Nepali language

official language of Nepal

The Nepali language is the official language of Nepal and a language in India. Besides Nepal it is spoken in India, Bhutan and parts of Burma. In the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal also it is an official language. This language is also known as Gorkhali Language or Khaskura. It is believed to have originated from the ancient Sanskrit language from which it takes many words. It is written in Devanagari style of writing which is similar to Hindi. It is spoken throughout Nepal and is the mother tongue of more than half of the population. It is also used by the Government of Nepal for all official purposes. In Nepal it is compulsory to study Nepali language as a subject until Grade 10 (High School).

Nepali
Gorkhali, Khas-kurā
नेपाली/गोरखाली/खस कुरा
The word "Nepali" written in Devanagari
Native toNepal and India
EthnicityKhas people[1]
Native speakers
20 million[2]
Devanagari
Devanagari Braille
Takri (historical)
Signed Nepali
Official status
Official language in
   Nepal
 India (Sikkim, West Bengal)
Regulated byNepal Academy
Language codes
ISO 639-1ne
ISO 639-2nep
ISO 639-3nep – inclusive code
Individual codes:
npi – Nepali
dty – Doteli
Glottolognepa1254
nepa1252  duplicate code
Linguasphere59-AAF-d
World map with significant Nepali language speakers
Dark Blue: Main official language,
Light blue: One of the official languages,
Red: Places with significant population or greater than 20% but without official recognition.
Part of a series on
Constitutionally recognised languages of India
Category
Scheduled Languages

A
Assamese
B
Bengali
Bodo
D
Dogri
G
Gujarati
H
Hindi
K
Kannada
Kashmiri
Konkani
M
Maithili
Malayalam
Marathi
Meitei (Manipuri)
N
Nepali
O
Odia (Oriya)
P
Punjabi
S
Sanskrit
Santali
Sindhi
T
Tamil
Telugu
U
Urdu

Related

Official languages of India
Languages with official status in India

References

change
  1. Richard Burghart 1984, pp. 118–119.
  2. Nepali at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
    Nepali at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
    Doteli at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)