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Nepali, also known as Gorkhali or Parbatiya, is an Indo-Aryan language that evolved from Sanskrit and has a rich history spanning centuries. Its roots can be traced back to the early medieval period, with the development of languages from the Prakrits (vernaculars of Sanskrit). The first traces of Nepali as a distinct language began appearing in the 12th century, when it was used for official purposes in the Malla Kingdom of the Kathmandu Valley. It gradually spread across Nepal, gaining prominence through royal patronage and religious texts, with significant influences from neighboring languages like Maithili, Bhojpuri, and Tibetan.
During the 19th century, with the unification of Nepal under King Prithvi Narayan Shah, Nepali became the official language of the newly unified kingdom. This development helped establish Nepali as a standardized language for communication, governance, and education throughout the country. In the 20th century, Nepali underwent further modernization, particularly with the influence of Western education and media. Today, Nepali is the official language of Nepal, spoken by millions both in the country and in communities abroad, and serves as a symbol of national identity.
To hear the 1st paragraph read of the Nepali Philosopher's Stone translation, Click Here.
ISBN: 9789937813709
The publishing story of the Nepali Harry Potter book is quite interesting in its own right.
The Nepali translation, ह्यारी पोटर र पारसमणि was translated by Shlesha Thapaliya and Bijaya Adhikari and published by the now defunct Sunbird Publishing House. Again here, I’m not sure how many books were printed, but again I don’t think over 1,000; and honestly, I feel 1,000 is a generous number. Sunbird Publishing House was formed by five women who wanted to combine their professional talents to help improve falling literacy rates among the Nepali youth. After much consideration, the women thought that Nepali children and teenagers would enjoy reading the Potter books. The women were also hoping that having Harry Potter translated into Nepali would also encourage Nepali writers to write for their youth. After writing to J.K. Rowling about their plight, Rowling responded positively and the rights were purchased for a nominal royalty. The book was sold around Kathmandu but was ultimately aimed at the youth in Nepal’s interior villages. This factor along with probable very low print run and difficulty of outsiders to access parts of Nepal even via the internet has made this book extremely hard-to-find. Importantly, this book is the only authorized Nepali translation of Harry Potter. There are unauthorized versions of the complete Potter series found around Nepal, but from what I know, their covers are different.