Languages of Nepal

Languages of Nepal
Ethnolinguistic map of Nepal
OfficialNepali
Semi-officialNewar, Maithili, Limbu, Bhojpuri, Bajjika, Tamang, Magar, Gurung, Tharu, Awadhi,
IndigenousMany Indo-Aryan languages and Sino-Tibetan languages; Kurukh, Santali
VernacularNepalese English
ForeignEnglish, Hindi
SignedNepali Sign Language  • Jhankot Sign Language  • Jumla Sign Language  • Ghandruk Sign Language
Keyboard layout
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 in 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]

  1. ^ "National Population and Housing Census 2021 National Report on Caste/ethnicity, Language & Religion"" (PDF).
  2. ^ "The Constitution of Nepal" (PDF). Nepal Law Commission. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  3. ^ "सरकारी कामकाजको भाषाका आधारहरूको निर्धारण तथा भाषासम्बन्धी सिफारिसहरू (पञ्चवर्षीय प्रतिवेदन- साराांश) २०७८" (PDF). Language Commission. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  4. ^ "नेपालको संविधानको प्रारम्भिक मस्यौदामा वर्ल्ड नेवाः अर्गनाइजेशनको सुझाव" [Organisation of the preliminary draft of Nepal's constitution] (PDF). Halin Newah. March 2016. p. 27. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  5. ^ "नेपालका सबै भाषाहरु नेपाली भाषा हुन्". Facebook. Retrieved 9 November 2021.