Nepaliis spoken by more than 30 million people worldwide. It is spoken throughout the country and by Nepali communities across the globe, particularly in India, Bhutan, Myanmar, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Middle East.
Newari, also known as Nepal Bhasa, is spoken by around one million people worldwide. It is primarily spoken by the Newar community in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal, which includes the cities of Kathmandu, Lalitpur (Patan), and Bhaktapur.
Nepali and Newari are two distinct languages. Nepali belongs to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family and is closely related to Hindi and other languages of northern India. In contrast, Newari is a Sino-Tibetan language, specifically part of the Tibeto-Burman language group.
When it comes to grammar, both Nepali and Newari follow a subject-object-verb (SOV) sentence structure. However, they differ significantly in vocabulary and linguistic roots due to their separate language families.
The writing systems used by the two languages are also different. Nepali is written using the Devanagari script, a syllabic alphabet system also used for Hindi and Sanskrit. Newari, while traditionally written in the Ranjana script, is now often written using the Devanagari script for ease and standardization.
Despite these differences, there are some similarities in cultural practices associated with the two languages. For example, both languages use honorifics to show respect. In Nepali, the suffix "-ji" (जी) is commonly added, as in "Ram-ji" for respect. Similarly, in Newari, honorific prefixes or suffixes are added, such as "Maḥā" or "-gu".
Additionally, the cultures associated with Nepali and Newari languages share numerous similarities. Both emphasise respect for tradition, family values, and social hierarchy, reflecting the rich cultural heritage of Nepal.