Sunwar language

Sunuwar
Region Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan
Native speakers
 38,000 (2011)[1]
Dialects
  • Sunuwar proper
Language codes
ISO 639-3 suz
Glottolog sunw1242[2]

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).[3][4]

Geographical distribution

Sunuwar is spoken in the following locations of Nepal (Ethnologue).

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
MaDarshow Ugly

Area

Sunuwar is spoken in villages in the districts of Ramechap and Okhaldhunga, about 120 kilometers east of Kathmandu.[4]

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

1ichi/kaa 2ni/nishi 3sa/saam 4le 5nga
6ruku/roku 7chani 8sasi 9van 10gau

Vowels

अa आā इi ईī उu ऊū
एe ऎai ओo औau ऑang ऒaha

Consonants

कka खkha गga घgha ङṅa चca छcha जja झjha
ञña टṭa ठṭha डḍa ढḍha णṇa तta थtha दda
धdha नna पpa फpha बba भbha मma यya रra
लla वva शśa षṣa सsa हha व्हhha

References

  1. ↑ Sunuwar at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian, eds. (2016). "Sunuwar". Glottolog 2.7. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  3. ↑ Ager, Simon. "Jenticha alphabet, and the Sunuwar language". Omniglot. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  4. 1 2 Borchers, Dörte (2008). A grammar of Sunuwar: descriptive grammar, paradigms, texts and glossary ([Online-Ausg.]. ed.). Leiden: Brill. pp. 1–2. ISBN 9789004167094.


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