Magar | |
---|---|
Dhut, मगर भाषा | |
Native to | Nepal |
Ethnicity | 1.9 million Magar people and others who claim to be Magar (2011 census)[1] |
Native speakers | 770,116 (2001)[1] |
Sino-Tibetan
| |
Dialects |
|
Official status | |
Official language in | Nepal Sikkim, India |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | Either:mgp – Eastern Magarmrd – Western Magar |
Glottolog | maga1261 |
Magar (Nepali: मगर भाषा Dhut magar bhasa) is a language spoken mainly in West-Central Nepal, Southern Bhutan, Darjeeling, India, and Sikkim, India, by the Magar people. Magar belongs to the Bodic branch of the Tibeto-Burman language family, and contains two dialects: Tanahu, the western branch of Magar, and Syangja, an eastern branch of Magar. In 2001, it was estimated that there were approximately 770,116 speakers of the language.: 18 [2] Even with this large number of speakers, the language is still considered endangered at level 6b (threatened) since the number of children using and learning the language is rapidly declining[2].
While the government of Nepal developed Magar language curricula, as provisioned by constitution, the teaching materials have never successfully reached Magar schools, where most school instruction is in Nepali language.[3] It's not unusual for groups with their own language to feel that the "mother-tongue" is an essential part of identity. Dhut Magar language is sometimes lumped with Kham magar language spoken further west in Bheri, Dhaulagiri, Karnali and Rapti zones. Although the two languages have a large number of words in common, they have major structural differences and are not mutually intelligible.[4]
Geographical distribution
editWestern Magar
editWestern Magar (dialects: Palpa and Syangja) is spoken in the following districts of Nepal (Ethnologue).[citation needed]
- Lumbini Zone: Palpa District
- Gandaki Zone: Syangja District, and Tanahu District
- Small border area in Dhawalagiri Zone: Parbat District
- Scattered throughout Bheri Zone: especially in Surkhet District, Jajarkot District, and Dailekh District
- Magars are also live in the district named parbat which is located in the western part of Nepal.
Eastern Magar
editEastern Magar (dialects: Gorkha, Nawalparasi, and Tanahu) is spoken in the following districts of Nepal (Ethnologue).[citation needed]
- Zone 1: central mountains of Nepal east of the Bagmati River
- Gandaki Zone: Tanahu District and southern Gorkha District
- Lumbini Zone: Palpa District and Nawalparasi District
- Small border area in Bagmati Zone: Dhading District
- Zone 2: eastern Nepal
- Sindhuli District, Janakpur Zone
- Okhaldhunga District, Sagarmatha Zone
- Scattered communities in central Kosi Zone and southern Mechi Zone
Phonology
editConsonants
editThe Magar language contains 37 consonants, the majority of which are detailed in the table below. Magar features 6 different places of articulation, and 5 difference manners of articulation. (For places of articulation in the table below, voiced consonants appear in the right sub-column and their voiceless counterparts appear in the left sub-column.) Magar also contains 4 affricate consonants: [ t͡z ], [ t͡zʰ], [d͡z], [d͡zʰ]: 41 [2]. Around half of the consonants contain a murmured-voice counterpart, and several consonants include aspirated or dental counterparts.
Bilabial | Dental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Stop | p pʰ | b b̤ | t̪ t̪ʰ | d̪ʰ d̪ | t tʰ | d d̤ | k kʰ | ɡ g̤ | ʔ | ||
Nasal | m m̤ | n n̤ | ŋ ŋ̤ | ||||||||
Fricative | s | h h̤ | |||||||||
Approximant | ɹ ɹ̤ | j j̤ | w w̤ | ||||||||
Lateral Approximant | l l̤ |
All 37 consonants are found in the Tanahu dialect of Magar, while the Syangja dialect of Magar does not contain the dental stops [t̪ ], [t̪ʰ], [d̪ʰ], [d̪]. Within Tanahu, the words containing [t̪ ], [t̪ʰ], [d̪ʰ], [d̪] are borrowed from the Nepali language.: 42 [2]
Vowels
editThe Magar language contains 10 vowels. This includes 4 dipthongs [ei] [oi] [au] [eu], and 6 monopthongs detailed in the table below[2].
Front | Central | Back | |
---|---|---|---|
High | i | u | |
Close-mid | e | o | |
Open-mid | ʌ | ||
Low | a |
Magar's six-vowel system /i e ʌ u o a/ is similar to that of Nepali, likely as a result of language contact with Nepali. Additionally, the dipthong [eu] is found primarily in words borrowed from the Nepali language.: 33 [2]
Syllable Structure
editMagar supports the syllable template (O)(A)(G)V(G)(C), where O represents an obstruent, A represents an approximant, and G represents a glide.: 89 Within Magar the simplest allowable syllable structure is V, and the most common syllable structure is CV where C is either an obstruent or approximant.
Syllable structure in Magar is organized according to the sonority hierarchy, with more sonorant consonants such as glides located closer to the vowel nucleus of the syllable: 90 . In syllables with complex onsets, the first consonant is usually an obstruent. All consonants are allowed in simple onsets, with the exception of /r/ which appears in consonant clusters of (O)(R)(G). While native Magar codas typically consist of at most a single consonant, words borrowed from the Nepali language may include consonant clusters (e.g. sʌrk ''cobbler': 90 ). Codas in Magar also exclude [h]. Furthermore, the consonants [b], [b̤], [d], [d̤], [g], [g̤], [ t͡z ], [ t͡zʰ], [d͡z], and [d͡zʰ] only appear in the codas of words borrowed from the Nepali language, and not in the codas of native Magar words: 90 [2].
Template | Instantiation | Translation |
---|---|---|
CV | /jʌ.nʌ/ | 'people': 66 |
CCV | /chu/ | 'touch': 65 |
CVCC | /sʌrk/ | 'cobbler': 90 |
CCVC | /pruŋ/ | 'bud': 90 |
CCCVC | /khyo.mo/ | 'emerge': 162 |
Stress and Tone
editWithin Magar, stress is predictable and typically falls on the root morpheme of the word. If the root consists of multiple syllables, then the stress will fall on the last syllable, e.g. the stressed syllable is "dam" in the morpheme / lu.kuj.'dam/ ('owl').: 42 Magar originally did not make use of tone, but there is ongoing development of two distinct registers: a clear register, and a murmured register resulting from borrowed elements of the Nepali language.: 88 [2]
Morphology
editMagar is classified as an agglutinative language and makes use of prefixes, circumfixes, and suffixes. Verbs in Magar also make use of circumfixes. Compared to other Himalayish languages, Magar contains more suffixes relative to prefixes.: 33 [2]
Inflectional Affixes
editAffixes in Magar are primarily inflectional. The table below lists major uses of affixation and examples, including number, tense, classifier, aspect, and mood.
Affixation and Function | Example(s) |
---|---|
prefix mi-
Indicates inalienable posession. |
mi-mik
POSS-eye 'my eye': 93 |
suffix -ko
Indicate plural nouns. |
n̤is two rokotyak-ko frog-PL |
suffix -jʌnʌ
Classifier referring to the class of humans. |
lokanda-ko groomsman-PL som-jʌnʌ three-H.NUM |
suffix -wotʌ (in Tanahu)
suffix -gotʌ (in Syangja) Classifier referring to the class of non-humans. |
buli-gotʌ four-N.H.NUM la-ke take-NOM |
suffix -a
Past tense marker. In Magar, the non-past tense is unmarked. |
ja-ja child-child si-a die-PST |
le and suffix -le
Imperfective aspect marker. In Magar, the perfective aspect is unmarked. |
ho-se-e D.DEM-DEF-ERG mis-ke sleep-NOM le IMPF ho-se-e D.DEM-DEF-ERG mis-le sleep-IMPF |
circumfix a-Σ-e
Irrealis mood marker, used to describe situations that are potential and speculative rather than truthful. In contrast, the realis mood, which is used to express reality, is unmarked. |
Realis mood: ram Ram im-aŋ house-LOC le COP ram Ram im-aŋ house-LOC a-ule-e IRR-COP-IRR |
prefix -tʌ
Optative mood marker, used to describe the speaker's hope for a situation to be realized. This is only present in the Syangha dialect of Magar. |
ŋa-o IS-GEN minam new im house a-tʌ-chan̤-e IRR-OPT-become-IRR |
suffix -ni (in Tanahu)
suffix -nis (in Synagja) Honorific imperative mood marker, used to signify a command or request to someone in a position of higher status. |
sita Sita ra-naŋ come-SIM j̤or-ni hello-IMP.HON |
suffix -iŋ
Inclusive hortative mood marker, used to make a polite suggestion to the effect of "let us". |
ga-iŋ drink-HORT |
Derivational Affixes
editNominalization
editNominalization is present within Magar verbs in the form of derivational affixes. There are 3 nominalizing suffixes: -cyo ~ cʌ, -ke, and -mʌ.: 204 [2]
Nominalization Example
(nominalized verb in bold) |
Additional Notes |
---|---|
rup-cyo-ko
sew-NOM-PL 'tailors': 206 |
-cyo is used within the Tanahu dialect of Magar to derive
free-standing agent and patient nominals from verbs. |
sya-cʌ
dance-NOM 'dancer': 205 |
-cʌ is used within the Synagja dialect of Magar where -cyo
is used within Tanahu . |
khus-ke
thieve-NOM 'theft': 209 |
-ke is used to derive actions and events from verbs |
l̤iŋ-mʌ
sing-NOM 'singing': 211 |
-mʌ is less commonly used as a nominalizer than -cyo ~ cʌ
and -kʌ. It is primarily used in the derivation of gerunds. |
Reduplication
editIn Magar, reduplication most commonly has an intensifying effect, with some examples given in the table below.
Reduplication Example | Reduplication Function |
---|---|
phal-phal
fruit-fruit ‘lots of fruit’: 104 |
conveys plurality and multiplicity |
ja-ja
child-child 'very little children': 95 |
diminutive effect |
mit-mit
bondfriend-bondfriend 'very close friends': 95 |
increases endearment |
In some instances, reduplication has a derivational effect. For example, /siŋgar/ is a verb meaning 'adorn', and the reduplicated form /siŋgar-paŋgar/ is the noun meaning 'adornment': 96 .[2]
Compounding
editCompounding is present within nouns in Magar. Nouns can be combined with other nouns, quantifiers, or verbs, as shown in the table below.
Noun Compounding Type | Example |
---|---|
Noun combined with another noun | nam-khan-du
'sky + heat + insect' 'cicada': 93 |
Noun combined with verb | nam-su
'sky-blow' 'wind': 93 |
Noun combined with quantifier | kat-yak
'one + day' once upon a time': 93 |
Case
editMagar makes use of an ergative/absolutive case system. There are four grammatical case clitics present in both dialects of Magar: absolutive, ergative, dative, and genitive.
Absolutive Case
editIn Magar, the absolutive case is zero-marked. The absolutive case is used to indicate the object of a transitive verb or the subject in an intransitive clause.[2]
mipruŋ-∅
Mirpung-ABS
mis-a
sleep-PST
'Miprung slept' : 110 (Example marking the object of a transitive verb)
mipruŋ-e
Mirpung-ERG
cho-∅
rice.meal-ABS
'Miprung ate a meal' : 110 (Example marking the subject of an intransitive clause)
Ergative Case
editThe ergative case, which is used to identify the subject of a transitive verb, is marked with the suffix -e. If the ergative case-marked directly follows the vowels /e/, /a/, or /ʌ/, it takes on the allomorph -i. The following examples from the Syangja dialect of Magar shows the ergative case over all tense-aspect combinations:[2]
hari-e
Hari-ERG
beskaŋ
bread
jya-a
eat-PST
'Hari ate the bread.': 113
hari-e
Hari-ERG
beskaŋ
bread
jya-mʌ-le-a
eat-NOM-IMPF-PST
'Hari was eating bread.': 113
hari-e
Hari-ERG
beskaŋ
bread
jya-le
eat-IMPF
'Hari eats bread.': 113
hari-e
Hari-ERG
beskaŋ
bread
jya-mʌ-le
eat-NOM-IMPF
'Hari is eating bread.': 113
Dative Case
editThe dative case, which is used to indicate the noun to which an object is given, is marked with the suffix -ke. The following examples show the dative case markers occuring in clauses with ditransitive verbs:[2]
ram-e
Ram-ERG
ŋa-o
IS_GEN
wa-ke
chicken-DAT
charo
chicken.food
kas-aŋ
feed
'Ram fed my chicken chicken feed.': 116
ŋa-e
IS-ERG
chiniŋ
today
naŋ-ko-ke
2-P-DAT
hi
what
ahan
story
set-le-aŋ
tell-IMPF-1PRO
'Today, what story will I tell you?': 116
Genitive Case
editThe genitive case indicates the relationship of possession. In the singular case, the genitive case is marked with the suffix -o as in the following example:
cyu-o
dog-GEN
mi-talu
POSS-head
sisi-aŋ
bottle-LOC
hah̤-a
lock-PST
'The dog's head got stuck in the bottle.': 122 In the plural case, the genitive case is marked with the suffix -uŋ, as shown in the following example:
rokotyak-ko-uŋ
frog-PL-GEN
mi-ja-ko
POSS-child-PL
d̤ari
also
thuprai
many
ra-a
come-PST
'The frogs' many children also came': 122
Syntax
editBasic Word Order
editMagar makes use of a subject-object-verb word order: 35 , as shown in the example below. Since the verb follows the object, the verb phrase is head-final in Magar.[2]
S
ram-ke
Ram
O
ŋ̤et-ke
cow
V
kas-ak-a
feed
“Ram feed the cow”: 382
Headedness
editFor head and complement pairs, Magar makes use of both head-initial and head-final orders in the language, though head-final is used more often as shown in the following examples:[2]
TODO remove mention of head final and head initial
say possesee comes before possessors
Possessee and Possessor Complement Pairs
editWhen expressing possession in Magar, the item being possessed (the head) has a head-final relationship with the possessor (the complement).
Complement
ruma-o
Ruma-GEN
Head
mi-ja
POSS-child
"Ruma's child": 101
Adposition and Noun Phrase Complement Pairs
editIn Magar, the adposition (head) has a head-final relationship with the noun phrase (complement).
Complement
d̤od̤ara
log
Head
d̤em-aŋ
up-locative
"atop the log": 382
Determiner and Noun Phrase Complement Pairs
editIn Magar, the determiner (head) has a head-initial relationship with a noun phrase (complement).
Head
i-se
P.DEM-DEF
Complement
b̤ormi-ko
men-PL
"these men": 285
Yes/No Question Particle and Clause Complement Pairs
editFor yes/no questions in Magar, the question particle (head) has a head-final relationship with the clause (complement).
Complement
cho
meal
-
tʌyar
ready
-
chan̤-a
become-PST
Head
ma-chan̤-a
NEG-become-PST
"Is the meal ready, or not?’: 477
References
edit- ^ a b Eastern Magar at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Western Magar at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required) - ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "A descriptive grammar of two Magar dialects of Nepal: Tanahu and Syangja Magar - ProQuest". search.proquest.com. ProQuest 304451693. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
- ^ B. K. Rana. "Mother Tongue Education for Social Inclusion and Conflict Resolution". Appeals, News and Views from Endangered Communities. Foundation for Endangered Languages. Archived from the original on 2003-02-16. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
- ^ http://www.thlib.org/static/reprints/contributions/CNAS_20_02_02.pdf
This is a user sandbox of Jz9 lin360. You can use it for testing or practicing edits. This is not the sandbox where you should draft your assigned article for a dashboard.wikiedu.org course. To find the right sandbox for your assignment, visit your Dashboard course page and follow the Sandbox Draft link for your assigned article in the My Articles section. |