Languages of Nepal
| Languages of Nepal | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Official languages | Nepali (Gorkhali) |
| Regional languages | Limbu • Maithili • Newar • Angika • Tharu • Gurung • Tamang • Magar • Sherpa • Kiranti • Sunuwar • Bhojpuri • Rajbanshi |
| 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. 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 Bhasi people is about 44.6%.Maithili is the second largest Nepalese language and according to 2011 Census, the percentage of Maithil people is 11.57%.
Three quarters of the 123 languages native to Nepal belong to the Tibeto-Burman language family; this includes Nepal Bhasa (Newar) (the original language of Kathmandu), the Limbu, Tamang, Magar 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 Dravidian languages are represented by Kurux, and the Munda languages of the Austroasiatic family by Santali and Mundari.
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