Magar language

Magar
मगर ढुट‎ (Magar ḍhuṭ)
Native toNepal, India
RegionNepal; significant communities in Bhutan; Sikkim; Assam and Darjeeling district of India
Ethnicity2.0 million Magar (2021 census of Nepal)
Native speakers
(810,000 cited 2001–2006)
Akkha script (official), Devanagari, Latin script
Official status
Official language in
  Nepal

India

Language codes
ISO 639-3mgp – inclusive code
Individual code:
mrd – Western Magar (retired)
Glottologmaga1261
Most spoken languages in Nepal. Magar in 20.
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Magar Dhut (Nepali: मगर ढुट, romanized: Magar ḍhuṭ, Nepali: [ɖʱuʈ]) is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken mainly in Nepal, southern Bhutan, and in Darjeeling, Assam and Sikkim, India, by the Magar people. It is divided into two groups (Eastern and Western) and further dialect divisions give distinct tribal identity. In Nepal 810,000 people speak the language. It is recognized as an official language in the Nepali province of Gandaki along with Gurung and Bhojpuri.

While the government of Nepal developed Magar language curricula, as provisioned by the constitution, the teaching materials have never successfully reached Magar schools, where most school instruction is in the Nepali language. It is not unusual for groups with their own language to feel that the "mother-tongue" is an essential part of their identity.

The Dhut Magar language is sometimes lumped with the Magar Kham language spoken further west in Bheri, Dhaulagiri, and Rapti zones. Although the two languages share many common words, they have major structural differences and are not mutually intelligible.

Geographical distribution

Western Magar

Western Magar (dialects: Palpa and Syangja) is spoken in the following districts of Nepal (Ethnologue).

Eastern Magar

Eastern Magar (dialects: Gorkha, Nawalparasi, and Tanahu) is spoken in the following districts of Nepal (Ethnologue).

India

Phonology

Consonants

Labial Dental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
plain sibilant
Stop voiceless p t̪* t t͡s k (ʔ)
aspirated pʰ t̪ʰ* tʰ t͡sʰ kʰ
voiced b d̪* d d͡z ɡ
murmured bʱ d̪ʱ* dʱ d͡zʱ ɡʱ
Fricative voiceless s h
voiced ɦ
Nasal voiced m n ŋ
murmured mʱ nʱ ŋʱ
Lateral voiced l
murmured lʱ
Approximant voiced w ɹ j
murmured wʱ ɹʱ jʱ

*-only occur in the Tanahu dialect.

/ʔ/ is only a marginal phoneme.

Phoneme Allophones
/p/ [p̚]
/pʰ/ [ɸ]
/t/ [tʲ], [t̚], [ʈ]
/tʰ/ [θ]
/d/ [dʲ], [ɖ], [ɽ]
/k/ [kʲ], [k̚]
/kʰ/ [x]
/ɡ/ [ɡʲ]
/t͡s/ [t͡ʃ]
/t͡sʰ/ [t͡ʃʰ]
/dz/ [dʒ]
/d͡zʱ/ [d͡ʒʱ]
/s/ [ʃ]
/h/ [ɦ]
/n/ [nʲ]
/ŋ/ [ŋʲ]

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i u
Mid e o
ʌ
Open a
Diphthongs
/ia/
/iu/
/ei/
/eu/
/aɪ/
/au/
/oi/

Phoneme Allophones
/i/ [i] [ɪ] [i̤] [i̤ː] [ĩ]
/e/ [e] [ɛ] [ẽ] [e̤] [e̤ː]
/a/ [ä] [æ] [ä̃] [äˑ] [ä̤] [ä̤ː]
/u/ [u] [ʊ] [u̟] [ṳ] [ṳː] [ũ]
/ʌ/ [ʌ] [ə] [ə̃] [ʌ̤] [ʌ̃]
/o/ [o] [o̟] [õ] [oˑ] [o̤] [o̤ː]

References

  1. 1 2 Magar at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024) Closed access icon
    Western Magar (retired) at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024) Closed access icon
  2. 1 2 "सरकारी कामकाजको भाषाका आधारहरूको निर्धारण तथा भाषासम्बन्धी सिफारिसहरू (पञ्चवर्षीय प्रतिवेदन- साराांश) २०७८" (PDF). Language Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 September 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  3. ↑ "The Sikkim Official Languages Act" (PDF). sikkim.gov.in. Government of Sikkim. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  4. ↑ "The Eastern Magar of Nepal". Archived from the original on 18 March 2007. Retrieved 12 September 2007.
  5. ↑ 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 16 February 2003. Retrieved 12 September 2007.
  6. ↑ Kansakar, Tej R. (July 1993). "The Tibeto-Burman Languages of Nepal - A General Survey" (PDF). Contributions to Nepalese Studies. 20 (2): 165–173. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  7. 1 2 Grunow-Hårsta, Karen A. (2008). A descriptive grammar of two Magar dialects of Nepal: Tanahu and Syangja Magar. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. pp. 32–67.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

Further reading