Languages of Nepal

Languages of Nepal
Official languages Nepali (Gorkhali)[1] English (de facto)
Regional languages

Urdu  • Limbu  • Maithili  • Nepalbhasa  • Angika  • Tharu  •

Gurung  • Tamang  • Magar  • Sherpa  • Dzongkha  • Kiranti  • Sunuwar  • Rajbanshi  • Bhojpuri
Sign languages Nepali Sign Language  • Jhankot Sign Language  • Jumla Sign Language  • Ghandruk Sign Language

The 2011 National census lists 123 Nepalese languages spoken as a mother tongue (first language) in Nepal.[2] Most belong to the Indo-Aryan and Sino-Tibetan language families.

The official language of Nepal is Nepali, formerly called Khaskura then Gorkhali. According to the 2011 national census, the percentage of Nepali speaking people is about 44.6%.[3] Maithili is the second largest Nepalese language and according to 2011 Census, the percentage of Maithil people is 11.57%.[4]

Most of their languages are written using the Devanagari script including their indigenous languages.

Classification

Three quarters of the 123 languages native to Nepal belong to the Tibeto-Burman language family; this includes Nepalbhasa (Newa) (the original language of Kathmandu), the Limbu, Tamang, Magar, Gurung and various sunuwar, Rai languages.

However, the official and numerically most important language, Nepali, belongs to the Indo-Aryan (Indic) branch of the Indo-European family, so that Indic languages constitute 79% of the population to Tibeto-Burman's 18%, even though most languages of both families are spoken by small numbers of people.

The small declining number of Dravidian languages are represented by Kurux, and the Munda languages of the Austroasiatic family by Santali and Mundari.

The indigenous languages of Nepal that predated the influx of Indic, Tibeto-Burman, and other families barely survive in the Kusunda language, which is nearly extinct today.

Nepal also has at several indigenous village sign languages, Jhankot Sign Language, Jumla Sign Language, and Ghandruk Sign Language, in addition to the Nepali Sign Language designed for national use.

Constitution

Part 1 of the Constitution of Nepal 2015 (2072 B.S.) contains these provisions about the languages of Nepal:[5]

  • Article 6: All native languages spoken in Nepal are National languages of Nepal.
  • Article 7a: Nepali language in Devanagari script is used for Nepal government work. (Indigenous languages also are to be written using Devanagari.)
  • Article 7b: Beside Nepali language, the Provinces can choose one or more other languages spoken by majority population of that province for government work.

Languages in Nepal by numbers of native speakers

(Their percents are assumed to add to 100.)

Language Native Speaker Count Percentage (%)
Nepali11,826,95344.63926934
Maithili3,092,53011.67234533
Bhojpuri1,584,9585.982214274
Tharu1,529,8755.774310778
Tamang1,353,3115.10789332
Nepalbhasa (Newa) 846,5573.195217393
Bajjika793,4162.994643719
Magar788,5302.976202159
Dotyali787,8272.973548778
Urdu691,5462.610148882
Awadhi501,7521.89379654
Limbu343,6031.296884063
Gurung325,6221.229017158
Baitadeli272,5241.028605782
Rai159,1140.600554741
Aachami142,7870.53893064
Bantaba132,5830.500416992
Rajbanshi122,2140.461280574
Sherpa114,8300.433410642
Hindi77,5690.289871439
Chamling76,8000.289871439
Bajhangi67,5810.255075543
Santhali49,8580.188182425
Chepang48,4760.182966248
Sunuwar37,8980.143040987
Language Not Known47,7180.180105278
Danuwar45,8210.172945302
Magahi35,6140.134420331
Uraue33,6510.127011247
Kulung33,1700.125195776
Kham27,1130.102334431
Rajasthani25,3940.095846293
Maghi24,4220.092177608
Thami23,1510.087380387
Bhujel21,7150.081960395
Other language21,1730.079914687
Bengali21,0610.079491958
Thulung20,6590.077974662
Yakhka19,5580.073819083
Dhimal19,3000.072845297
Tajpuriya18,8110.070999631
Angika18,5550.070033393
Sangpang18,2700.068957698
Khaling14,4670.054603777
Bambule13,4700.050840733
Kumal12,2220.046130322
Darau11,6770.044073292
Bahing11,6580.044001579
Bajureli10,7040.040400832
Hyomlo10,1760.038407966
Nachiring10,0410.037898426
Thmpu9,2080.034754378
Bote8,7660.033086107
Ghale8,0920.030542183
Dumi7,6380.02882862
Lepcha7,4990.028303983
Puma6,6860.025235422
Dumangli6,2600.023627542
Darchuleli5,9280.022374452
AathPahariya5,5300.020872253
Thakali5,2420.019785235
Jireli4,8290.018226422
Mobahang4,6500.01755081
Sanketik4,4760.01689407
Tibbati4,4450.016777064
Meche4,3750.016512859
Chhantyal4,2830.016165617
Raji3,7580.014184074
Lohorung3,7160.01402555
Chintal3,7120.014014646
Gangai3,6120.013633016
Pahari3,4580.013051763
Dailekhi3,1020.011708089
Lhopaa3,0290.01143256
Dura2,1560.008137537
Koche2,0800.007850685
Chiling2,0460.007722356
English2,0450.007669515
Jerojerung1,7630.00665421
Khas1,7470.00659382
Sanskrit1,6690.00629942
Total26,494,504100

See Also

References

  1. ↑ According to Interim Constitution, Nepali is only the official language (article 5, point 2). Other languages spoken as the mother tongue in Nepal are national languages (article 5, point 1). According to article 5, point 3, all languages are accepted as official languages at the regional level. This part of the article is about native names and not about official language.Nepal_Interim_Constitution2007
  2. ↑ Official Summary of Census (2011), Central Bureau of Statistics, Nepal Archived 2012-12-02 at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ↑ "Major highlights" (PDF). Central Bureau of Statistics. 2013. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  4. ↑ "Major highlights" (PDF). Central Bureau of Statistics , NepalI, Maithili and other Nepalese languages. 2013. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  5. ↑ Nepali Constitution 2015 Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. PDF
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