The Nar-Phu Language

In this paper the authors introduces into the Nar-Phu language, which is spoken by the 800 people of the villages of Nar and Phu, located in the Valley of the Nar Khola in the Manang District of Nepal. The territory they inhabit is very high [the lowest point in their territory is approximately 3500 meters in altitude] and their main occupations are yak herding and small scale farming. This language with a small group of speakers is strongly influenced by Tibetan. The influence of Nepali on the Nar-Phu language has been relatively small. The Nar-Phu language is a member of the Tamangic group. There are a number of phonological and lexical differences between the dialects of Nar and Phu. This paper emphasises the Nar dialect