Editing Newar language (section)

{{Short description|Sino-Tibetan language of central-eastern Nepal}}
{{Redirect|Nepal Bhasa|the official language of Nepal|Nepali language}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019}}
{{cleanup|reason=This article needs to be cleaned up and copyedited|date=April 2019}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Newar
| altname          = 
| nativename       = {{lang|new|{{script|Newa|𑐣𑐾𑐥𑐵𑐮 𑐨𑐵𑐳𑐵}}}}, {{tlit|new|Nepal Bhasa}}<br>{{lang|new|{{Script|Newa|𑐣𑐾𑐰𑐵𑑅 𑐨𑐵𑐫𑑂}}}}, {{tlit|new|Nevāh Bhāy}}
| states           = [[Nepal]]
| region           = [[Nepal Mandala]]
| ethnicity        = {{sigfig|1.340000|2}} million [[Newars]] (2021 census)<ref name=e27/>
| speakers         = {{sigfig|877,000|2}}
| date             = 2021 census
| ref              = e27
| refname          = Newar
| familycolor      = Sino-Tibetan
| fam2             = [[Tibeto-Burman languages|Tibeto-Burman]]
| fam3             = [[Newaric languages|Newaric]]
| ancestor         = [[Classical Newar]]
| dia1             = [[Dolakhae dialect|Dolakhae]]
| dia2             = Sindhupalchok
| dia3             = Kathmandu
| dia4             = Lalitpur
| dia5             = Bhaktapur
| dia6             = Panauti
| dia7             = Banepa
| dia8             = Hetauda
| dia9             = Dhulikhel
| dia10            = Chitlang
| image            = NepalBhasa word in Ranjana&Prachalit script2.gif
| imagescale       = 
| imagecaption     = "Nepal Bhasa" written in the [[Ranjana script]] and the [[Prachalit Nepal script]]
| script           = [[Ranjana script]], [[Pracalit script]], [[Bhujimol script]], [[Devanagari]] and various [[Nepalese scripts]]
| nation           = [[India]]
* [[Sikkim]] (additional)
[[Nepal]]
* [[Bagmati Province]] (additional)  
'''Historical''': <br>[[Gorkha Kingdom]]
[[Kingdom of Nepal]]<ref name="Tuladhar">''Nepal Bhasa Sahityaya Itihas: History of Nepalbhasa Literature.''Tuladhar, Prem Shanti (2000). Kathmandu: Nepal Bhasa Academy. {{ISBN|99933-56-00-X}}. Page 37: "The early new rulers cultivated Newari language. Kings Prithvi Narayan Shah, Rana Bahadur and Rajendra Bikram Shah composed poetry and wrote many plays in Newari".</ref><ref>Levy, Robert I. (1990) ''Mesocosm: Hinduism and the Organization of a Traditional Newar City in Nepal.'' Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. {{ISBN|81-208-1038-4}}. Page 15:"Following the advent of the Shahs, the Gorkhali language became the court language, and Newari was replaced as the language of administration".</ref><ref>Malla, kamal. History of the Nepal. Kathmandu, Nepal: Rolwaling press. p. 155</ref>
| agency           = [[Nepal Bhasa Academy]]
| iso2             = new
| iso2comment      = Nepal Bhasa, Newari
| lc1              = new
| ld1              = Newari
| lc2              = nwx
| ld2              = Middle Newar
| lc3              = phj
| ld3              = [[Pahari Newar]]
| linglist         = new
| lingname         = Newari
| linglist2        = nwx
| lingname2        = Middle Newar
| glotto           = newa1247
| glottorefname    = Subfamily: Newar
| notice           = IPA
| revived-category = 
| map              = Nepal ethnic groups.png
| mapcaption       = Language map of Nepal (including Newar):<br>red = Newar 
language is the majority spoken language<br> red with yellow  stripes = Newar language is spoken along with [[Pahari language]]
| extinct          = 
| pronunciation    = {{IPA|new|newaː bʱæː|}}
}}

'''Newar''' ({{IPAc-en|lang|n|ə|ˈ|w|ɑː|r}}; {{lang|new|{{Script|Newa|𑐣𑐾𑐥𑐵𑐮 𑐨𑐵𑐲𑐵}}}}, {{translit|new|nepāla bhāṣā}})<ref>{{Cite OED|Newar}}</ref> is a [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan language]] spoken by the [[Newar people]], the indigenous inhabitants of [[Nepal Mandala]], which consists of the [[Kathmandu Valley]] and surrounding regions in [[Nepal]]. The language is known officially in Nepal as '''Nepal Bhasa,''' a name that has been historically used for the language.<ref>{{cite book |author=Maharjan, Resha |title=The Journey of Nepal Bhasa: From Decline to Revitalization (M.Phil. thesis) |publisher=UIT The Arctic University of Norway |year=2018}}</ref><ref name=":6" /> The term "'''Newari'''" is also used to refer to the language, although the Indic ''-i'' suffix is considered inappropriate by some Newar speakers.{{efn|name=newari|
* "The Newars themselves, some of whom find the term 'Newar' to be an oppressive reminder of their colonization by the Gorkhas in the 18th century."{{sfn|Tuladhar-Douglas|2007|p=25}}
* "Some people in the Newar community, including some prominent Newar linguists, consider the derivational suffix -i found in the term Newari to constitute an 'Indianization' of the language name. These people thus hold the opinion that the term Newari is non-respectful of Newar culture."{{sfn|Genetti|2007|p=10}}}}

The language served as the official language of Nepal during the [[Malla dynasty (Nepal)|Malla dynasty]] since the 14th century till the end of dynasty in 1769 during which the language was referred as "Nepal Bhasa", a term which literally means "Nepalese Language".{{Sfn|Tuladhar|2000|p=9}}<ref name=":12">{{cite book |last=Regmi |first=DR |url=https://dokumen.pub/medieval-nepal-volume-ii-a-history-of-the-three-kingdoms-1520-ad-to-1768-ad-second-edition-9788129110985-8129110989.html |title=Medieval Nepal Part II |publisher=Rupa and Co |year=2007 |isbn=978-8129110985 |location=[[New Delhi]], [[India]] |pages=338}}</ref> However, the language is not the same as [[Nepali language|Nepali]], an [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan language]] and the current official language of [[Nepal]], which only got the name Nepali in the 1930s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Burghart |first=Richard |date=1984 |title=The Formation of the Concept of Nation-State in Nepal |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=101–125 |doi=10.2307/2056748 |jstor=2056748 }}</ref> [[Newar literature|Literature in Newar]] is one of the oldest in Nepal, dating back to at least 600 years ago.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bajracharya |first=Srizu |date=23 November 2019 |title=Newar flavours in the 3rd Nepal Bhasa Literature Festival |url=https://kathmandupost.com/art-culture/2019/11/23/newar-flavours-in-the-3rd-nepal-bhasa-literature-festival |access-date=2024-07-27 |website=The Kathmandu Post |language=English}}</ref>

From the start of the [[Rana dynasty]] in the 1840s until [[2006 democracy movement in Nepal|democratisation]], Newar suffered from official suppression.<ref name=tumbahang2010>{{cite journal |last=Tumbahang |first=Govinda Bahadur |date=2010 |title=Marginalization of Indigenous Languages of Nepal |url=http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/contributions/pdf/CNAS_37_01_04.pdf |journal=Contributions to Nepalese Studies |volume=37 |issue=1 |pages=73–74 |access-date=16 July 2014 |archive-date=27 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140727004834/http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/contributions/pdf/CNAS_37_01_04.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Vajracharya |first=Suwarn |date=2014 |title=Language Politics and State Policy in Nepal: A Newar Perspective |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/56661529.pdf |journal=University of Tsukuba}}</ref> From 1952 to 1991, the percentage of Newar speakers in the Kathmandu Valley dropped from 75% to 44%<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kpmalla.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/the-occupation-of-the-kathmandu..pdf |title=The Occupation of the Kathmandu Valley and its Fallout |last=Malla |first=Kamal P. |page=3 |access-date=16 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160108161716/http://www.kpmalla.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/the-occupation-of-the-kathmandu..pdf/ |archive-date=8 January 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and today Newar culture and language are under threat.<ref>{{cite web |title= Between the market and Comrade Mao: Newar cultural activism and ethnic/political movements (Nepal) |url= http://www.socant.su.se/polopoly_fs/1.85287.1334740225!/menu/standard/file/Transnationell_migration_Ingemar_Grandin_18apr.pdf |last= Grandin |first= Ingemar |access-date= 27 December 2020 |archive-date= 30 September 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200930162022/https://www.socant.su.se/polopoly_fs/1.85287.1334740225!/menu/standard/file/Transnationell_migration_Ingemar_Grandin_18apr.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref> The language has been listed as "[[Definitely endangered language|Definitely endangered]]" by [[UNESCO]].<ref>{{cite web |title=UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger |url=http://www.unesco.org/culture/languages-atlas/index.php?hl=en&page=atlasmap&lid=1117 |access-date=13 November 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130827051400/http://www.unesco.org/culture/languages-atlas/index.php?hl=en&page=atlasmap&lid=1117 |archive-date=2013-08-27}}</ref>

On 6 May 2024, Newar, along with [[Tamang language|Tamang]] and [[Nepali language|Nepali]] was declared as the official language of [[Bagmati Province]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nepali, Tamang, Nepal Bhasha official languages of Bagmati |url=https://kathmandupost.com/province-no-3/2024/04/24/nepali-tamang-nepal-bhasha-official-languages-of-bagmati |access-date=2024-07-15 |website=kathmandupost.com |language=English}}</ref> Similarly, Newar is given official status in several city governments of Nepal including [[Kathmandu]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nepal Bhasa as official language in metropolis |url=https://kathmandupost.com/valley/2017/06/22/nepal-bhasa-as-official-language-in-metropolis |access-date=2024-07-15 |website=kathmandupost.com |language=English}}</ref>