The best Nepali-Engüshdictionary currently on úe market is Á Pracücal Dictionary of Modem Nepali, produced by an editorial board headedby Ruth Laila-Schmidtandpublishedby RatnaSâgar Pubüshersin New Delhi in 1993.Ralph Turner's celebratedNepali dictionary, first publishedin 1930,was rePrintedin India ir 1981; this is a work of immenseinteÍest,but is perhapsa little forbidding for a beginnerin the language. Pradyumna P. Karan and Hiroshi Ishii's Nepal: a Himalayan Kingdom in fÍansirion (United Nations UniYersityPress'1996)is a good introductionto all aspectsof the country, while Jan Salterand Harka Gurung's beautifully illustrated book FacesofNepal Qlirnal Books, Kaúmandu, 1996) describesthe cultures of Nepal's many ethnic gÌoups. For English translationsftom modemNepali üÍerature,seeMichael Hnlt's Himalayan Voices: an IntÍoduction to Modem Nepali LitentuÍe (University of Califomia Press,1991); for a desÍiptive accountof tÌìe history of Nepú üterature,seeAbhi Subedi'sNepali Literaütre: Backgoand and Hisrory (SajhaPublishers,Kathmandu, 1978).



Acknowledgements The authorswish to thank GovindaGiri Prerana,Bindu Subediand Jobn Whelpton for their invaluable commentsand suggesúonson vaÍious sections and drafts of úe book, and the Researchand Publications Committee of the School of Oriental and African Studiesfor facilitating this collaboraúon.We are âlso gÍateful to SubhasRai for providing us úth úe drawings that illustrate a numberof the dialogues.



Abbrevlations& symbols M L ll Q A Ë l . f, rJ,Ítlc.



nritldlc(case) hrw (cuse) high(case) quc$tion unswer rtutement masculine lbminine pa.rticiple conjunctive



Dr Er. Yr. Mat. Pat. bro sis D S



doctoÍ elder younger matemal patemal brother sister daughter son



Cl llags thosepassagesthat you can listen to on the recoÌding that thisbook. rccompanies Vmrbulary boxes follow each dialogue. Use these to make sure you'vcunderstood thedialogue. Tho exercises,throughoutúe book, give you plenty of opportunity aoprsctisethe Nepali languagepoints as you leam. Tho grammar sectiongives a clear explanationof the grammatical lrrucsexploredin thatchapter.



tã-l tl tIr



ITT



J



o z o



rl fr



ã



Eu 6ti Fy



Ï'



qt -



o o -a



!t-1+ 0, ã CL -l



o o tr



5 CL



o a 1+



o



3



El wft* you have read through this section, listen to the recording,so úat you can hear úe vowels and consonantsof úe Devanagariscript. Nepali is written in the Devanãgari (or 'Nagari') script, which is âlso used for Hindi, Sanslcit and Marathi, with only minor modificationsbeing madeto accommodatethe specialfeaturcsof úe Nepali sound system.Devanagariis a phonetic script, which means that âlmost every word is pronouncedexacdy as it is written: leaming a charactermeans also leaming a sound. The system is comprised of three kinds of characters:vowels, consonants,andconjunctchancters.Thereâre ío capitâlletters.



Vowels The Devanagariscripthas 11 vowels.Every vowel except3{â has two symbols.The first symbolis the full form of the vowel, called the vowel character.This is usedwhenúe vowel is the f[st letter of a word or syllable,and whenit follows anoúer vowel. The second s'.rnbofis the vowel sign,wllich is usedaftera consonant,i.e. when úe vowel is üìe secondlenerof a syllable.The alphabetbeginswith the vowels,andthe vowel charactersarc shownopposite.



Consonants The Devanagari scÍipt has 33 consonants. The traditional Indian system very helpfully orders consonants according to the way they are pronounced, and they are listed heÍe in alphabetical order. Each of the first five groups of consonants has as its final member a nasal consonant (a consonant pronounced through the nose).



$e q.



al



lÍÌ



o



cÌ



au



like úe 'a' in aga but like the ,o, in por whenit follows a labial consonant(a consonant pÍonouncedon the lips) Ìike the 'a' in faúer like the 'ee' in fee4 rarely like the ,i' in fui like the 'ee' in feeÍ like úe 'oo' in f@ raÍely like tlhe'u' in püÍ tike tJrc,oo' in food üke úe 'ri' n nip, ripple (only occursin words bonowedftom Sanshit) like the fint paÍt of the vowel soundin raade like the 'oy' soundin ôoy or the 'i, soundin qurre like úe first paÍt of the vowel soundin áole like the 'ow' soundin cow



Brch Devanagaricharacteris followed by a Roman transüteration which consistsof the consonantfollowed by the letter a. This is bccause,in the úsence of any other vowel sign, eachconsonantis hold to contain úe inheÍent q a vowel. BecauseeachDevanasari consonantúeÍefore comesto rcpresenta syllúle, somescholarsiall thc Devanagarisystem a 'syllabary' rather than an .alphabef. In words that end in a consonant,the inheÍent a of úe final letter is rcmetimespronounced,but is more often silent. This final a will appearin transüterationonly whenit is to be pronounced. Two impoÍant contraststlÌat exist in Nepali, but not in,English, should be pointed out. The fiÌst is between aspiÍatàd aÍld-non_ ,rpfaÍed consonants,the secoâd betwen deital ,ï)rloflex ^nd consonants. . AspiÍatedconsonantsare pronouncedwith a strongexpulsion of breath,while non-aspiÍatedconsonantsarepronouncedwith only minimal breath being expelled. The amount of breâth expelledduring the pronunciationof an Engüshconsonantis usually somewherebetweeDúese two extremes.so discinline is required to leam the Nepü way: less breath than normal while uttering a non-aspiÍatedconsonant,much more breath than normal while utteÍing an aspiratedone. Hold a minor in front of your face as you practise,and comparethe extent to which it cloudsup in eachinstance!Or put a hand in front of



your mouth to feel the difference.Take care âlso to utter each aspirateconsonântasa singlesound:althoughthe secondletter of'úe Rom"n tt"nsliteration of DevanagaÍiaspiratesis 'h" this is thereto indicatethe expulsionof breath,not to suggestmat theÍe âÍe two sePaÍâtesounds. . To pÍonounceNepali words correctly, it is also importânt to difÍ:erentiate between dental consonânts and retroflex consonants,and most paÍticularly betweendental ta and Íla and retroflex fa and Ça For dental consonantsúe tongue should touch the back of úe upper front teeth' for retroflex consonantsit shoulclbe curledback up againstthe roof of the moutlt. For the English 'f and 'd' the tongue is held somewherebetweenthesetwo positions,which soundslike a to retroflex to a Nepú-speâker's eâr' LearnerstherefoÍeneed they work harder to pronounce dental consonants thân do to pronounceretroflex ones,thoughthey often imaginethe opposite.



VelaroÍ guttural consonants(pronouncedin ths throat) rõ q rT q s.n



asthe 'k' in sldÍ kâ kha aska but v/ith â strongreleaseof breath gâ asthe 'g' in go of breath Cha âsga but wiú a strongreleâse asthe 'n' in sixg



Palatal consonants (pÍonouncêd at the palate or the uppêr gum-line) q



ca



E



cha



q q 5T



ja Í," ia



like the 'ch' in cheese,but with lessreleaseof breathandpronouncedúth the tip of the tonguetouchingthe loweÍ ftont teeth somewherebetweenthe 'ch' in cáeeseandthe 'ts' in Ísar,pronouncedwith a strongreleaseof breath asthe I' in jug asja but with a strongreleaseof breath âsúe 'n' in i;nJurY



Ëdtsllü oonlonant8 (pronouncsdwith the tongue curled baok lo louoh tho Palato) likc the 't' in sÍop,but with the tonguecuÍled up lr to touchthe roof of úe mouth usÍt but with â strongrcleaseof breath I llu f whenthe first letet of a syllable:asürc 'd' n dug {r but with thetonguecuÍled up to touchthe roof of úe moutì in themiddle or at the end of a word: as lhe 'r' in rug, but with úe tonguecurledup to touch the roof of the mouth I dhs asda but with a strongreleaseof breath 0l like úe 'n' in and, but wiú the tonguecurled up 0a to touchthe roof of the mouth



(pronounced withthe tonguetouchingor Oantllconsonants fÍont teeth) oloa. to th6 upper ta



rt rí



u iÍ



tha da dha na



like the 't' in úp, with the tip of the tongueagâinst the back of úe uPPerfÍont teeth asta but wiú a strongÍeleaseof breath asúe 'd' in dtp asda but with â strongreleaseof breath asthe 'n' in mp



on the liPs) Leblalconsonants(pronouncèd q 'p' in pa asthe PoÍ phâ aspa but with â strongreleaseof breath;often S E q



ba bha ma



like úe 'f in faráer asúe 'b' in bud asba but with a strongÍeleaseof breath; sometirneslike a breaúy 'v' asin driver asthe 'm' in mud



Semi-vowels 4 {



ya ra



FT



la



aÍ



va



ìkg tt' ka { ko |Fk!



asúe 'y' in yes like úe 'r' in Ìu, but pronouncedwith a trill of the tongue,not on th€ lips like the 'l' in ,ot, but pronouncedwiú the tongue further forward prcnouncedeitherasthe 'b' in budor asthe 'w' rn tvoÍse



ïT tI {



ía ça sa



ha



ska ri ka



+



tF ka



+ +



ci kâ



6t



€i



fr



3u



rF



sü



s



:[ à {



ãl ge q,ar '



O



rtìau



kâ kã ki laku kü kg ke kai ko kâu



asthe 'sh' in sÌrun,but alsofrequendypronounced's' asthe 'sh' in sÌrun,but alsofrequenúypronounced's' asthe's'in sun



Aspirateconsonant Ë



3TIã al



+ +



{i ka {ka



Sibilant ('hissing')consonants



qa



+ + +



1k



as the 'h' in àug



Script exercise 1 Make a flash card for eachcharacter,with úe Devanagariletter on úe front and the Romântransliterationon úe back.Use theseto help you memorizeeachcharacter. Script exercise 2 DevanasaÍi:



Write out the following Nepali words in



jhan chad rara calan dhaval



thap jarú íahar ma lay



saral bâkhat ga+a !a!h dhab



bhavan yas dÂíak ghar pa4lìa



kanal lhaC nabh phat çalh



had



qar vas rath khatam



Constructingsyllables Every vowel except 3Ta has a vowel sign which is added to a consonântto form â syllable. The EÌ a vowel is iúerent in the consonantitself. When a vowel other than 3I a is âdded to a consonant,it automaticâllyreplacesúe 3l â vowel. Vowel signs are attachedto the consonant{ k in the following ways:



A vowel sign is generally attached to úe stem or downstroke of a consonant - to the foot of úe downstroke in the case of g u. ü ü. and f f, to the head of the downstroke in the case of g e and È ai. as an 0dditionaldownsrroke attâchedby a loop to úe head of the stem in the cases of Ë i and Ê i, and as an additional downstroke with or without exta elements in the casesof i{T ã, * o, and aÌ au. + ka is a tingle-stemmed consonant, but some consonants have two downstrokes, and in such cases the vowel sign must be attached to the right-hand member of the pair. The consonant rI ga is an example:



ITITÏfiT.fr { { TìÌ.ÈqÌ ga



gã



gr



gi



gu



gü



gf



ge



gai gò gau 'Ihe consonant{ ra is an excepúonto thesegeneral mles when it takesthe vowel signs _ -u and -ü. Instead of attaching these to the foot of the - allow downsaoke,you shÕdd {hem to nestlehigher up in úe crook of úe chamcter: ï r



+ .r



3 q



= =



dru Srü



A consonant can only suppoÍ one vowel at a time. In words in which one vowel follows directly after another, the second vowel must nlways appear as a full vowel character. Thus, to wÌite the word dú (two) yon musl write du tollowed by á i in ils tull form: { {t. Similarly, nole úe spellings Ur: khãu. rrÉ gm, and Íïg lie.



Script exercise 3 Devanagari: lutapit ausadhi khicadi itaÍinu oCar sãital óili 4a"l



lvrite out the following Nepali words in



bemausam bhautik dobâ[o janatã bJhat jhilimili yãtãyãt eghãra



l)o vnnagari: aghãunu risãunu Cu4h yúi phüladaru taipani ãmâ ülar



ghmã ainã hariyo nakhãú gurúo bhailo thego



anau$ro deü ukusamukus chotaka.ri Sadr viqã iSãn



Nasalization Every vowel can be nasalized.To pronouncea nasalizedvowel, direct as much as you can of the breath that is involved in its pronunciation towards the nasal cavity. In Nepali, nasalizationis indicatedby a sign culledqqf+< candrabindu (literally, moon dor), whose namedescribesits appeanncewell: -. ln RomanÍansliteration, nasalization is representedby a ülde over the vowel (e.g.ã). The qqid< candrâbindu is written either over the nasalizedvowel itseli e.g. õ'-{fkahã, or abovethe consonantto ühich the vowel is attached,e.g.rfË garõ, { nn. If any part of úe vowel is written above theheadstroke,úe qqt{< candrabindu is reducedto its Ï{< bindu or 'dot', e.g.Ëô chÍdi, qì garõ. In someNepali words it is customâryto repÍesentnasalizationnot wiú the qqfu< cândrabindu but with a conjunctof which the lrst member is one of the nasal consonants.The two most common combinationsare: g n+ .5.n +



D Scrlpf exercise4 write out the ÍbuowingNepaliwordsin



{ka=$ika rI = gâ



q.



iga



Thus, certainwords can be spelledin two different ways: ÚÈtfoo or ËìSÌ ftflftge; r5rr gurúg or TE guruirg. The conjunctstend to be usedin wordsthaÍarefelt to be uniqueto thelanguage,whib q