Nepali language - The Melody you speak or want to

 

Namaste friends! I’m over the moon to share about my enlightening experience learning the Nepali language during my recent trip to Nepal. As an enthusiastic linguaphile, I was eager to pick up some basic Nepali phrases and get a taste of this vital part of Nepalese culture. Let me tell you, this fascinating language did not disappoint! From its exotic alphabet to its tonal nuances, I’m absolutely thrilled to walk you through everything I learned about Nepali during my language adventures in Nepal. Just wait until you hear about the time I almost caused an international incident by mixing up my food vocabulary! First, let me give you a quick overview of this melodic South Asian language and its origins.

Nepali is the official language of Nepal and also has millions of speakers in neighboring India. Linguists classify it as an Indo-Aryan language alongside Hindi, Urdu, Bengali and others. Here’s a fun fact – Nepali is rendered in the Devanagari script, which is also used for Hindi and Sanskrit. It’s a phonetic alphabet written from left to right made up of 14 vowels and 34 consonants. Doesn’t that sound magical! Even the alphabet is fascinating. Nepali also has lexical similarities to both Sanskrit and Tibeto-Burman languages. As you can see, it draws influences from diverse sources.

Now you’re probably wondering, how on earth did I go about starting to grasp this complex language? Well, before arriving in Nepal, I did my homework and memorized a few basics like greetings and numbers. This gave me a major confidence boost right from the start! I was thrilled to say "Namaste!" to passersby as soon as I landed in Kathmandu and thank the taxi driver with “dhanyabaad”. These friendly Nepali greetings instantly made me feel connected. When buying souvenirs at the market, I tested out my numbers skills to negotiate prices. The sellers were pleased and gave me a supportive "ramro!" (excellent!) for my efforts. What a fantastic incentive to continue studying!

To really accelerate my language skills, I signed up for lessons at a local school in Kathmandu. Studying with an experienced teacher helped me enormously in gaining Nepali language proficiency. We focused a lot on sentence structure, which was quite different from English. In Nepali, the verb generally comes at the end. For example, “I am going to school” would be “school to going am I”. Wild, right? This unique syntax was tricky for me to grasp at first. But with my teacher’s patient explanations, it started to click. I loved being immersed in the language and absorbing the proper grammatical rules. 

Expanding my Nepali vocabulary was so fulfilling too. I always carried around a pocket Nepali dictionary to look up new words I encountered, whether on menus, street signs or in conversations. Some of my favorites were “chiya” (tea), “tato pani” (cold water), and “machha” (fish). Whenever I successfully used one of these new words at a restaurant or store, I felt a huge rush of accomplishment! My language skills were improving daily. 

Perhaps the most memorable vocabulary mishap was the time I accidentally asked for “oil eggs” instead of “fried eggs” at breakfast. Whoops! My pronunciation of “tel” (oil) instead of “tali” (fried) completely confused the poor waiter. After we had a good laugh, he kindly corrected me with the proper way to request delicious fried eggs. Moments like these, as mortifying as they first felt, really helped cement the right vocab words in my brain. All part of the language learning adventure!

By around week two into my Nepali language crash course, I noticed a remarkable improvement in both my comprehension and speaking abilities. Conversations with locals grew more fluid and comfortable as my vocabulary surpassed basic phrases. I particularly loved bargaining at the hectic vegetable markets using real, natural Nepali. The sellers got a kick out of a foreigner attempting to converse with them in their mother tongue. Even though I still made mistakes, they sincerely praised my efforts. “Afno bhasa bolna siknu parcha” (Should learn to speak our language), they would advise. I couldn’t have agreed more!

Towards the end of my stay, I even felt confident enough to read simple children’s books and headlines from Nepali newspapers. This was hugely motivating, as I began recognizing vocabulary words scattered throughout the text. My reading comprehension skills still had a long way to go, but I was thrilled by this first step. I also watched Nepali films and tried to follow along without reading the subtitles – challenging but great listening practice. Immersing myself in local media this way gave me priceless insight into Nepali language and culture. 

Looking back, I’m amazed by how much fascinating Nepali I was able to absorb in just a few short weeks. Of course, I still have an infinite amount more to learn in the coming years if I hope to achieve fluency. For now, I’m just proud of building up a solid foundation. When people ask me about my favorite Nepali word, I have to say “man paryo” (I felt it in my heart). That perfectly describes how this lyrical language resonated so deeply for me. From the charming alphabet to the exotic sounds, Nepali will forever hold special meaning after my life-changing experience studying it in Nepal. 

So there you have it – all the highlights from my exhilarating Nepali language adventure! Of course, this barely scratches the surface of everything I learned. There are still so many vocabulary terms, tonal nuances, conversations topics and language quirks that I’m eager to share. Please let me know if you’d like me to elaborate on any part of my Nepali learning journey in greater detail. I could talk for hours about  fun language mix-ups, fascinating script characters, and inspiring teaching moments. For now, I hope I’ve conveyed just a fraction of the joy and wonder I felt immersing myself in beautiful Nepali language and culture. Let me wrap up with a heartfelt “dhanyavaad” (thank you) for letting me excitedly share this treasured experience. Now who wants to learn some Nepali with me?