Magar language

Not to be confused with the Magyar language, known in English as Hungarian

Magar
मगर ढुट‎ (magar ḍhuṭ)
Native toNepal, India
RegionNepal; significant communities in Bhutan; Sikkim; Assam and Darjeeling district of India
Ethnicity2.0 million Magar (2021 census of Nepal)[1]
Native speakers
810,000 (2001–2006)[1]
Akkha script (official), Devanagari, Latin script
Official status
Official language in
 India
Language codes
ISO 639-3Either:
mgp – Eastern Magar
mrd – Western Magar
Glottologmaga1261
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

Magar Dhut (Nepali: मगर ढुट, Nepali: [ɖʱuʈ]) is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken mainly in Nepal, southern Bhutan, and in Darjeeling, Assam and Sikkim, India, by the Magar people. It is divided into two groups (Eastern and Western) and further dialect divisions give distinct tribal identity.[3] In Nepal 810,000 people speak the language.

While the government of Nepal developed Magar language curricula, as provisioned by the constitution, the teaching materials have never successfully reached Magar schools, where most school instruction is in the Nepali language.[4] It is not unusual for groups with their own language to feel that the "mother-tongue" is an essential part of identity.

The Dhut Magar language is sometimes lumped with the Magar Kham language spoken further west in Bheri, Dhaulagiri, and Rapti zones. Although the two languages share many common words, they have major structural differences and are not mutually intelligible.[5]

  1. ^ a b Eastern Magar at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024) Closed access icon
    Western Magar at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024) Closed access icon
  2. ^ "50th Report of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities in India" (PDF). 16 July 2014. p. 109. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 January 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  3. ^ "The Eastern Magar of Nepal". Archived from the original on 18 March 2007. Retrieved 12 September 2007.
  4. ^ B. K. Rana. "Mother Tongue Education for Social Inclusion and Conflict Resolution". Appeals, News and Views from Endangered Communities. Foundation for Endangered Languages. Archived from the original on 16 February 2003. Retrieved 12 September 2007.
  5. ^ Kansakar, Tej R. (July 1993). "The Tibeto-Burman Languages of Nepal - A General Survey" (PDF). Contributions to Nepalese Studies. 20 (2): 165–173. Retrieved 7 December 2020.