Virginia Dixon - Practical Nepali: Learning Nepali the Easy Way

Learning Nepali the Easy Way

By
Virginia Dixon

Copyright 2013 Virginia Dixon

ISBN: 978-1-922204-84-4 (eBook)

EPUB Edition

Published by Vivid Publishing

P.O. Box 948, Fremantle

Western Australia 6959

www.vividpublishing.com.au

eBook conversion and distribution by Fontaine Publishing Group, Australia

www.fontaine.com.au

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

This book is dedicated to Mohan and Saila, and all the Nepali people who helped me write this book

&

To my husband Paul for carrying my 2.9 kg laptop for 2 months around Europe so I could get this book finished!

Practical Nepali has been organised into 6 parts:

Consists of acknowledgements, introduction, tips on getting started, pronunciation and word order.

Vocabulary and Minor Grammar : This part of the book includes vocabulary, related minor grammar, verbs and some phrases where appropriate. Vocabulary is arranged alphabetically. When using examples the specific word being focussed on in that chapter has been written in bold type. Occasionally some words may be repeated in two different sections when I could not decide which section to put them in because they belonged so much in both.

This part of the book has been organised into sections to distinguish it from grammar or verb chapters. A section may have several subsections all of which are related to the main heading. The section on Time for example has four subsections including Section 5.1 Days, dates of the week, times of day, Section 5.2 Months and Seasons, Section 5.3 Telling the Time and Section 5.4 Time words & phrases. There is a chapter listing similar sounding words at the end of this section.

Major Grammar: Not being a teacher and having only done a basic TESOL course this is not my strong point, hence grammatical explanations are minimal! This part of the book deals with major or universal grammar which is relevant generally rather than relating to a specific area of vocabulary. Some minor grammar is interspersed throughout relevant vocabulary sections when it relates to that particular section rather than a general grammatical construction. Grammar specifically to do with telling the time for example will be found in that vocabulary section in Part 2 whilst grammar to do with the word very will be found in Part 3.

As with some vocabulary, occasionally sections of grammar are repeated in two places when they are relevant to both but a reference will be made referring you to the section where that aspect of grammar is covered in greater detail.

Introduction to Verbs and Verb Tenses: This section covers different types of verbs, verb tenses and their conjugation.

Special Verb Usage & Constructions & more Grammar: This chapter covers grammar and use of specific verbs, as some verbs have multiple meanings and can also mean different things when combined with other words. It covers grammar related to specific verb constructions and grammar where it involves verbs.

Bibliography.

Writing a Nepali language book was never my original aim but came about as a result of my efforts to learn a language where there are not many resources available. After compiling several notebooks of grammar, verbs and vocabulary I decided I could have a go at organising it all into a book to make it easier for myself. One thing lead to another and eventually I decided I could attempt to get it published, but could not really imagine how I could ever find the time to accomplish that! It took a badly broken kneecap and months of relative enforced inactivity for this to happen.

This book has been an ongoing project over several years. My fondness for Nepal and the people I have met has been the result of 20 trips to the country over the last 18 years. This book would not have been possible without the patience and assistance of several special individuals I have encountered along the way.

I would like to express a huge amount of gratitude and appreciation to the following people who have helped make my still basic Nepali language skills and this book a reality:

Firstly to Mohan Rai and Lhakpa Chetar Sherpa (known as Saila ) I would like to say a huge thank you.

These special individuals have accompanied me on many trips in Nepal in their roles of porter, porter guide and sirdhar and this book would not have been possible without their incredible patience and willingness to help. They spent many trekking afternoons and evenings extending my vocabulary, not to mention many hours whilst walking testing me on my numbers, anatomy words, and time telling skills! I could not have compiled such an extensive volume without their invaluable help and good humour. A percentage of the sales of this book will be donated to each of them.

Secondly I would like to acknowledge the generosity of Shanker and Hema Bairagi who were responsible for my initial 18 months of formal Nepali lessons during their time as diplomats in Canberra, Australia. Shanker was a wonderful teacher who gave me a great beginning foundation in the complexities of Nepali grammar, and Hema was a good friend and wonderful cook!

Thirdly I would also like to acknowledge the assistance, patience, consistency and attention to detail of Samsed Sherpa (known as Samden ) and his brother Pemba, who accompanied me on recent treks to Langtang, with the unusual job, not as guide or porter but to help me with this book.

I would also like to say a huge thank to Binod Nepal in Canberra for giving up his time and helping me every Saturday morning at Gungahlin library with the final edit of this book and for clarifying my continued confusion on many aspects of Nepali grammar!

Last, but not least, I would like to express my appreciation to Dawa Geljen Sherpa and Ang Gombu Sherpa from Adventure Thamserku www.adventurethamserku.com for their friendship and for providing me with the opportunity of visiting Nepal more regularly than I would have done otherwise! If anyone is interested in trekking Dawa definitely runs the best trekking and mountaineering trips in the country! (www.adventurethamserku.com).I would also like to thank you both for also helping me with the final editing.

I would also like to acknowledge the many people in Nepal who have crossed my path, and contributed to the contents of this book. If I was to name you all I would be worried I would leave someone out, but if you hear about this book, you will know who you are. The nurses at Phaplu Hospital however deserve special recognition for helping me with the medical sections! Thank you also to the authors of the books listed in the bibliography they have been a big help in my continued quest for fluency in the Nepali language!

Part of the incentive in writing this book is for part of the proceeds to provide a supplementary income for Saila and Mohan, and also to support a selection of charities doing wonderful work in Nepal. 50% of the sales of this book will be donated 10% to Saila and 10% to Mohan in appreciation of their hard work and assistance over the years. 10% will go to The Australian Himalayan Foundation www.australianhimalayanfoundation.org . 10% to Classrooms in the Clouds www.classroomsintheclouds.org and the remaining 10% will be donated to Langtang Valley Health www.langtangvalleyhealth.org .