By Shaurya Kshatri
Kathmandu, Mar. 19: In what is seen as a significant step to promote and preserve Tharu language, Tharu Welfare Society has come out with a lexicon of Western Tharu language. The dictionary contains over 25,000 root words and is in the final stage of publication.
Five years in the making, the Tharu dictionary is the first of its kind, in that it is the only comprehensive list of dictionary containing words from Tharu language specifically spoken in the Western region of the country from Kapilvastu, Kailali, Banke, Bardiya, Surkhet and especially in Dang and Deukhuri.
Several different Tharu groups live across the Terai, each with its own unique language and culture. Tharus dispersed across the east are known as Kochila Tharu. Their language and traditions are quite different from Chitwan Tharus in Nepal’s central part. Likewise, other groups of Tharu are scattered across the West known as Deukhuri, Deshauria and Rana Tharus, according to a journal called Many Tongues, One People penned by anthropologist Arjun Gunaratne.
“This particular dictionary sheds light on the language used in Deukhuri, Dang and thus is the only comprehensive glossary for Western Tharu language,” said author, editor and compiler Uday Raj Ale. Ale, along with the team of Tharu Welfare Society, has worked on the dictionary for over five years. Since the language doesn’t have any written records, collection and compilation of the words became quite irksome. Years of interviews with native speakers, herb collectors, shamans and old-timers have resulted in over 25,000 words of unique and remarkably versatile terms.
Apart from Ale, Rajendra Prasad Chaudhary, Chhabilal Kopila, Kunna Narayan Chaudhary, Sher Bahadur Chaudhary, Bam Dev Chaudhary, Jagat Ram Chaudhary, Tika Ram Chaudhary, Debi Singh Chaudhary, Chet Ram Chaudhary, Bal Govind Chaudhary have also played significant roles in preserving the hitherto orally-transmitted Tharu language in written words.
“Tharu language does not have its own script. Devnagari script has been used throughout as written script for Tharu words. It should also be noted that Tharu language does not have all the sounds of the Nepali language. Therefore, some vowels and consonants of the Nepali language are omitted. However, writing in the Devnagari script, we found that Devnagari lacks graphemes,” said Bal Govinda Chaudhary of Tharu Welfare Soceity and coordinator of the dictionary.
“New generations are using Nepali and English words in their conversation. Typical Tharu words are disappearing gradually. The dictionary will preserve these words, but at the same time we have to encourage the new generation to speak their language in their daily life,” claimed Chaudhary.
Along with the meaning of the words, pictures of the extinct Tharu household items, clothes, and jewelry are also provided in the dictionary. The dictionary has used International Phonetic Alphabet aiming to ease further research on the topic as well as to initiate a curriculum to teach the local language.