| Classical Nepal Bhasa | |
|---|---|
| Old Newar | |
| š„šøš®šµššø š£š¾š„šµš® šØšµš²šµ | |
 A 14th century palm-leaf manuscript of a medical manual written in Classical Newar and the Bhujimola script. | |
| NativeĀ to | Nepal, India, Tibet, Bhutan |
| Era | Developed into Modern Nepal Bhasa in the 19th century |
Sino-Tibetan
| |
Early forms | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | nwc |
| ISO 639-3 | nwc |
| Glottolog | None |
Classical Newar or Classical Nepal Bhasa (Modern Newar: pulÄį¹ bhÄy, 'old language') also known as Old Newar, is the vernacular and literary form of Nepal Bhasa used prior to the 19th century. The term is most generally used to describe the form of Nepal Bhasa used in manuscripts and other sources from the Malla dynasty.
The antiquity of the Newar language is not known. The Sanskrit stone inscriptions from the Licchavi Dynasty contains frequent use of Sino-Tibetan words, especially for proper nouns like names of person, settlements and rivers, suggesting the existence of a vernacular Sino-Tibetan language which is believed to be an early form of the Newar language. Classical Newar language was the official language and lingua franca of Nepal Mandala during the Malla period.
