Sunwar language: Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox language
{{Infobox language
| name            = Sunuwar
| name            = Sunuwar
| nativename      = सुनुवार, कोँइच, किराँती-कोँइच, मुखिया
| nativename      = {{lang|suz|सुनुवार, कोइँच, किराँती-कोइँच, मुखिया}}
| region          = [[Nepal]];<br /> [[India]] ([[Sikkim]] and [[West Bengal]])
| region          = [[Nepal]];<br /> [[India]] ([[Sikkim]] and [[West Bengal]])
| ethnicity        = [[Sunuwar people|Sunuwar]]
| ethnicity        = [[Sunuwar people|Sunuwar]]
Line 27: Line 27:
| script          = [[Devanagari]]<br /> [[Sunuwar script|Sunuwar]] (Sikkim, India)<br /> [[Tikamuli script|Tikamuli]] (2005)
| script          = [[Devanagari]]<br /> [[Sunuwar script|Sunuwar]] (Sikkim, India)<br /> [[Tikamuli script|Tikamuli]] (2005)
| nation          = {{flag|India}}
| nation          = {{flag|India}}
* [[Sikkim]] (additional)
* [[Sikkim]]<ref name="sikkimofficial">{{cite web |title=The Sikkim Official Languages Act |url=https://www.sikkim.gov.in/uploads/Gazette/1977_THE_SIKKIM_OFFICIAL_LANGUAGES_ACT_20221029.pdf |website=sikkim.gov.in |publisher=Government of Sikkim |access-date=27 June 2025}}</ref>
| iso3            = suz
| iso3            = suz
| glotto          = sunw1242
| glotto          = sunw1242
| glottorefname    = Sunwar
| glottorefname    = Sunwar
| dia1            = Surel
| dia1            = Surel
| altname          = Kiranti-Kõits
}}
}}


[[File:Namsewal.ogg|thumb|right|Sunwar greeting]]
[[File:Namsewal.ogg|thumb|right|Sunwar greeting]]


'''Sunuwar''', '''Sunuwar''', or '''Kõinch''' ({{Lang|suz|कोँइच}}; {{Transl|suz|ISO|kõich}}; other spellings are Koinch and Koincha), is a [[Kiranti languages|Kiranti]] language spoken in [[Nepal]] and [[India]] by the [[Sunuwar people]]. It was first comprehensively attested by the [[Himalayan Languages Project]]. It is also known as Kõits Lo ({{Lang|suz|कोँइच लो}} ; {{Transl|suz|ISO|kõica lo}}), Kiranti-Kõits ({{Lang|suz|किराँती-कोँइच}} ; {{Transl|suz|ISO|kirā̃tī-kõich}}), Mukhiya ({{Lang|suz|मुखिया}} ; {{Transl|suz|ISO|mukhiyā}}).<ref name="OG-Sunuwar">{{Cite web|last1=Ager|first1=Simon|title=Sunuwar alphabet|url=http://www.omniglot.com/writing/sunuwar.htm|publisher=Omniglot|access-date=8 December 2021}}</ref><ref name="Borchers 1–2">{{Cite book|last1=Borchers|first1=Dörte|title=A grammar of Sunwar: descriptive grammar, paradigms, texts and glossary|date=2008|publisher=Brill|location=Leiden|isbn=978-90-04-16709-4|pages=1–2|edition=[Online-Ausg.].}}</ref>
'''Sunuwar''', or '''Koinch''' ({{Lang|suz|कोइँच}}; {{Transliteration|suz|ISO|kõich}}; other spellings are Koinch and Koincha), is a [[Kiranti languages|Kiranti]] language of the [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]] language family spoken in [[Nepal]] and [[India]] by the [[Sunuwar people]]. It was first comprehensively attested by the [[Himalayan Languages Project]]. It is also known as '''Kõits Lo''' ({{Lang|suz|कोइँच लो}} ; {{Transliteration|suz|ISO|kõica lo}}), '''Kiranti-Kõits''' ({{Lang|suz|किराँती-कोइँच}} ; {{Transliteration|suz|ISO|kirā̃tī-kõich}}), and '''Mukhiya''' ({{Lang|suz|मुखिया}} ; {{Transliteration|suz|ISO|mukhiyā}}).<ref name="OG-Sunuwar">{{Cite web|last1=Ager|first1=Simon|title=Sunuwar alphabet|url=http://www.omniglot.com/writing/sunuwar.htm|publisher=Omniglot|access-date=8 December 2021}}</ref><ref name="Borchers 1–2">{{Cite book|last1=Borchers|first1=Dörte|title=A grammar of Sunwar: descriptive grammar, paradigms, texts and glossary|date=2008|publisher=Brill|location=Leiden|isbn=978-90-04-16709-4|pages=1–2|edition=[Online-Ausg.].}}</ref>


The Sunwar language is one of the smaller members of the [[Tibeto-Burman languages|Tibeto-Burman]] language family. About 40,000 speakers are residing in eastern Nepal.
The Sunuwar language is one of the smaller members of the [[Tibeto-Burman languages|Tibeto-Burman]] language family. About 40,000 speakers are residing in eastern Nepal.


== Names ==
== Names ==
The language is commonly known as ''Koic,'' for many ethnic Sunwar and Sunwar speakers also refer to the language as “''Sunuwar, Kõinch''<ref name="OG-Sunwar">{{Cite web|last1=Ager|first1=Simon|title=Sunwar Language and Alphabet|url=https://www.omniglot.com/writing/sunwar.htm|publisher=Omniglot|access-date=8 December 2021}}</ref> '', Koinch'' or ''Koincha'' (कोँइच); ''Kõits Lo'' (कोँइच लो), ''Kiranti-Kõits'' (किराँती-कोँइच) or ''Mukhiya'' (मुखिया).”
The language is commonly known as ''Koic,'' for many ethnic Sunuwar speakers also refer to the language as “''Sunuwar, Koinch''<ref name="OG-Sunwar">{{Cite web|last1=Ager|first1=Simon|title=Sunwar Language and Alphabet|url=https://www.omniglot.com/writing/sunwar.htm|publisher=Omniglot|access-date=8 December 2021}}</ref> '', Koinch'' or ''Koincha'' (कोइँच); ''Kõits Lo'' (कोइँच लो), ''Kiranti-Kõits'' (किराँती-कोइँच) or ''Mukhiya'' (मुखिया).”


Moreover, most Sunwar speakers have the surname (सुनुवार), ''Sunuvār'' in [[Latin script]].<ref name="Borchers-2008">{{Cite book|last=Borchers|first=Dörte|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AYA7CpILphoC|title=A Grammar of Sunwar: Descriptive Grammar, Paradigms, Texts and Glossary|date=2008|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-16709-4|language=en}}</ref> Many affiliated Sunwar with Sunar; they share the initial syllable, ''sun'', “gold,” in [[Nepali language|Nepali]], similar to the Sunar community of India, who are goldsmiths. However, the ethnonym ''Sunuvār'' is believed to be connected with Sunkosi, a river nearby the Sunwar villages.
Moreover, most Sunwar speakers have the surname (सुनुवार), ''Sunuvār'' in [[Latin script]].<ref name="Borchers-2008">{{Cite book|last=Borchers|first=Dörte|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AYA7CpILphoC|title=A Grammar of Sunwar: Descriptive Grammar, Paradigms, Texts and Glossary|date=2008|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-16709-4|language=en}}</ref>


== Geographic distribution ==
== Geographic distribution ==
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[[File:Likhu-khola.JPG|thumb|Likhu Khola river]]
[[File:Likhu-khola.JPG|thumb|Likhu Khola river]]


The Sunwar language is commonly spoken in a cluster of Sunwar villages, located around the region of the core spoken language. These villages are scattered alongside the river banks of [[Likhu Khola]], in two bordering central-eastern districts of Nepal, distant from the main Nepalese road system:<ref name="Borchers-2008"/> in the [[Okhaldhunga District|Okhaldhū۠ngā District]] (part of [[Koshi Province]]), around the village of Vacul; and in the [[Ramechhap District|Rāmechāp District]] (part of [[Bagmati Province]]), around the villages of [[Paharilotar|Pahare]] and of [[Kubukasthali|Kũbhu Kãsthālī]] for a smaller group of Sunwar speakers. The majority of the Sunwar speakers live on the southern border area of this region, between the villages of Pahare and Vacul.
The Sunuwar language is commonly spoken in a cluster of Sunuwar villages, located around the region of the core spoken language. These villages are scattered alongside the river banks of [[Likhu Khola]], in two bordering central-eastern districts of Nepal, distant from the main Nepalese road system:<ref name="Borchers-2008"/> in the [[Okhaldhunga District|Okhaldhū۠ngā District]] (part of [[Koshi Province]]), around the village of Vacul; and in the [[Ramechhap District|Rāmechāp District]] (part of [[Bagmati Province]]), around the villages of [[Paharilotar|Pahare]] and of [[Kubukasthali|Kũbhu Kãsthālī]] for a smaller group of Sunwar speakers. The majority of the Sunwar speakers live on the southern border area of this region, between the villages of Pahare and Vacul.


Located 1,800 meters above sea level, their fields aren’t all fallow from year round cultivation<ref name="Borchers-2008"/> (Borchers, 2008). Therefore, many Sunwar households are farmers, own a small lot of land and livestock. Moreover, each village often visits their neighboring village markets to purchase inaccessible goods such as spices, sugar, tea, and salt. In the winter, they experience no snow but freezing temperatures. In warmer weather, they experience a lot of rainfall, in the summer, monsoon rainfall. Especially between June and August, it is when they experience the most rain, more so monsoon rainfall.
Located 1,800 meters above sea level, their fields aren’t all fallow from year round cultivation<ref name="Borchers-2008"/> (Borchers, 2008). Therefore, many Sunwar households are farmers, own a small lot of land and livestock. Moreover, each village often visits their neighboring village markets to purchase inaccessible goods such as spices, sugar, tea, and salt. In the winter, they experience no snow but freezing temperatures. In warmer weather, they experience a lot of rainfall, in the summer, monsoon rainfall. Especially between June and August, it is when they experience the most rain, more so monsoon rainfall.
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==Written language==
==Written language==
{{Further|Sunuwar alphabet}}
{{Further|Sunuwar alphabet}}
=== {{Anchor|Sunuwar-script}} Sunuwar (or Jenticha, Koĩts, Mukhiya) native alphabet in Sikkim, India ===
 
Sunuwar speakers from [[Sikkim]], northeastern [[India]], use the Sunuwar alphabet ([[ISO 15924]] script code: <kbd>Sunu</kbd>) for printed materials such as newspapers and literature. The alphabet, also known as Jenticha alphabet, Sunuwar Lipi, Koĩts Lipi or Mukhiya script, or जेँःतिच ब्रेःसे (''jẽtica brese''), was developed in 1942 by Karna Bahadur Sunuwar (1926-1991), and got official recognition in Sikkim and Eastern Nepal where it is taught in schools. The Sunuwar or Jenticha script, is unrelated to any other scripts (even if some letter shapes have some resemblance to Latin and Limbu letter forms with similar phonetic value), and behaves like an alphabet with 35 base letters, written left-to-right, with syllabic features, extended with combining diacritics. The script also features its own set of decimal digits.
=== {{Anchor|Sunuwar-script}} Sunuwar (or Koĩts) native alphabet in Nepal & Sikkim, India ===
Sunuwar speakers from Nepal and [[Sikkim]], northeastern [[India]], use the Sunuwar alphabet ([[ISO 15924]] script code: <kbd>Sunu</kbd>) for printed materials such as newspapers and literature. The alphabet, also known as Sunuwar alphabet, Sunuwar Lipi, Koĩts Lipi, was promoted in 1932 by Karna Bahadur Sunuwar (1926-1991), and got official recognition in Sikkim and Eastern Nepal where it is taught in schools. The Sunuwar script, is unrelated to any other scripts (even if some letter shapes have some resemblance to Latin and Limbu letter forms with similar phonetic value), and behaves like an alphabet with 35 base letters, written left-to-right, with syllabic features, extended with combining diacritics. The script also features its own set of decimal digits.


Unlike other Indic scripts derived from Brahmic, the Sunuwar alphabet includes no combining vowel signs: the script was initially a pure alphabet and the base consonants initially did not have any inherent vowel. But a second version of the script modified the orthographic rules to imply its presence, where the inherent vowel would be altered when appending any independent vowel letters, or suppressed by using a virama (or halant) sign in some consonant clusters or for consonants in final position of syllables. The independent letter form for the inherent vowel is now removed in most cases from the normal orthography in the middle of words, only used in isolation (i.e. no longer written when following a leading consonant, unless it is at end of words). A number of glyphic forms (conjuncts using consonants in half forms) were added to the script after this orthographic change for more easily writing consonant clusters, instead of writing multiple consonants with virama signs.<ref name="OG-Sunuwar"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Jenticha|url=https://scriptsource.org/cms/scripts/page.php?item_id=script_detail&uid=ssw8skfwtg|publisher=ScriptSource.org|access-date=8 December 2021}}</ref>
Unlike other Indic scripts derived from Brahmic, the Sunuwar alphabet includes no combining vowel signs: the script was initially a pure alphabet and the base consonants initially did not have any inherent vowel. But a second version of the script modified the orthographic rules to imply its presence, where the inherent vowel would be altered when appending any independent vowel letters, or suppressed by using a virama (or halant) sign in some consonant clusters or for consonants in final position of syllables. The independent letter form for the inherent vowel is now removed in most cases from the normal orthography in the middle of words, only used in isolation (i.e. no longer written when following a leading consonant, unless it is at end of words). A number of glyphic forms (conjuncts using consonants in half forms) were added to the script after this orthographic change for more easily writing consonant clusters, instead of writing multiple consonants with virama signs.<ref name="OG-Sunuwar"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Jenticha|url=https://scriptsource.org/cms/scripts/page.php?item_id=script_detail&uid=ssw8skfwtg|publisher=ScriptSource.org|access-date=8 December 2021}}</ref>


=== Devanagari-based abugida for the Sunwar language in Nepal ===
=== Devanagari-based abugida for the Sunuwar language in Nepal ===
Although Sunwar has no traditional written language in Nepal, most literate speakers use the [[Devanagari]] abugida,<ref name="Borchers-2008"/><ref name="OG-Sunwar"/> also used for writing [[Nepali language|Nepali]].
Although Sunwar has no traditional written language in Nepal, most literate speakers use the [[Devanagari]] abugida,<ref name="Borchers-2008"/><ref name="OG-Sunwar"/> also used for writing [[Nepali language|Nepali]].


; Independent vowels and diphthongs
; Independent vowels and diphthongs
{|
|-
|
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|[[Devanagari|अ]]
|[[Devanagari|आ]]
|[[Devanagari|इ]]
|[[Devanagari|उ]]
|[[Devanagari|ए]]
|[[Devanagari|ओ]]
|-
|a
|ā
|i
|u
|e
|o
|-
|[ə]
|[aː]
|[i]
|[u]
|[e]
|[o]
|}
|
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|-
|[[Devanagari|ऐ]]
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = अ | iso = a | ipa = [ə] }}
|[[Devanagari|औ]]
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = आ | iso = ā | ipa = [aː] }}
|[[Devanagari|एउ]]
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = इ | iso = i | ipa = [i] }}
|[[Devanagari|उइ]]
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = उ | iso = u | ipa = [u] }}
|[[Devanagari|ओइ]]
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = ए | iso = e | ipa = [e] }}
|-
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = ओ | iso = o | ipa = [o] }}
|ai
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = ऐ | iso = ai | ipa = [ai] }}
|au
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = औ | iso = au | ipa = [au] }}
|eu
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = एउ | iso = eu | ipa = [eu] }}
|ui
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = उइ | iso = ui | ipa = [ui] }}
|oi
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = ओइ | iso = oi | ipa = [oi] }}
|-
|[ai]
|[au]
|[eu]
|[ui]
|[oi]
|}
|}
|}


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{| class="wikitable
{| class="wikitable
|-
|-
|[[Devanagari ka|क]]
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = क | iso = ka | ipa = [kə] }}
|[[ख]]
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = ख | iso = kha | ipa = [kʰə] }}
|[[ग]]
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = ग | iso = ga | ipa = [ɡə] }}
|[[ङ]]
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = ङ | iso = nga | ipa = [ŋə] }}
|[[Devanagari|अ्]]
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = अ् | iso = ’ | ipa = [ʔ] }}
|[[च]]
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = च | iso = ca | ipa = [t͡ʃə] }}
|[[Devanagari|ज]]
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = ज | iso = ja | ipa = [d͡ʒə] }}
|[[Devanagari|ट]]
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = ट | iso = ṭa | ipa = [ʈə] }}
|[[Devanagari|ठ]]
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = ठ | iso = ṭha | ipa = [ʈʰə] }}
|-
|-
|ka
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = त | iso = ta | ipa = [tə] }}
|kha
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = थ | iso = tha | ipa = [tʰə] }}
|ga
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = द | iso = da | ipa = [də] }}
|nga
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = न | iso = na | ipa = [nə] }}
|’
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = प | iso = pa | ipa = [pə] }}
|ca
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = फ | iso = pha | ipa = [pʰə] }}
|ja
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = ब | iso = ba | ipa = [bə] }}
|ṭa
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = म | iso = ma | ipa = [mə] }}
|ṭha
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = य | iso = ya | ipa = [jə] }}
|-
|-
|[kə]
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = र | iso = ra | ipa = [rə] }}
|[kʰə]
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = ल | iso = la | ipa = [lə] }}
|[ɡə]
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = व | iso = va | ipa = [və] }}
|[ŋə]
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch1 = श | ch2 = ष | iso = sha | ipa = [ʃə] }}
|[ʔ]
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = स | iso = sa | ipa = [ sə] }}
|[t͡ʃə]
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch = ह | iso = ha | ipa = [hə] }}
|[d͡ʒə]
| {{letter | s = Deva | l = suz | ch1 = व्ही | ch2 = ह्व | iso = hha | ipa = [ɦə] }}
|[ʈə]
|[ʈʰə]
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|[[Devanagari|त]]
|[[Devanagari|थ]]
|[[Devanagari|द/ड]]
|[[Devanagari|न/ण]]
|[[Devanagari|प]]
|[[Devanagari|फ]]
|[[Devanagari|ब]]
|[[Devanagari|म]]
|[[Devanagari|य]]
|-
|ta
|tha
|da
|na
|pa
|pha
|ba
|ma
|ya
|-
|[tə]
|[tʰə]
|[də]
|[nə]
|[pə]
|[pʰə]
|[bə]
|[mə]
|[jə]
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|[[Devanagari|र]]
|[[Devanagari|ल]]
|[[Devanagari|व]]
|[[Devanagari|श]]/[[Devanagari|ष]]
|[[Devanagari|स]]
|[[Devanagari|ह]]
|[[Devanagari|व्ही]]/[[Devanagari|ह्व]]
|-
|ra
|la
|va
|sha
|sa
|ha
|hha
|-
|[rə]
|[lə]
|[və]
|[ʃə]
|[sə]
|[hə]
|[ɦə]
|}
|}


; Combining diacritics
; Combining diacritics
: The sign '''्''', known in Sunwar as ''sangmilu'', represents a [[virama]] or halant; it is used to silent the inherent [[vowel]] after the [[consonant]].<ref name=":2">https://unicode.org/L2/L2011/11218-n4028-jenticha.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref>
: The sign '''्''', known in Sunuwar as ''sangmilu'', represents a [[virama]] or halant; it is used to silent the inherent [[vowel]] after the [[consonant]].<ref name=":2">{{cite web |url=https://unicode.org/L2/L2011/11218-n4028-jenticha.pdf |access-date=11 March 2024 |title=Proposal to Encode the Jenticha Script in ISO/IEC 10646 |website=Unicode |date=31 May 2011 |first=Anshuman |last=Pandey}}</ref>
: The sign '''ँ''', known in Sunwar as ''taslathenk'', corresponds to the [[candrabindu]] in [[Devanagari]]; it is used to nasalize the vowel.<ref name=":2" />
: The sign '''ँ''', known in Sunuwar as ''taslathenk'', corresponds to the [[candrabindu]] in [[Devanagari]]; it is used to nasalize the vowel.<ref name=":2" />
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|-
Line 232: Line 141:


{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="2" |
! colspan="2" |  
! [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! [[Dental consonant|Dental]]
! [[Dental consonant|Dental]]
Line 243: Line 151:
|-
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
! colspan="2" | [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPAlink|m}} {{angbr|m}}
| {{IPA link|m}} {{angbr|m}}
| {{IPAlink|n}} {{angbr|n}}
| {{IPA link|n}} {{angbr|n}}
|  
|  
|  
|  
|  
|  
| {{IPAlink|ŋ}} {{angbr|ṅ}}
| {{IPA link|ŋ}} {{angbr|ṅ}}
|  
|  
|-
|-
! rowspan="5" | [[Plosive]]
! rowspan="5" | [[Plosive]]
! {{small|voiceless}}
! {{small|voiceless}}
| {{IPAlink|p}} {{angbr|p}}
| {{IPA link|p}} {{angbr|p}}
| {{IPAlink|t̪}} {{angbr|t}}
| {{IPA link|t̪}} {{angbr|t}}
|  
|  
| {{IPAlink|ʈ}} {{angbr|ṭ}}
| {{IPA link|ʈ}} {{angbr|ṭ}}
| {{IPAlink|c}} {{angbr|c}}
| {{IPA link|c}} {{angbr|c}}
| {{IPAlink|k}} {{angbr|k}}
| {{IPA link|k}} {{angbr|k}}
| {{IPA link|ʔ}} {{angbr|ʔ}}
| {{IPA link|ʔ}} {{angbr|ʔ}}
|-
|-
! {{small|aspirated}}
! {{small|aspirated}}
| {{IPAlink|pʰ}}~{{IPA link|ɸ}} {{angbr|ph}}
| {{IPA link|pʰ}}~{{IPA link|ɸ}} {{angbr|ph}}
| {{IPAlink|t̪ʰ}} {{angbr|th}}
| {{IPA link|t̪ʰ}} {{angbr|th}}
|  
|  
| {{IPAlink|ʈʰ}} {{angbr|ṭh}}
| {{IPA link|ʈʰ}} {{angbr|ṭh}}
| ({{IPA link|cʰ}} {{angbr|ch}})
| ({{IPA link|cʰ}} {{angbr|ch}})
| {{IPAlink|kʰ}} {{angbr|kh}}
| {{IPA link|kʰ}} {{angbr|kh}}
|  
|  
|-
|-
! {{small|voiced}}
! {{small|voiced}}
| {{IPAlink|b}} {{angbr|b}}
| {{IPA link|b}} {{angbr|b}}
| {{IPAlink|d̪}} {{angbr|d}}
| {{IPA link|d̪}} {{angbr|d}}
|  
|  
| ({{IPA link|ɖ}} {{angbr|ḍ}})
| ({{IPA link|ɖ}} {{angbr|ḍ}})
| {{IPAlink|ɟ}} {{angbr|j}}
| {{IPA link|ɟ}} {{angbr|j}}
| {{IPAlink|ɡ}} {{angbr|g}}
| {{IPA link|ɡ}} {{angbr|g}}
|  
|  
|-
|-
Line 289: Line 197:
|-
|-
! {{small|implosive}}
! {{small|implosive}}
| {{IPAlink|w}}~{{IPAlink|b}} {{angbr|ɓ}}
| {{IPA link|w}}~{{IPA link|b}} {{angbr|ɓ}}
|  
|  
|  
|  
Line 301: Line 209:
|  
|  
|  
|  
| {{IPAlink|s}} {{angbr|s}}
| {{IPA link|s}} {{angbr|s}}
|  
|  
| {{IPAlink|ʃ}} {{angbr|ʃ}}
| {{IPA link|ʃ}} {{angbr|ʃ}}
|  
|  
|
|
Line 314: Line 222:
|[{{IPA link|ç}}]
|[{{IPA link|ç}}]
|[{{IPA link|x}}]
|[{{IPA link|x}}]
|{{IPAlink|h}} {{angbr|h}}
|{{IPA link|h}} {{angbr|h}}
|-
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Approximant]]
! colspan="2" | [[Approximant]]
| {{IPAlink|w}}~{{IPA|wʱ}} {{angbr|w}}
| {{IPA link|w}}~{{IPA|wʱ}} {{angbr|w}}
| {{IPAlink|l̪}} {{angbr|l}}
| {{IPA link|l̪}} {{angbr|l}}
|
|
| [{{IPA link|ɭ}}]
| [{{IPA link|ɭ}}]
| {{IPAlink|j}} {{angbr|y}}
| {{IPA link|j}} {{angbr|y}}
|
|
|
|
Line 328: Line 236:
|  
|  
|  
|  
| {{IPAlink|ɾ}} {{angbr|r}}
| {{IPA link|ɾ}} {{angbr|r}}
|  
|  
|  
|  
Line 342: Line 250:


{{angbr|a}} [a~ɑ], /ā / [aː], /e/ [e~ɛ], /i/ [i], /o/ [o], /u/ [u], / ū/ [uː~y], /ã/ [ã~ɑ̃], /ã̄/ [ãː], /ẽ/ [ẽ~ɛ̃], /ĩ/ [ĩ]
{{angbr|a}} [a~ɑ], /ā / [aː], /e/ [e~ɛ], /i/ [i], /o/ [o], /u/ [u], / ū/ [uː~y], /ã/ [ã~ɑ̃], /ã̄/ [ãː], /ẽ/ [ẽ~ɛ̃], /ĩ/ [ĩ]
{| class="wikitable"
 
|-
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!
!
!scope="col"| [[Front vowel|Front]]
!scope="col"| [[Front vowel|Front]]
Line 366: Line 274:
* Vowels with bar - Represents long vowels
* Vowels with bar - Represents long vowels
* Vowels with tilde -  Represents short nasalized vowels
* Vowels with tilde -  Represents short nasalized vowels
* Vowels with bar and tilda - Represents long and nasalized vowels
* Vowels with bar and tilde - Represents long and nasalized vowels


=== Diphthongs ===
=== Diphthongs ===
There are a total of eight [[diphthong]]s in Sunwar: /ai/ [aɪ], /aĩ/ [aɪ̃], /au/ [au], /eu/ [eu], /oi/ [oi], /oĩ/ [oĩ], /ui/ [ui], /uĩ/ [uĩ]
There are a total of eight [[diphthong]]s in Sunuwar: /ai/ [aɪ], /aĩ/ [aɪ̃], /au/ [au], /eu/ [eu], /oi/ [oi], /oĩ/ [oĩ], /ui/ [ui], /uĩ/ [uĩ]


According to Borchers,<ref name="Borchers-2008"/> a principled way to distinguish diphthongs from a sequence of two [[monophthong]]s does not exist in the Sunwar language.
According to Borchers,<ref name="Borchers-2008"/> a principled way to distinguish diphthongs from a sequence of two [[monophthong]]s does not exist in the Sunwar language.
Line 409: Line 317:


=== Syllable structure ===
=== Syllable structure ===
Syllable Structure of Sunwar: C(C)V(V)(C)(C)
Syllable Structure of Sunuwar: C(C)V(V)(C)(C)


== Morphology ==
== Morphology ==
Line 416: Line 324:


==== Case-marking suffixes ====
==== Case-marking suffixes ====
According to Borchers,<ref name="Borchers-2008"/> “all [[case marker]]s in the Sunwar language are [[suffix]]es.”
According to Borchers,<ref name="Borchers-2008"/> “all [[case marker]]s in the Sunuwar language are [[suffix]]es.”


As exemplified by Borchers,<ref name="Borchers-2008"/> this table consists of the noun case markers.
As exemplified by Borchers,<ref name="Borchers-2008"/> this table consists of the noun case markers.
Line 430: Line 338:


m ~ -m
m ~ -m
|INS/L  
|INS/L


OC
OC
Line 496: Line 404:


{{interlinear|lang=suz|indent=3
{{interlinear|lang=suz|indent=3
|iciṅā āl.niʃi chan
|iciṅā āl.'''niʃi''' chan
|Now child.DU exist-NPT.3p
|Now child.'''DU''' exist-NPT.3P
|Now I have two children.}}
|Now I have two children.}}


==== Plural marker ====
==== Plural marker ====
In the Sunwar language, both [[noun]]s and [[pronoun]]s can be marked as dual or plural.
In the Sunuwar language, both [[noun]]s and [[pronoun]]s can be marked as dual or plural.


In addition items in a group can be marked plural.<ref name="Borchers-2008"/>
In addition items in a group can be marked plural.<ref name="Borchers-2008"/>
Line 514: Line 422:
Examples of the plural marker used to point at items in a group by Borchers:<ref name="Borchers-2008"/>
Examples of the plural marker used to point at items in a group by Borchers:<ref name="Borchers-2008"/>
{{interlinear|lang=suz|indent=3
{{interlinear|lang=suz|indent=3
|pujā dum pachi rãga po.paki sai.ni.mī
|pujā dum pachi rãga po.'''paki''' sai.ni.mī
|worship happen after buffalo pig.PL kill.NPT-23d/-p3.p/Svi
|worship happen after buffalo pig.'''PL''' kill.NPT-23D/-P.3P/SVI
|After worship, they kill the buffalo, pig and so on.}}
|After worship, they kill the buffalo, pig and so on.}}


{{interlinear|lang=suz|indent=3
{{interlinear|lang=suz|indent=3
|sāg.paki acā.paki ho.ʃa.ṅāmin ʃam cai thupro dum.ba thupro tu.ni.miิ
|sāg.'''paki''' acā.'''paki''' ho.ʃa.ṅāmin ʃam cai thupro dum.ba thupro tu.ni.miิ
|sāg.PL pickle.PL keep.PF.then beer SNG much happen.NPT+3s much drink.NPT-23d/-p.3p/Svi
|sāg.'''PL''' pickle.'''PL''' keep.PF.then beer SNG much happen.NPT+3S much drink.NPT-23D/-P.3P/SVI
|Having stored away sāg (green leafy vegetable) and so on and pickle and so on and, there has to be much beer, they drink a lot.}}
|Having stored away sāg (green leafy vegetable) and so on and pickle and so on and, there has to be much beer, they drink a lot.}}


==== Absent marker ====
==== Absent marker ====
According to Borchers,<ref name="Borchers-2008"/> the Sunwar language does not have a zero morpheme, but it can still indicate the number amount of something through verbal agreement markers or numerals.
According to Borchers,<ref name="Borchers-2008"/> the Sunuwar language does not have a zero morpheme, but it can still indicate the number amount of something through verbal agreement markers or numerals.


Example of the absent marker by Borchers:<ref name="Borchers-2008"/>
Example of the absent marker by Borchers:<ref name="Borchers-2008"/>
Line 530: Line 438:
{{interlinear|lang=suz|indent=3
{{interlinear|lang=suz|indent=3
|go khame jāʔi.na.sku
|go khame jāʔi.na.sku
|I rice eat.NPT-1d.1d
|I rice eat.NPT-1D.1D
|Wed eat rice.}}
|Wed eat rice.}}


Line 548: Line 456:
Examples of the possessive {{angbr|-ke}} by Borchers:<ref name="Borchers-2008"/>  
Examples of the possessive {{angbr|-ke}} by Borchers:<ref name="Borchers-2008"/>  
{{interlinear|lang=suz|indent=3
{{interlinear|lang=suz|indent=3
|nāso.ke dui.ta dhol bā.ba dhanu.kan nāso.ke bā.ba
|nāso.'''ke''' dui.ta dhol bā.ba dhanu.kan nāso.'''ke''' bā.ba
|priest.POSS two.piece drum stay.NPT+3s bow.arrow priest.POSS stay.NPT+3s
|priest.'''POSS''' two.piece drum stay.NPT+3S bow.arrow priest.'''POSS''' stay.NPT+3S
|The priest has two drums. The priest has bow and arrow.}}
|The priest has two drums. The priest has bow and arrow.}}


{{interlinear|lang=suz|indent=3
{{interlinear|lang=suz|indent=3
|ne ʃo.ke bhāg ho
|ne ʃo.'''ke''' bhāg ho
|nose face.POSS part be-NPT.3s
|nose face.'''POSS''' part be-NPT.3S
|The nose is part of the face.}}
|The nose is part of the face.}}


Line 562: Line 470:


{{interlinear|lang=suz|indent=3
{{interlinear|lang=suz|indent=3
|jasi.ke bā.b meko jasi ā.kilā
|jasi.'''ke''' bā.b meko jasi ā.kilā
|Jasi.POSS stay.NPT+3s that Jasi its.peg
|Jasi.'''POSS''' stay.NPT+3S that Jasi its.peg
|It is made of Jasi wood. This is a peg made of Jasi wood. (Jasi is the tree Bauhinia variegata)}}
|It is made of Jasi wood. This is a peg made of Jasi wood. (Jasi is the tree Bauhinia variegata)}}


Line 575: Line 483:
!
!
|-
|-
|ac
|aic
|small
|small
|
|
|-
|-
|besā
|sappa
|very much
|very much
|[<Nep. besarī ‘very   much’]
|[<Nep. besarī ‘very   much’]
|-
|-
|dherei
|ʃuʃi
|many, very, much
|many, very, much
|[<Nep. dherai]
|[<Nep. dherai]
|-
|-
|ekdam
|sappa pan
|very
|very
|[<Nep. ekdam]
|[<Nep. ekdam]
|-
|-
|ici
|ici oci
|a little
|a little
|
|
Line 599: Line 507:
|
|
|-
|-
|matra, matrei
|la:
|only
|only
|[<Nep. mātra]
|[<Nep. mātra]
Line 607: Line 515:
|
|
|-
|-
|thorei, torei
|oci
|some, little
|some, little
|[<Nep. thorai]
|[<Nep. thorai]
|-
|-
|thupro, tupro
|i:ʃika
|much, a lot
|much, a lot
|[<Nep. thupro]
|[<Nep. thupro]
Line 624: Line 532:
{{interlinear|lang=suz|indent=3
{{interlinear|lang=suz|indent=3
|go ʃūʃ ma.jai.nu.ṅ
|go ʃūʃ ma.jai.nu.ṅ
|I much NEG.eat.NPT+1s.1s
|I much NEG.eat.NPT+1S.1S
|I don’t eat much.}}
|I don’t eat much.}}


{{interlinear|lang=suz|indent=3
{{interlinear|lang=suz|indent=3
|disā matrei tui.nu.ṅ
|disā matrei tui.nu.ṅ
|tomorrow only know.NPT+1s.1s
|tomorrow only know.NPT+1S.1S
|I won’t know until tomorrow.}}
|I won’t know until tomorrow.}}


Line 694: Line 602:


{{interlinear|lang=suz|indent=3
{{interlinear|lang=suz|indent=3
|ɓak besā.n wan cha
|ɓak besā.n '''wan''' cha
|water very-much.REIN far exist-NPT.3s
|water very-much.REIN '''far''' exist-NPT.3S
|Water is far away.}}
|Water is far away.}}


{{interlinear|lang=suz|indent=3
{{interlinear|lang=suz|indent=3
|go umcili thiẽ bara bars.ṅā
|go '''umcili''' thiẽ bara bars.ṅā
|I small exist-PT1s twelve year.GEN
|I '''small''' exist-PT.1S twelve year.GEN
|I was small, twelve years old.}}
|I was small, twelve years old.}}


{{interlinear|lang=suz|indent=3
{{interlinear|lang=suz|indent=3
|nepāli.puki ʃūʃ choto bā.ni.m
|nepāli.puki '''ʃūʃ''' choto bā.ni.m
|Nepali.PL very small stay.NPT-23d/-p.3p/Svi
|Nepali.PL '''very''' small stay.NPT-23D/-P.3P/SVI
|Nepalese people are very small.}}
|Nepalese people are very small.}}


Line 785: Line 693:
{{interlinear|lang=suz|indent=3
{{interlinear|lang=suz|indent=3
|kuṣulanoʔbam.mī pani pher.ni.m
|kuṣulanoʔbam.mī pani pher.ni.m
|shoemaker.INS/LOC shoes sew.NPT-23d/-p.3p
|shoemaker.INS/LOC shoes sew.NPT-23D/-P.3P
|{(Subject) Shoemakers} {(Object) Shoes} {(Verb) Sew}
|subject object verb|style3=font-variant: small-caps;
|Shoemakers make shoes.}}
|Shoemakers make shoes.}}


{{interlinear|lang=suz|indent=3
{{interlinear|lang=suz|indent=3
|Kocombo.mī buʔs sāʔī.b  
|Kocombo.mī buʔs sāʔī.b  
|mongoose.INS/LOC snake kill.NPT+3s
|mongoose.INS/LOC snake kill.NPT+3S
|{(Subject) Mongoose} {(Object) Snake} {(Verb) kill}
|subject object verb|style3=font-variant: small-caps;
|The mongoose kills a snake.}}
|The mongoose kills a snake.}}


Line 834: Line 742:
In [[linguistic typology]], a '''subject+object+verb''' ('''SOV''') language is one in which the [[subject (grammar)|subject]], [[object (grammar)|object]], and [[verb]] of a sentence always or usually appear in that order. If [[English language|English]] were SOV, "Sam oranges ate" would be an ordinary sentence, as opposed to the actual [[Standard English]] "Sam ate oranges". (A Grammar of Sunwar)
In [[linguistic typology]], a '''subject+object+verb''' ('''SOV''') language is one in which the [[subject (grammar)|subject]], [[object (grammar)|object]], and [[verb]] of a sentence always or usually appear in that order. If [[English language|English]] were SOV, "Sam oranges ate" would be an ordinary sentence, as opposed to the actual [[Standard English]] "Sam ate oranges". (A Grammar of Sunwar)
<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AYA7CpILphoC | title=A Grammar of Sunwar | year=2008 |publisher=Dörte Borchers | isbn=978-9004167094 | access-date=27 August 2018}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AYA7CpILphoC | title=A Grammar of Sunwar | year=2008 |publisher=Dörte Borchers | isbn=978-9004167094 | access-date=27 August 2018}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
 
! Language !! S !! O !! V
{{interlinear|lang=suz|indent=3
|-
|Go khamay jainu
| {{IAST|''Sunwar''}} || Go || Khamay || Jainu
|I rice eat
|-
|subject object verb|style3=font-variant: small-caps;
| {{IAST|''English''}} || I || Rice || Eat
|"I eat rice."}}
|}
 
Sunwar people called "Khangsa" sign language with voice and direct action, for foreign people who don't understand a sunuwar language.{{citation needed|date=August 2019}}<ref name="Borchers 1–2" />
Sunwar people called "Khangsa" sign language with voice and direct action, for foreign people who don't understand a sunuwar language.{{citation needed|date=August 2019}}<ref name="Borchers 1–2" />


Line 883: Line 791:


==External links==
==External links==
{{Incubator|suz}}
*[http://www.sunuwar.org Sunwar language website]
*[http://www.sunuwar.org Sunwar language website]
<section begin="list-of-glossing-abbreviations"/><div style="display:none;">
REIN: reinforcement marker
NPT: non-preterite
SNG: postposition of singularity
PF: perfective gerund marker
P: patient (of transitive verb)
SVI: singular intransitive verb
23D: second and third person, dual
</div><section end="list-of-glossing-abbreviations"/>


{{Sino-Tibetan languages}}
{{Sino-Tibetan languages}}
Line 889: Line 808:
{{Languages of Northeast India}}
{{Languages of Northeast India}}
{{Languages of Nepal}}
{{Languages of Nepal}}
{{Authority control}}


[[Category:Languages of Nepal]]
[[Category:Languages of Nepal]]

Latest revision as of 04:39, 2 January 2026


Sunuwar
Kiranti-Kõits
सुनुवार, कोइँच, किराँती-कोइँच, मुखिया
'Kõica' in Jenticha script; 'Sunuwar' in Tikamuli and Devanagari script
RegionNepal;
India (Sikkim and West Bengal)
EthnicitySunuwar
Native speakers
37,898 (2011)[1]
Sino-Tibetan
Dialects
  • Surel
Devanagari
Sunuwar (Sikkim, India)
Tikamuli (2005)
Official status
Official language in
 India
Language codes
ISO 639-3suz
Glottologsunw1242

File:Namsewal.ogg

Sunuwar, or Koinch (कोइँच; kõich; other spellings are Koinch and Koincha), is a Kiranti language of the Sino-Tibetan language family spoken in Nepal and India by the Sunuwar people. It was first comprehensively attested by the Himalayan Languages Project. It is also known as Kõits Lo (कोइँच लो ; kõica lo), Kiranti-Kõits (किराँती-कोइँच ; kirā̃tī-kõich), and Mukhiya (मुखिया ; mukhiyā).[3][4]

The Sunuwar language is one of the smaller members of the Tibeto-Burman language family. About 40,000 speakers are residing in eastern Nepal.

Names[edit | edit source]

The language is commonly known as Koic, for many ethnic Sunuwar speakers also refer to the language as “Sunuwar, Koinch[5] , Koinch or Koincha (कोइँच); Kõits Lo (कोइँच लो), Kiranti-Kõits (किराँती-कोइँच) or Mukhiya (मुखिया).”

Moreover, most Sunwar speakers have the surname (सुनुवार), Sunuvār in Latin script.[6]

Geographic distribution[edit | edit source]

Small groups of Sunwar speakers located in Nepal
Likhu Khola river

The Sunuwar language is commonly spoken in a cluster of Sunuwar villages, located around the region of the core spoken language. These villages are scattered alongside the river banks of Likhu Khola, in two bordering central-eastern districts of Nepal, distant from the main Nepalese road system:[6] in the Okhaldhū۠ngā District (part of Koshi Province), around the village of Vacul; and in the Rāmechāp District (part of Bagmati Province), around the villages of Pahare and of Kũbhu Kãsthālī for a smaller group of Sunwar speakers. The majority of the Sunwar speakers live on the southern border area of this region, between the villages of Pahare and Vacul.

Located 1,800 meters above sea level, their fields aren’t all fallow from year round cultivation[6] (Borchers, 2008). Therefore, many Sunwar households are farmers, own a small lot of land and livestock. Moreover, each village often visits their neighboring village markets to purchase inaccessible goods such as spices, sugar, tea, and salt. In the winter, they experience no snow but freezing temperatures. In warmer weather, they experience a lot of rainfall, in the summer, monsoon rainfall. Especially between June and August, it is when they experience the most rain, more so monsoon rainfall.

According to Borchers, there are other villages located outside of the core region. The Surel are claimed to be Sunwar speakers however there are no certainties that it is true.

Written language[edit | edit source]

Further information: Sunuwar alphabet

Sunuwar (or Koĩts) native alphabet in Nepal & Sikkim, India[edit | edit source]

Sunuwar speakers from Nepal and Sikkim, northeastern India, use the Sunuwar alphabet (ISO 15924 script code: Sunu) for printed materials such as newspapers and literature. The alphabet, also known as Sunuwar alphabet, Sunuwar Lipi, Koĩts Lipi, was promoted in 1932 by Karna Bahadur Sunuwar (1926-1991), and got official recognition in Sikkim and Eastern Nepal where it is taught in schools. The Sunuwar script, is unrelated to any other scripts (even if some letter shapes have some resemblance to Latin and Limbu letter forms with similar phonetic value), and behaves like an alphabet with 35 base letters, written left-to-right, with syllabic features, extended with combining diacritics. The script also features its own set of decimal digits.

Unlike other Indic scripts derived from Brahmic, the Sunuwar alphabet includes no combining vowel signs: the script was initially a pure alphabet and the base consonants initially did not have any inherent vowel. But a second version of the script modified the orthographic rules to imply its presence, where the inherent vowel would be altered when appending any independent vowel letters, or suppressed by using a virama (or halant) sign in some consonant clusters or for consonants in final position of syllables. The independent letter form for the inherent vowel is now removed in most cases from the normal orthography in the middle of words, only used in isolation (i.e. no longer written when following a leading consonant, unless it is at end of words). A number of glyphic forms (conjuncts using consonants in half forms) were added to the script after this orthographic change for more easily writing consonant clusters, instead of writing multiple consonants with virama signs.[3][7]

Devanagari-based abugida for the Sunuwar language in Nepal[edit | edit source]

Although Sunwar has no traditional written language in Nepal, most literate speakers use the Devanagari abugida,[6][5] also used for writing Nepali.

Independent vowels and diphthongs
Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter
Consonants with inherent vowel
Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter
Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter
Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter
Combining diacritics
The sign ्, known in Sunuwar as sangmilu, represents a virama or halant; it is used to silent the inherent vowel after the consonant.[8]
The sign ँ, known in Sunuwar as taslathenk, corresponds to the candrabindu in Devanagari; it is used to nasalize the vowel.[8]
् ँ
sangmilu (virama or halant) taslathenk (cadrabindu)
mutes the inherent vowel indicates nasalization of the vowel

Tikamuli native abugida (since 2005)[edit | edit source]

In 2005, another syllabic alphabet or abugida was developed for Sunuwar; it is known as Tikamuli.[9]

Phonology[edit | edit source]

Sunwar phonology is significantly influenced by the language of Nepali.

Consonants[edit | edit source]

The Sunwar language has a mid-sized arrangement of thirty-two consonantal phonemes:

Labial Dental Alveolar Retroflex Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m ⟨m⟩ n ⟨n⟩ ŋ ⟨ṅ⟩
Plosive voiceless p ⟨p⟩ t̪ ⟨t⟩ ʈ ⟨ṭ⟩ c ⟨c⟩ k ⟨k⟩ ʔ ⟨ʔ⟩
aspirated pʰ~ɸ ⟨ph⟩ t̪ʰ ⟨th⟩ ʈʰ ⟨ṭh⟩ (cʰ ⟨ch⟩) kʰ ⟨kh⟩
voiced b ⟨b⟩ d̪ ⟨d⟩ (ɖ ⟨ḍ⟩) ɟ ⟨j⟩ ɡ ⟨g⟩
breathy (bʱ ⟨bh⟩) (d̪ʱ ⟨dh⟩) (ɖʱ ⟨ḍh⟩) (ɟʱ ⟨jh⟩) (ɡʱ ⟨gh⟩)
implosive w~b ⟨ɓ⟩
Fricative sibilant s ⟨s⟩ ʃ ⟨ʃ⟩
plain [ç] [x] h ⟨h⟩
Approximant w~wʱ ⟨w⟩ l̪ ⟨l⟩ [ɭ] j ⟨y⟩
Tap ɾ ⟨r⟩
  • Sound in parentheses only are heard in words borrowed from Nepali. Sounds in brackets are only heard as allophones.[6]
  • The implosive sound [ɓ] was heard phonemically until recently among dialects. It is now heard as a plosive [b] in the village of Saipu, and as an approximant [w] in the village of Kũbhu. It is only heard rarely in word-initial position among the speakers of Saipu.[6]

Vowels[edit | edit source]

According to Borchers,[6] there are eleven vowel phonemes in Sunwar:

⟨a⟩ [a~ɑ], /ā / [aː], /e/ [e~ɛ], /i/ [i], /o/ [o], /u/ [u], / ū/ [uː~y], /ã/ [ã~ɑ̃], /ã̄/ [ãː], /ẽ/ [ẽ~ɛ̃], /ĩ/ [ĩ]

Front Central Back
High /i/ [i], /ū/ [y]
/ĩ/ [ĩ] 		/ū/ [uː~y], /u/ [u]
(ũ)
Mid /e/ [e~ɛ]
/ẽ/ [ẽ~ɛ̃] 		/o/ [o]
(õ)
Low /a/ [a~ɑ], /ā / [aː]
/ã/ [ã~ɑ̃], /ã̄/ [ãː]
  • Vowels with bar - Represents long vowels
  • Vowels with tilde -  Represents short nasalized vowels
  • Vowels with bar and tilde - Represents long and nasalized vowels

Diphthongs[edit | edit source]

There are a total of eight diphthongs in Sunuwar: /ai/ [aɪ], /aĩ/ [aɪ̃], /au/ [au], /eu/ [eu], /oi/ [oi], /oĩ/ [oĩ], /ui/ [ui], /uĩ/ [uĩ]

According to Borchers,[6] a principled way to distinguish diphthongs from a sequence of two monophthongs does not exist in the Sunwar language.

As exemplified by Borchers,[6] this table consists of examples of contrasts between diphthongs:

/joi/ [ɟoi] ‘tiger’
/joĩ/ [ɟoĩ] ‘younger sister’s husband’
/muicā/ [muicaː] ‘wear shoes’
/puĩcā/ [puĩcaː] ‘ask for, beg’
/goi/ [ɡoi] ‘you’
/gui/ [ɡui] ‘hand’
/reu/ [ɾeu] ‘rain’
/roi/ [ɾoi] ‘ill’

Syllable structure[edit | edit source]

Syllable Structure of Sunuwar: C(C)V(V)(C)(C)

Morphology[edit | edit source]

Markers[edit | edit source]

Case-marking suffixes[edit | edit source]

According to Borchers,[6] “all case markers in the Sunuwar language are suffixes.”

As exemplified by Borchers,[6] this table consists of the noun case markers.

Morpheme: Gloss: Marks: Occurs suffixed to denotions of:
-mī ~  

-amī ~-ī

m ~ -m

INS/L

OC

agents, instruments, locations persons,

things,

locations

-kali ~  

-kal

OBJ patients persons,

animals

-ke POSS possessions of animate beings persons,

animals

-ṅā GEN belongings of inanimate items        things,

locations

-lā/-le FROM place of departure of persons or items that changed places (ABL); time of begin of action locations,

time

-re FROM place of departure of persons or items that changed places (ABL); time of begin of action locations,

time

-au VOC name of person called persons

Dual marker[edit | edit source]

A dual marker can be associated with dual/pair or the cardinal number ‘two’.[6]

Morpheme: ⟨-niʃi⟩
Gloss: Dual (DU)

Example of dual marker by Borchers:[6]

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Plural marker[edit | edit source]

In the Sunuwar language, both nouns and pronouns can be marked as dual or plural.

In addition items in a group can be marked plural.[6]

Morpheme: ⟨-paki ~ -puki ~ -piki⟩
Gloss: Plural (PL)

Examples of the plural marker used to point at items in a group by Borchers:[6] Template:Interlinear

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Absent marker[edit | edit source]

According to Borchers,[6] the Sunuwar language does not have a zero morpheme, but it can still indicate the number amount of something through verbal agreement markers or numerals.

Example of the absent marker by Borchers:[6]

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Suffixes[edit | edit source]

Possessive suffix: ⟨-ke⟩ (Animate Agent)[edit | edit source]

According to Borchers,[6] the possessive suffix ⟨-ke⟩ is attached to a human or animate agent to indicate a possessive relationship.

Morpheme: ⟨-ke⟩
Gloss: Possessive (POSS)

Examples of the possessive ⟨-ke⟩ by Borchers:[6] Template:Interlinear

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Possessive suffix: ⟨-ke⟩ (inanimate subject)[edit | edit source]

According to Borchers,[6] inanimate subjects are marked with the possessive suffix ⟨-ke⟩ to indicate what it is "made of". Example of possessive ⟨-ke⟩ indicating what it is "made of" by Borchers:[6]

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Quantifiers[edit | edit source]

Quantifiers in the Sunwar language are loaned from Nepali. Quantifiers are used for amounts or masses.[6] As exemplified by Borchers,[6] this table consists of quantifiers; including some that are loaned from Nepali.

From: Translation:
aic small
sappa very much [<Nep. besarī ‘very   much’]
ʃuʃi many, very, much [<Nep. dherai]
sappa pan very [<Nep. ekdam]
ici oci a little
imci some, a bit
la: only [<Nep. mātra]
ʃūʃ ʃūs much, very, expensive
oci some, little [<Nep. thorai]
i:ʃika much, a lot [<Nep. thupro]
umcili small

Examples of quantifiers that indicate amounts or masses by Borchers:[6]

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Syntax[edit | edit source]

Adjectives: ⟨-ʃo⟩[edit | edit source]

According to Borchers,[6] adjectives can belong to the verbal noun form, with an attached ⟨ʃo⟩. In the Sunwar language, some adjectives are borrowed from Nepali.

Adjectives: Color forms[edit | edit source]

Borchers also notes that adjectives can belong to the form/term color.[6] As exemplified by Borchers, this table consists of the color form/terms.[6]

Form: Translation:
jirjir colorful
giิk light green, light blue
nilo dark blue [<Nep. nilo]
buʃ white
kher black
lal red
ojela brilliant

Adjectives: Non-verbal nouns without ⟨-ʃo⟩ attached[edit | edit source]

The Sunwar language has a category for adjectives under the form ‘others’, that are not verbal nouns. In addition, some adjectives may be interchangeable as an adverb.[6] As exemplified by Borchers, this table consists of the adjectives that are not verbal nouns ending in ⟨-ʃo⟩ form/terms.[6]

Form: Translation:
umcili/ici small, little
ʃūʃ much, many, very, expensive
theb big, great (idea, thing)
wan far
netha near

Examples of adjectives that are not verbal nouns ending in ⟨-ʃo⟩ by Borchers:[6]

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Particles[edit | edit source]

As exemplified by Borchers, this table consists of particles in correlation to various relationships.[6]

Conjunction: Translation:
de or
hana if
ṅana if
dopā that
meklāpāṅāmin   and then
pāṅāmin   and then
minu ⟨-nu⟩ and then
mapatke because of

Postpositional particles[edit | edit source]

According to Borchers, the Sunwar language borrows particles from Nepali that indicate the relationship between clauses.[6] Examples of postpositional particles by Borchers:[6]

Postpotion: Gloss:
<lā> ‘only’
⟨-bhandā⟩: A comparison. ‘than’
<cai>: Singling out or can be seen as “exactly this one”. SNG
<yo>: Inclusive focus. ‘also’
<kõ>: A tag on questions asking for affirmation or negation of a statement. OR
<da ~ ta>: Sunwar focus marker IFOC

My stomach v.s. your stomach[edit | edit source]

Example by Borchers:[6]

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Order: Subject-object-verb[edit | edit source]

Examples of order: Subject/Object/Verb by Borchers.[6]

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Vocabulary[edit | edit source]

Seu+wa+la (Sewala)

Sunwar 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 we (formal)
GoiPuki we are (formal)
Daarshow Beautiful
Rimso Good
MaDarshow Ugly

Language structure[edit | edit source]

In linguistic typology, a subject+object+verb (SOV) language is one in which the subject, object, and verb of a sentence always or usually appear in that order. If English were SOV, "Sam oranges ate" would be an ordinary sentence, as opposed to the actual Standard English "Sam ate oranges". (A Grammar of Sunwar) [10]

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Sunwar people called "Khangsa" sign language with voice and direct action, for foreign people who don't understand a sunuwar language.[citation needed][4]

[11]

Numerals (Devanagari)[edit | edit source]

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

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ 2011 Nepal Census, Social Characteristics Tables
  2. ↑ "The Sikkim Official Languages Act" (PDF). sikkim.gov.in. Government of Sikkim. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Ager, Simon. "Sunuwar alphabet". Omniglot. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Borchers, Dörte (2008). A grammar of Sunwar: descriptive grammar, paradigms, texts and glossary ([Online-Ausg.]. ed.). Leiden: Brill. pp. 1–2. ISBN 978-90-04-16709-4.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Ager, Simon. "Sunwar Language and Alphabet". Omniglot. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  6. ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 6.15 6.16 6.17 6.18 6.19 6.20 6.21 6.22 6.23 6.24 6.25 6.26 6.27 6.28 6.29 6.30 6.31 6.32 6.33 6.34 Borchers, Dörte (2008). A Grammar of Sunwar: Descriptive Grammar, Paradigms, Texts and Glossary. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-16709-4.
  7. ↑ "Jenticha". ScriptSource.org. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Pandey, Anshuman (31 May 2011). "Proposal to Encode the Jenticha Script in ISO/IEC 10646" (PDF). Unicode. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  9. ↑ Ager, Simon. "Tikamuli alphabet". Omniglot. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  10. ↑ A Grammar of Sunwar. Dörte Borchers. 2008. ISBN 978-9004167094. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  11. ↑ Pandey, Anshuman (31 May 2011). "Proposal to Encode the Jenticha Script in ISO/IEC 10646" (PDF). Retrieved 18 December 2019.

External links[edit | edit source]

REIN: reinforcement marker NPT: non-preterite SNG: postposition of singularity PF: perfective gerund marker P: patient (of transitive verb) SVI: singular intransitive verb 23D: second and third person, dual

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