Wayu
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A language of Nepal
1,565, all users. L1 users: 1,520 (2011 census), decreasing. L2 users: 45 (2011 census). No monolinguals.
Bagmati province: Ramechhap district, Ramechhap municipality, Mudajor and Sukajor villages; Sindhuli district, Golanjor municipality, Manedihi village, along Sunkoshi river.
6b (Threatened). Language of recognized indigenous nationality: Hayu.
Sindhuli, Marin Khola.
SOV; postpositions; noun head final; no noun classes or genders; content q-word in situ; clause constituents indicated by case-marking; verbal affixation marks person and number; ergativity; tense; no passives or voice; nontonal; 27 consonant and 8 vowel phonemes.
Ethnic Wayu live on the hills on both sides of the Sun Kosi River but the language is only spoken in the villages listed. In 1995 many children in Mudajor were not learning Wayu but the language was alive and well in Manedihi (2002 UNESCO). A growing interest in language preservation. Religion; mixed use: Home, friends. Some young people, all adults. Negative attitudes. Many feel the language is an obstacle to progress, but a minority would like to keep speaking it. All also use Nepali [npi].
Grammar. Texts.
Strong Nepali [npi] influences in phonology, lexicon, and grammar (Matisoff 1991). Traditional religion, Hindu.