J.T. King

Dhimal-English Glossary

This section presents a Dhimal-English glossary in alphabetical order. Words are listed with aspirated and breathy phonemes following the voiceless and voiced counterparts respectively. Long vowels, nasal vowels and those ending in a glottal stop come after the simple vowels. The bulk of non-native words in Dhimal are loans from non-literary varieties of Indo-Aryan languages, primarily Bengali and Maithili, but also Nepali. Multiple uses are listed numerically with the most basic sense listed first. Finally, semantically related lexemes and Nepali equivalents of cultural objects or native flora and fauna are provided at the end of some entries.Keywords: Dhimal-English glossary; Nepali language

Hunting Monitor Lizards

The appendix section of the book A Grammar of Dhimal presents texts from a variety of genres, riddles, songs, kinship terms, verb paradigms, a Dhimal-English glossary and bibliography. With this grammar, it is hoped that Dhimal will yield clues necessary to sort out the historical spread of Tibeto-Burman languages in this region. Text Three provided here explains the concept of hunting monitor lizards. The text is given in both Dhimal and English. The supernatural world of the Dhimal abounds with deities or dir, including a household deity or sali beraŋ and various clan and village deities. The deities worshipped by the later clan during the harvest celebration for example, include ləsəmi beraŋ, tisti mai, cəudhari maharaj, buḍha ṭhakur, mi-besa, parbati and the hunting deities or jauharagelai.Keywords: Dhimal; hunting; jauharagelai; monitor lizards; Tibeto-Burman languages

The Jackal And The Bear

The appendix section of the book A Grammar of Dhimal presents texts from a variety of genres, riddles, songs, kinship terms, verb paradigms, a Dhimal-English glossary and bibliography. With this grammar, it is hoped that Dhimal will yield clues necessary to sort out the historical spread of Tibeto-Burman languages in this region. Linguistically, Dhimal is related, though mututally unintelligible, to the Rai, Limbu, Newar and other Tibeto-Burman languages spoken in the hills of Nepal. Text Seven provided here deals with the story of the jackal and the bear. The story is presented in both Dhimal and English.Keywords: Dhimal; Nepal; Tibeto-Burman languages