Nepali

=**Nepali ****-** **नेपाली**=

Mary Elizabeth Pamela Marisa Sarah
 * Created by:**

=**Welcome!** Namaste! or स्वागतम् (swagatam) =



**Information about Nepal **

 * Nepal is a geographical wonder which contains the highest mountain in the world (Mount Everest), sub-tropical jungles, forests, and high-altitude deserts as well as tropical lowlands.
 * Nepalese people belong to various ethnic groups, castes, and tribes.
 * The official language of Nepal is Nepali, with about 52% of the population speaking the language.
 * Nepal has up to 50 distinct languages that that are divided into numerous dialects. The languages belong to the Indo-Aryan, Sino-Tibetan, Austro-Asiatic and Dravidian language families.
 * Nepal ranks as among the world’s poorest countries. The GDP averages around $222 per year.
 * It measures 520 miles from east to west and about 120 miles from north to south.
 * Much of the northern border runs along the crest of the Himalayas.

**National Calendar:** The Nepali year begins in mid-April and is divided into 12 months: Baisakh, Jestha, Asadh, Shrawan, Bhadra, Aswin, Kartik, Marga, Poush, Phalgun, and Chaitra. Saturday is the official weekly holiday.
 * //Fast Facts //**
 * Capital: ** Kathmandu
 * Highest Mountain: **Mt. Everest- 29,035 ft. (the highest mountain in the world)
 * Population: ** 23 million
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Languages: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> Nepali (official) and a variety of other languages and dialects
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Religions: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> Hindu (86%), Buddhist (8%); Muslim (3%)
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Currency: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> Nepalese rupee
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Seasons: ** Nepal has four climatic seasons: Autumn (September-November); Winter (December-February); Spring (March-May); Summer (June-August; also known as the monsoon season)
 * Flag:** The Nepali flag is the only flag in the world that is not quadrilateral in shape.


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 18px;">Where is Nepal? **


 * Nepal is located in the southern part of Asia.<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> It is located in between India (to the south) and China (to the north).
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Nepal is the size of Austria and Switzerland combined.
 * Kathmandu is the nation's capital and the country's largest metropolis. Kathmandu Valley itself has estimated population of 5 million.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">//Nepal Standard Time// is the time zone in Nepal (5 hours and 45 minutes ahead of GMT.) Please use the following link to obtain the current time in Kathmandu: [|Word Clock]


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 18px;">Administrative Zones in Nepal **


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">About 80% of the citizens are farmers and live in the rural parts of the land; it is mostly a country of villages and agriculture.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">There are more than 60 linguistic groups recognized in Nepal.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">There are 23 million people that live in Nepal, with 45% of the population being under 15 years old.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Approximately 15% of the population lives in urban areas (3,450,000 people).


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 18px;">Mount Everest **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Nepal is home to Mount Everest, the world's tallest mountain which is 29,035 feet high.
 * The name of the mountain in Nepal is //Sagarmatha//, which means “goddess in the sky”.
 * Did you know that Mount Everest rises a few millimeters each year due to geological forces (i.e. plate tectonics)?


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 18px;">Nepalese Currency **


 * The Nepalese Rupee (NPR) is the official currency used in Nepal.
 * The NPR is tied to the Indian Rupee (INR), and is worth 5/8 of its value.
 * There are three main currency exchange rates: The Rastra Bank rate, the Private Banks’ rate, and the Black Market rate.

=__**Background on the Nepali Language**__=
 * Nepali is the official language in the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal and was formerly called Khashura then Gorkhali
 * Derived from Sanskrit, Nepali is related to the Indian language, Hindi, and is spoken by about 90 percent of the population in either native or second language fluency.
 * Many Nepalese in government and business also speak English.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Nepali is derived from Sanskrit, and is related to the Indian and Hindi languages.
 * Nepali is also spoken in Sikkim (a state in India), Bhutan, Burma, and other states in India such as the Darjeeling District of West Bengal.
 * Nepali is a language with around 17 million speakers.
 * It is written with the Devanagari alphabet.

=**__Some Basic Nepali Vocabulary__**=

**yes** हो, हुन्छ

 * class** कक्षा
 * education** शिक्षा
 * education** शिक्षा
 * examination** जाँच, परिक्षा
 * grade** अंक
 * knowledge** ज्ञान
 * student** विधार्थी
 * teacher** शिक्षक
 * training** तालिम
 * black** कालो
 * blue** नीलो
 * brown** खैरो
 * gray** खरानी रंग
 * green** हरियो
 * orange** सुन्तला रंग
 * red** रातो
 * white** सेतो
 * yellow** पहेंलो

=__**Components of the Nepali Language**__=

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 18px;">Writing Systems
=__**Other Useful Information**__=

= Nepali & English- Similarities and Differences =

//<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Please click on the link above to read more information about Nepali and English. //
=__**Nepali-speaking Bhutanese**__=

> >
 * In Bhutan, while Dzongkha is the national language, Nepali is widely spoken by people from diverse ethnic backgrounds.
 * People from Nepal were invited to populate the lowlands of southern Bhutan in the mid- to late- nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
 * The Nepali-speaking Bhutanese, also called Lhotsampas (“People of the south”), are Bhutanese citizens of Nepali origin, a large number of whom are refugees from Bhutan. The Lhotsampas had lived in Bhutan for up to five generations. As a result, most members of the Lhotsampa refugee community are multilingual. At home, Nepali (a language related to Sanskrit) is spoken, but most Lhotsampas also speak the Bhutanese language, Dzongkha.
 * In the refugee camp, many Lhotsampas were exposed to Indian culture and language via radio and geographic proximity to India.
 * Social circles commonly included Indian friends who didn’t understand Nepali language and so communication would happen in Hindi.

=__<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Interviews with Nepali Speakers __=
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 18px;">Nepal: Cultural Communication Styles **
 * Greeting: Nepalese people greet each other by saying "Namaste", holding the hands together below their chin and bowing ever so slightly.
 * Men can shake hands with male colleagues after the "Namaste", but not with females.
 * Sense of personal space is different-people tend to stand closer to you and touch you as they become more familiar with you, however, touching does not occur between the sexes.
 * Too much eye contact is associated with aggressive behavior.
 * It is considered to be inappropriate for one to raise his/her voice no matter what the circumstances.
 * Will say yes rather than directly say no-to do so is considered rude and impolite.
 * Men and women do not touch in public-this is considered to be disrespectful. However, it is perfectly acceptable for men to embrace each other and for women to embrace each other. Physical affection between friends of the same sex is quite common.
 * Flirting is considered to be very disrespectful
 * Public display of anger is not acceptable.
 * Use of curse words is not acceptable even among friends.
 * It is perfectly acceptable to discuss another person's weight or other flaws directly in front of them.

**Nepalese Education**

 * Only recently started to develop
 * 1971-free primary education was offered to Nepalese children through the government.
 * Differences among Caste systems oftentimes keep some children from going to school.
 * Illiteracy rate 58%, 72% among women.
 * Average years of schooling for adults is around 2.5 years.
 * Today, a minimum of five years of education is required.


 * //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Fun Facts //**
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Nepal celebrates four separate New Year’s Days.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Nepal has a Teacher’s Day in which students buy gifts for their teachers.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">There are eight peaks with a total of 19 points above 8000 meters in the Himalayas in Nepal. These peaks are some of the highest in the world.
 * The geological age of the Himalaya is approximately 70 million years.
 * Sir Andrew Waugh, Surveyor General of India wished to honor his predecessor, Sir George Everest.For this, Sir Andrew pretended that there was no local name for Everest and hence named the mountain as Mount Everest though there were two local names of the mountain. e.g. Sagarmatha in Nepal and Chomolungma in Tibet. Sir Andrew Waugh announced the name 'Mount Everest' in 1865.
 * The Nepali flag is the only flag in the world that is not quadrilateral in shape.

**//Home Page References//**
Hutt, M. J. (1988). //Nepali: A national language and its literature.// New Delhi, India: Sterling Publishers Private Limited. Lekhnath, P. (2000). Transfer errors in Nepali learners of English. //NELTA Journal//, //1//(22). Maxym, M. (2010). //Nepali-speaking Bhutanese (Lhotsampa) cultural profile.// Retrieved from: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14.6667px;">[] <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Ross, Z., Le Bas, T., & Bell, B. (2002). //Nepal.// Singapore: APA Publications GmbH & Co.

//**Teacher Resources**//
(The guide above contains information on Indian Languages that are similar to Nepali.)

(This website lists all of the different languages spoken in Nepal.)
 * [|Languages of Nepal]**

(The website above provides lessons on how to write the script that is used for Nepali.)
 * [|Learning Devanagari Script]**


 * [|Nepali: A Handbook for Beginners]**

(The website offers tools such as a Nepali-English Dictionary as well as Songs in Nepali)
 * [|Nepali Dictionary and Other Language Resources]**

__**[|Nepali Translation Website]**__ (This website translates English text into Nepali.)


 * [|Pronunciation Video]**

__**[|Useful Phrases in Nepali]**__