Doteli
Indo-Aryan language of Eastern Pahari branch
Doteli, or Dotyali (Doteli-Devanagari: डोटेली) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by about 495,000 people, most of whom live in Nepal. It is a dialect of Khas, which is an ancient form of the modern Nepali language, and is written in the Devanagari script. It has official status in Nepal as per Part 1, Section 6 of the Constitution of Nepal 2072 (2015). There are four main dialects of Doteli, namely Baitadeli, Achhami, Bajhangi Nepali, Darchuli and Doteli. The mutual intelligibility between these dialects is high and all dialects of Doteli are able to share language-based materials.
01Phonology
Vowels
Consonants
| Bilabial | Dental | Alveolar | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m ⟨म⟩ | n ⟨न⟩ | ŋ ⟨ङ⟩ | ||||||
| Plosive/ | voiceless | unaspirated | p ⟨प⟩ | t ⟨त⟩ | t͡s ⟨च⟩ | ʈ ⟨ट⟩ | k ⟨क⟩ | ||
| aspirated | pʰ ⟨फ⟩ | tʰ ⟨थ⟩ | t͡sʰ ⟨छ⟩ | ʈʰ ⟨ठ⟩ | kʰ ⟨ख⟩ | ||||
| voiced | unaspirated | b ⟨ब⟩ | d ⟨द⟩ | d͡z ⟨ज⟩ | ɖ ⟨ड⟩ | ɡ ⟨ग⟩ | |||
| aspirated | bʱ ⟨भ⟩ | dʱ ⟨ध⟩ | d͡zʱ ⟨झ⟩ | ɖʱ ⟨ढ⟩ | ɡʱ ⟨घ⟩ | ||||
| Fricative | s ⟨स⟩ | ɦ ⟨ह⟩ | |||||||
| Rhotic | r ⟨र⟩ | ||||||||
| Approximant | (w ⟨व⟩) | l ⟨ल⟩ | (j ⟨य⟩) | ||||||
02Example short phrases
| Words/Phrases | Transliteration | English Translation |
|---|---|---|
| नमस्कार | Namaskar | Hello (formal) |
| तमरो नाम कि हो | Tamaro naam ki ho | What is your name? |
| तम काँ बठे आया हौ | Tam kan bathe aaya hou | Where are you from? |
| तम कसा छौ | Tam kasa chhau | How are you? |
| मुई निको छुँ | Mui niko chhu | I'm fine. |
| तम काँ झान्या हौ | Tam kan jhanya hou | Where are you going? / Where will you go? |
| कि भ्यो / कि भयो | Ki bhyo / ki bhayo | What happened? |
| छाँटो घर आया | Chhanto ghar aaya | Come home soon. |
03Names of the language
The language is known by various names in the far-western region of Nepal, according to the districts.
| District | Terms used for language name |
|---|---|
| Kailali | Baitadeli, Bajhangi-Nepali |
| Kanchanpur | Baitadeli-Nepali, Pahadi, Nepali |
| Doti | Dotyali, Doteli |
| Dadeldhura | Dotyali, Dadeldhuri |
| Achham | Achhami, Achhami-Nepali |
| Baitadi | Baitadi, Baitadeli, Dotyali |
| Darchula | Darchuleli, Dotyali, Sauka |
| Bajhang | Bajhangi, Bajhangi-Nepali |
04Official status
The Language Commission of Nepal has recommended Dotyali language as official language in Sudurpashchim Province.
05Origin and history
Although Dotyali isn't fully intelligible with standard Nepali, Dotyali is considered a member of the macrolanguage Nepali. In Nepal, Doteli is considered a Nepali dialect. However, local intellectuals and people of Doti, those who speak Doteli, are increasingly demanding their language to be recognized as one of the national languages of Nepal.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Doteli”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.