Languages of Nepal explained

Country:Nepal
Official:Nepali
Semi-Official:Newar, Maithili, Limbu, Bhojpuri, Bajjika, Tamang, Magar, Gurung, Tharu, Awadhi, Dotyali, Khas language (Karnali dialect), English
Vernacular:Nepalese English
Indigenous:Many Indo-Aryan languages and Sino-Tibetan languages; Kurukh, Santali
Foreign:English, Hindi
Sign:Nepali Sign Language Jhankot Sign Language Jumla Sign Language Ghandruk Sign Language
Keyboard:QWERTY/Nepali keyboard

Languages of Nepal, referred to as Nepalese languages in the country's constitution, are the languages having at least an ancient history or origin inside the sovereign territory of Nepal spoken by Nepalis.

There were 124 mother tongues according to the "National Report on caste/ethnicity, language & religion", National Population and Housing Census 2021 in Nepal.

Nepali accounted as a mother tongue for 44.86% while also being a second additional language for 46.2% of the total population.[1] Most belong to the Indo-Aryan and Sino-Tibetan language families.

The official working language at federal level is Nepali, but the constitution provisions each province to choose one or more additional official working languages.[2] The Language Commission of Nepal On September 6, 2021 recommended 14 official languages for different provinces of Nepal.[3]

The mother languages of Nepal, or languages of Nepali origin are sometimes referred to as Nepali languages.[4] [5]

National languages

According to the constitution of Nepal, "All languages spoken as the mother tongue in Nepal are the languages of the nation".[6] Many of the languages also have various dialects. For example, the Rai community has about 30 languages. Some of the languages are similar and may be considered as a dialect. sometimes the distinction between dialects or completely different languages is unclear and might differ in opinions from person to person.[7]

Classification

Nepal's languages are mostly either Indo-European or Sino-Tibetan, while only a very few of them are Austro-Asiatic and Dravidian.

Out of 123 languages of Nepal, the 48 Indo-European languages, which are of the Indo-Aryan (Indic) sub-family (excluding English), constitute the largest group in terms of the numeric strength of their speakers, nearly 82.1%[8] of population. Nepali, Bhojpuri, Maithili, Awadhi, Tharu languages, Urdu, etc. fall in this group.

The Sino-Tibetan family of Nepal's languages forms a part of its Tibeto-Burman group. Though spoken by relatively fewer people than the Indo-European family (17.3% of population), it includes a greater number of languages, about 63 languages. Languages belonging to this group are Tamang, Nepal Bhasa (Newar), Magar, Limbu, etc.

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.[9]

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.[10]

Number of speakers by language family(2011 Census)!Language family!Number!Percentage
Indo-European21,752,49682.10%
Sino-Tibetan4,584,87117.31%
Austro-Asiastic49,8580.19%
Dravidian33,6510.13%
Others/Not reported73,3750.27%
Total26,494,504100%

Constitution

Part 1 of the Constitution of Nepal 2015 (2072 B.S.) contains these provisions about the languages of Nepal:[2]

Languages in Nepal as of 2021

There were 124 mother tongues according to the "National Report on caste/ethnicity, language & religion", National Population and Housing Census 2021 in Nepal.

Nepali accounted as a mother tongue for 44.86% while also being a second additional language for 46.2% of the total population.

Mother Tongues

There were 124 mother tongues according to the "National Report on caste/ethnicity, language & religion", National Population and Housing Census 2021 in Nepal.111 were previously reported in the earlier census 2011 and 13 were newly found in the census 2021.

The newly added mother tongues were Bhote, Lowa, Chum/Nubri, Baragunwa, Nar-Phu, Ranatharu, Karmarong, Mugali, Tichhurong Poike, Sadri, Done, Munda/Mudiyari and Kewarat.

Population by mother tongue and sex, NPHC 2021

RankMother TongueTotalPercentage
All MotherTongues29164578100
1Nepali1308445744.86
2Maithili322238911.05
3Bhojpuri18207956.24
4Tharu17140915.88
5Tamang14230754.88
6Bajjika11337643.89
7Avadhi8642762.96
8Nepalbhasha(Newari)8633802.96
9Magar Dhut8103152.78
10Doteli4948641.7
11Urdu4137851.42
12Yakthung/Limbu3504361.2
13Gurung3280741.12
14Magahi2301170.79
15Baitadeli1526660.52
16Rai1445120.5
17Achhami1414440.48
18Bantawa1380030.47
19Rajbanshi1301630.45
20Sherpa1178960.4
21Khash1175110.4
22Bajhangi996310.34
23Hindi983990.34
24Magar Kham917530.31
25Chamling890370.31
26Ranatharu777660.27
27Chepang583920.2
28Bajureli564860.19
29Santhali536770.18
30Danuwar499920.17
31Darchuleli456490.16
32Uranw/Urau388730.13
33Kulung379120.13
34Angika359520.12
35Majhi329170.11
36Sunuwar327080.11
37Thami268050.09
38Ganagai262810.09
39Thulung244050.08
40Bangla237740.08
41Ghale230490.08
42Sampang215970.07
43Marwadi213330.07
44Dadeldhuri213000.07
45Dhimal205830.07
46Tajpuriya203490.07
47Kumal184350.06
48Khaling165140.06
49Musalman162520.06
50Wambule152850.05
51Bahing/Bayung144490.05
52Yakkha142410.05
53Sanskrit139060.05
54Bhujel130860.04
55Bhote128950.04
56Darai121560.04
57Yamphu/Yamphe107440.04
58Nachhiring99060.03
59Hyolmo/Yholmo96580.03
60Dumi86380.03
61Jumli83380.03
62Bote76870.03
63Mewahang74280.03
64Puma67630.02
65Pahari59460.02
66Athpahariya55800.02
67Dungmali54030.02
68Jirel51670.02
69Tibetan50530.02
70Dailekhi49890.02
71Chum/Nubri42840.01
72Chhantyal42820.01
73Raji42470.01
74Thakali42200.01
75Meche42030.01
76Koyee41520.01
77Lohorung38840.01
78Kewarat34690.01
79Dolpali32440.01
80Done31000.01
81Mugali28340.01
82Jero/Jerung28170.01
83Karmarong26190.01
84Chhintang25640.01
85Lhopa23480.01
86Lapcha22400.01
87Munda/Mudiyari21070.01
88Manange20220.01
89Chhiling20110.01
90Dura19910.01
91Tilung19690.01
92Sign Language17840.01
93Byansi17060.01
94Balkura/Baram15390.01
95Baragunwa15360.01
96Sadri13470
97English13230
98Magar Kaike12250
99Sonaha11820
100Hayu/Vayu11330
101Kisan10040
102Punjabi8710
103Dhuleli7860
104Khamchi(Raute)7410
105Lungkhim7020
106Lowa6240
107Kagate6110
108Waling/Walung5450
109Nar-Phu4280
110Lhomi4130
111Tichhurong Poike4100
112Kurmali3970
113Koche3320
114Sindhi2910
115Phangduwali2470
116Belhare1770
117Surel1740
118Malpande1610
119Khariya1320
120Sadhani1220
121Hariyanwi1140
122Sam1060
123Bankariya860
124Kusunda230
125Others42010.01
126Not stated3460

Second Language

There were 25 languages that were being used as second language by more than 10 thousand population on each in the "National Report on caste/ethnicity, language & religion", National Population and Housing Census 2021 in Nepal, whereas there were only 18 such languages reported as second language in the earlier census 2011.

Population by second language, NPHC 2021

RankSecond LanguageTotalPercentage
Total29164578100
1No Second Language1402308648.08
2Nepali1348290446.23
3Maithili2676210.92
4Hindi2231060.76
5Bhojpuri1385720.48
6English1025610.35
7Tharu896060.31
8Bajjika860620.3
9Avadhi756510.26
10Urdu721280.25
11Tamang715690.25
12Magar Dhut541430.19
13Bhote452920.16
14Bantawa435360.15
15Nepalbhasha(Newari)326040.11
16Chamling292530.1
17Magahi291910.1
18Gurung236980.08
19Yakthung/Limbu197050.07
20Thulung171870.06
21Magar Kham168140.06
22Bahing/Bayung151040.05
23Rai143980.05
24Doteli143440.05
25Sampang142610.05
26Khaling103700.04
27Baitadeli95210.03
28Sherpa94350.03
29Sanskrit66150.02
30Achhami65220.02
31Angika61270.02
32Musalman60840.02
33Kulung60390.02
34Dumi58700.02
35Dadeldhuri55350.02
36Bangla54470.02
37Wambule52270.02
38Darchuleli42720.01
39Puma42710.01
40Rajbanshi41030.01
41Bote38910.01
42Mewahang36690.01
43Marwadi34490.01
44Nachhiring31760.01
45Tibetan31340.01
46Bajhangi26410.01
47Khash26070.01
48Chhintang21350.01
49Tilung17620.01
50Sunuwar15970.01
51Belhare14910.01
52Punjabi12740
53Dungmali12710
54Jero/Jerung12450
55Jumli11250
56Bajureli10760
57Dhimal9990
58Majhi9710
59Ghale9630
60Koyee9280
61Ranatharu8710
62Thami8590
63Danuwar8450
64Chepang8330
65Sign Language8280
66Bhujel7400
67Thakali7330
68Yakkha7040
69Santhali7030
70Chhiling6850
71Ganagai6440
72Lohorung6220
73Kumal6150
74Kagate6150
75Darai5910
76Khamchi(Raute)5260
77Magar Kaike5150
78Hyolmo/Yholmo5080
79Yamphu/Yamphe4940
80Dailekhi4340
81Chhantyal3940
82Hayu/Vayu3490
83Koche3350
84Jirel3320
85Athpahariya3200
86Balkura/Baram3070
87Waling/Walung3040
88Manange3040
89Dura2780
90Uranw/Urau2450
91Lapcha2420
92Sindhi2170
93Tajpuriya2090
94Dhuleli1870
95Pahari1420
96Lhopa1290
97Dolpali1270
98Sadhani1250
99Sadri1060
100Baragunwa890
101Phangduwali850
102Hariyanwi840
103Sam790
104Malpande780
105Raji760
106Meche750
107Tichhurong Poike720
108Surel640
109Kurmali600
110Bankariya420
111Kewarat380
112Sonaha350
113Karmarong340
114Kisan330
115Byansi320
116Kusunda320
117Lungkhim280
118Mugali230
119Others1590
120Not stated81050.03
Number of native speakers (2011 Census)! Rank! Language! Language family! Count! Percentage
1NepaliIndo-European11,826,953 44.64%
2MaithiliIndo-European3,092,530 11.67%
3BhojpuriIndo-European1,584,958 5.98%
4TharuIndo-European1,529,875 5.77%
5TamangSino-Tibetan1,353,311 5.11%
6Nepal Bhasa (Newar)Sino-Tibetan846,557 3.20%
7BajjikaIndo-European793,416 2.99%
8MagarSino-Tibetan788,530 2.98%
9Dotyali/DoteliIndo-European787,827 2.97%
10UrduIndo-European691,546 2.61%
11AwadhiIndo-European501,752 1.89%
12LimbuSino-Tibetan343,603 1.30%
13GurungSino-Tibetan325,622 1.23%
14BaitadeliIndo-European272,524 1.03%
15Rai (Kiranti)Sino-Tibetan159,114 0.60%
16AachamiIndo-European142,787 0.54%
17Bantawa (Rai)Sino-Tibetan132,583 0.50%
18RajbanshiIndo-European122,214 0.46%
19SherpaSino-Tibetan114,830 0.43%
20HindiIndo-European77,569 0.29%
21Chamling (Rai)Sino-Tibetan76,800 0.29%
22BajhangiIndo-European67,581 0.26%
23SanthaliAustro-Asiatic49,858 0.19%
24ChepangSino-Tibetan48,476 0.18%
25DanuwarIndo-European45,821 0.17%
26SunuwarSino-Tibetan37,898 0.14%
27MagahiIndo-European35,614 0.13%
28Uranw/KuruxDravidian33,651 0.13%
29Kulung (Rai)Sino-Tibetan33,170 0.13%
30Kham (Magar)Sino-Tibetan27,113 0.10%
31RajasthaniIndo-European25,394 0.10%
32MajhiIndo-European24,422 0.09%
33ThamiSino-Tibetan23,151 0.09%
34BhujelSino-Tibetan21,715 0.08%
35BengaliIndo-European21,061 0.08%
36Thulung (Rai)Sino-Tibetan20,659 0.08%
37YakkhaSino-Tibetan19,558 0.07%
38DhimalSino-Tibetan19,300 0.07%
39TajpuriyaIndo-European18,811 0.07%
40AngikaIndo-European18,555 0.07%
41Sampang (Rai)Sino-Tibetan18,270 0.07%
42Khaling (Rai)Sino-Tibetan14,467 0.05%
43Wambule (Rai)Sino-Tibetan13,470 0.05%
44KumalIndo-European12,222 0.05%
45DaraiIndo-European11,677 0.04%
46Bahing (Rai)Sino-Tibetan11,658 0.04%
47BajureliIndo-European10,704 0.04%
48HyolmoSino-Tibetan10,176 0.04%
49Nachiring (Rai)Sino-Tibetan10,041 0.04%
50Yamphu (Rai)Sino-Tibetan9,208 0.03%
51BoteIndo-European8,766 0.03%
52GhaleSino-Tibetan8,092 0.03%
53Dumi (Rai)Sino-Tibetan7,638 0.03%
54LepchaSino-Tibetan7,499 0.03%
55Puma (Rai)Sino-Tibetan6,686 0.03%
56Dungmali (Rai)Sino-Tibetan6,260 0.02%
57DarchuleliIndo-European5,928 0.02%
58Aathpariya (Rai)Sino-Tibetan5,530 0.02%
59ThakaliSino-Tibetan5,242 0.02%
60JirelSino-Tibetan4,829 0.02%
61Mewahang (Rai)Sino-Tibetan4,650 0.02%
62Sign Language4,476 0.02%
63TibetanSino-Tibetan4,445 0.02%
64MecheSino-Tibetan4,375 0.02%
65ChhantyalSino-Tibetan4,283 0.02%
66RajiSino-Tibetan3,758 0.01%
67Lohorung (Rai)Sino-Tibetan3,716 0.01%
68Chhintang (Rai)Sino-Tibetan3,712 0.01%
69GangaiIndo-European3,612 0.01%
70PahariSino-Tibetan3,458 0.01%
71DailekhiIndo-European3,102 0.01%
72LhopaSino-Tibetan3,029 0.01%
73DuraSino-Tibetan2,156 0.01%
74KochSino-Tibetan2,080 0.01%
75Chiling (Rai)Sino-Tibetan2,046 0.01%
76EnglishIndo-European2,045 0.01%
77Jerung (Rai)Sino-Tibetan1,763 0.01%
78KhasIndo-European1,747 0.01%
79SanskritIndo-European1,669 0.01%
80DolpaliIndo-European1,6670.01%
81HayuSino-Tibetan1,5200.01%
82Tilung (Rai)Sino-Tibetan1,4240.01%
83Koi (Rai)Sino-Tibetan1,2710.00%
84KisanIndo-European1,1780.00%
85Waling (Rai)Sino-Tibetan1,1690.00%
86MusalbanIndo-European1,0750.00%
87Hariyani/HaryanviIndo-European8890.00%
88JumliIndo-European8510.00%
89LhomiSino-Tibetan8080.00%
90PunjabiIndo-European8080.00%
91Belhare (Rai)Sino-Tibetan5990.00%
92OdiaIndo-European5840.00%
93SonahaIndo-European5790.00%
94SindhiIndo-European5180.00%
95DadeldhuriIndo-European4880.00%
96ByangshiSino-Tibetan4800.00%
97AssameseIndo-European4760.00%
98RauteSino-Tibetan4610.00%
99Saam (Rai)Sino-Tibetan4010.00%
100ManangeSino-Tibetan3920.00%
101DhuleliSino-Tibetan3470.00%
102Phangduali (Rai)Sino-Tibetan2900.00%
103SurelSino-Tibetan2870.00%
104MalpandeIndo-European2470.00%
105ChineseSino-Tibetan2420.00%
106KhariyaAustro-Asiatic2380.00%
107KurmaliIndo-European2270.00%
108BaramSino-Tibetan1550.00%
109Lingkhim (Rai)Sino-Tibetan1290.00%
110SadhaniIndo-European1220.00%
111KagateSino-Tibetan990.00%
112DzongkhaSino-Tibetan800.00%
113BankariyaSino-Tibetan690.00%
114KaikeSino-Tibetan500.00%
115Garhwali (Gadhawali)Indo-European380.00%
116FrenchIndo-European340.00%
117MizoSino-Tibetan320.00%
118KukiSino-Tibetan290.00%
119KusundaLanguage Isolate280.00%
120RussianIndo-European170.00%
121SpanishIndo-European160.00%
122NagameseSino-Tibetan100.00%
123ArabicAfro-Asiatic80.00%
Not reported47,7180.18%
Others21,1730.08%
Total26,494,504100%
Second language speakers (2011 Census)! Language! Count! Percentage
Nepali8,682,49932.77%
Maithili1,225,9504.62%
Hindi195, 2870.73%
Bhojpuri159,5180.60%
Tharu84,7480.32%
English81,4470.30%
Bajjika60,8630.23%
Urdu45,7660.17%
Awadhi45,4280.17%
Magar42,9520.16%
Tamang33,4500.12%
Nepal Bhasa (Newar)32,5940.12%
Sanskrit2,9750.01%
Others190,3270.72%
Total10,883,80441.04%

Official languages

See main article: Languages with official status in Nepal. Nepali in Devanagari script is the official working language in federal level. The constitution has provisioned provinces to choose one or more than one official language(s) besides Nepali.[2] According to the Language Commission of Nepal Maithili and Limbu are recommended to have official status in Province No. 1; Maithili, Bhojpuri and Bajjika in Province No. 2; Tamang and Nepal Bhasa in Bagmati Province; Magar and Gurung in Gandaki Province; Tharu and Awadhi in Lumbini Province; Nepali (Khas Bhasa)'s Karnali dialect and Magar in Karnali Province; Dotyali and Tharu in Sudurpashchim Province.

Scripts

Most of the languages are found exclusively in oral form. According to the Language Commission, fifteen scripts are currently in use in Nepal,[11] including the following:

See also

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: National Population and Housing Census 2021 National Report on Caste/ethnicity, Language & Religion". .
  2. Web site: The Constitution of Nepal . Nepal Law Commission . 28 October 2021.
  3. Web site: सरकारी कामकाजको भाषाका आधारहरूको निर्धारण तथा भाषासम्बन्धी सिफारिसहरू (पञ्चवर्षीय प्रतिवेदन- साराांश) २०७८ . Language Commission . 28 October 2021.
  4. नेपालको संविधानको प्रारम्भिक मस्यौदामा वर्ल्ड नेवाः अर्गनाइजेशनको सुझाव . Organisation of the preliminary draft of Nepal's constitution. Halin Newah . March 2016 . 27 . 9 November 2021.
  5. Web site: नेपालका सबै भाषाहरु नेपाली भाषा हुन् . . 9 November 2021.
  6. Web site: Constitution of Nepal, Part-1 Preliminary . Nepal Law Commission . https://web.archive.org/web/20180915191217/http://www.lawcommission.gov.np/en/archives/985 . 2018-09-15.
  7. Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area . 19. 2. Kansakar. Tej R.. Fall 1996. Multilingualism and the Language Situation in Nepal .
  8. Web site: Population Monograph of Nepal Volume II (Social Demography).
  9. Whitehouse. Paul. Usher. Timothy. Ruhlen. Merritt. Wang. William S.-Y.. 2004-04-13. Kusunda: An Indo-Pacific language in Nepal. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. en. 101. 15. 5692–5695. 10.1073/pnas.0400233101. 0027-8424. 397480. 15056764. 2004PNAS..101.5692W. free.
  10. Hurlbut. Hope M.. June 2012. A Lexicostatistic Survey of the Signed Languages in Nepal. SIL International. SIL Electronic Survey Report 2012-021.
  11. Web site: Ganesh . Rai . प्रदेशमा ११ भाषा सिफारिस . Kantipur Daily . 29 October 2021. आयोगले १५ वटा लिपि प्रचलनमा रहेको जनाएको छ ।