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.

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

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]

National languages

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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 people have about 30 languages. Some of the languages are similar and may be considered dialects. The distinction between dialects and languages is sometimes unclear.[7]

Classification

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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, the Tharu languages and Urdu 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%[8] of population), it includes a greater number of languages, about 63 languages. Languages belonging to this group include Tamang, Nepal Bhasa (Newar), Magar and Limbu.

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-European 21,752,496 82.10%
Sino-Tibetan 4,584,871 17.31%
Austro-Asiastic 49,858 0.19%
Dravidian 33,651 0.13%
Others/Not reported 73,375 0.27%
Total 26,494,504 100%

Constitutional status

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Street sign in Ranjana script, Devanagari script and English in Kathmandu

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

  • Article 6: All languages spoken as the mother tongue in Nepal are the languages of the nation.
  • Article 7(1): The Nepali language in the Devanagari script shall be the official language of Nepal.
  • Article 7(2): A Province may, by a provincial law, determine one or more than one languages of the nation spoken by a majority of people within the Province as its official language or languages, in addition to the Nepali language.

Languages in Nepal as of 2021

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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]

Mother tongues

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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. [1]

Population by mother tongue and sex, NPHC 2021[1]

Number of native speakers (2021 Census)
Rank Language Total Percentage
All MotherTongues 29,164,578 100
1 Nepali 13,084,457 44.86
2 Maithili 3,222,389 11.05
3 Bhojpuri 1,820,795 6.24
4 Tharu 1,714,091 5.88
5 Tamang 1,423,075 4.88
6 Bajjika 1,133,764 3.89
7 Avadhi 864,276 2.96
8 Nepalbhasha(Newari) 863,380 2.96
9 Magar Dhut 810,315 2.78
10 Doteli 494,864 1.7
11 Urdu 413,785 1.42
12 Yakthung/Limbu 350,436 1.2
13 Gurung 328,074 1.12
14 Magahi 230,117 0.79
15 Baitadeli 152,666 0.52
16 Rai 144,512 0.5
17 Achhami 141,444 0.48
18 Bantawa 138,003 0.47
19 Rajbanshi 130,163 0.45
20 Sherpa 117,896 0.4
21 Khash 117,511 0.4
22 Bajhangi 99,631 0.34
23 Hindi 98,399 0.34
24 Magar Kham 91,753 0.31
25 Chamling 89,037 0.31
26 Ranatharu 77,766 0.27
27 Chepang 58,392 0.2
28 Bajureli 56,486 0.19
29 Santhali 53,677 0.18
30 Danuwar 49,992 0.17
31 Darchuleli 45,649 0.16
32 Uranw/Urau 38,873 0.13
33 Kulung 37,912 0.13
34 Angika 35,952 0.12
35 Majhi 32,917 0.11
36 Sunuwar 32,708 0.11
37 Thami 26,805 0.09
38 Ganagai 26,281 0.09
39 Thulung 24,405 0.08
40 Bangla 23,774 0.08
41 Ghale 23,049 0.08
42 Sampang 21,597 0.07
43 Marwadi 21,333 0.07
44 Dadeldhuri 21,300 0.07
45 Dhimal 20,583 0.07
46 Tajpuriya 20,349 0.07
47 Kumal 18,435 0.06
48 Khaling 16,514 0.06
49 Musalman 16,252 0.06
50 Wambule 15,285 0.05
51 Bahing/Bayung 14,449 0.05
52 Yakkha 14,241 0.05
53 Sanskrit 13,906 0.05
54 Bhujel 13,086 0.04
55 Bhote 12,895 0.04
56 Darai 12,156 0.04
57 Yamphu/Yamphe 10,744 0.04
58 Nachhiring 9,906 0.03
59 Hyolmo/Yholmo 9,658 0.03
60 Dumi 8,638 0.03
61 Jumli 8,338 0.03
62 Bote 7,687 0.03
63 Mewahang 7,428 0.03
64 Puma 6,763 0.02
65 Pahari 5,946 0.02
66 Athpahariya 5,580 0.02
67 Dungmali 5,403 0.02
68 Jirel 5,167 0.02
69 Tibetan 5,053 0.02
70 Dailekhi 4,989 0.02
71 Chum/Nubri 4,284 0.01
72 Chhantyal 4282 0.01
73 Raji 4247 0.01
74 Thakali 4220 0.01
75 Meche 4203 0.01
76 Koyee 4152 0.01
77 Lohorung 3884 0.01
78 Kewarat 3469 0.01
79 Dolpali 3244 0.01
80 Done 3100 0.01
81 Mugali 2834 0.01
82 Jero/Jerung 2817 0.01
83 Karmarong 2619 0.01
84 Chhintang 2564 0.01
85 Lhopa 2348 0.01
86 Lapcha 2240 0.01
87 Munda/Mudiyari 2107 0.01
88 Manange 2022 0.01
89 Chhiling 2011 0.01
90 Dura 1991 0.01
91 Tilung 1969 0.01
92 Sign Language 1784 0.01
93 Byansi 1706 0.01
94 Balkura/Baram 1539 0.01
95 Baragunwa 1536 0.01
96 Sadri 1347 0
97 English 1323 0
98 Magar Kaike 1225 0
99 Sonaha 1182 0
100 Hayu/Vayu 1133 0
101 Kisan 1004 0
102 Punjabi 871 0
103 Dhuleli 786 0
104 Khamchi(Raute) 741 0
105 Lungkhim 702 0
106 Lowa 624 0
107 Kagate 611 0
108 Waling/Walung 545 0
109 Nar-Phu 428 0
110 Lhomi 413 0
111 Tichhurong Poike 410 0
112 Kurmali 397 0
113 Koche 332 0
114 Sindhi 291 0
115 Phangduwali 247 0
116 Belhare 177 0
117 Surel 174 0
118 Malpande 161 0
119 Khariya 132 0
120 Sadhani 122 0
121 Hariyanwi 114 0
122 Sam 106 0
123 Bankariya 86 0
124 Kusunda 23 0
125 Others 4201 0.01
126 Not stated 346 0

Second Language

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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.[1]

Population by second language, NPHC 2021

Rank Second Language Total Percentage
Total 29164578 100
1 No Second Language 14023086 48.08
2 Nepali 13482904 46.23
3 Maithili 267621 0.92
4 Hindi 223106 0.76
5 Bhojpuri 138572 0.48
6 English 102561 0.35
7 Tharu 89606 0.31
8 Bajjika 86062 0.3
9 Avadhi 75651 0.26
10 Urdu 72128 0.25
11 Tamang 71569 0.25
12 Magar Dhut 54143 0.19
13 Bhote 45292 0.16
14 Bantawa 43536 0.15
15 Nepalbhasha(Newari) 32604 0.11
16 Chamling 29253 0.1
17 Magahi 29191 0.1
18 Gurung 23698 0.08
19 Yakthung/Limbu 19705 0.07
20 Thulung 17187 0.06
21 Magar Kham 16814 0.06
22 Bahing/Bayung 15104 0.05
23 Rai 14398 0.05
24 Doteli 14344 0.05
25 Sampang 14261 0.05
26 Khaling 10370 0.04
27 Baitadeli 9521 0.03
28 Sherpa 9435 0.03
29 Sanskrit 6615 0.02
30 Achhami 6522 0.02
31 Angika 6127 0.02
32 Musalman 6084 0.02
33 Kulung 6039 0.02
34 Dumi 5870 0.02
35 Dadeldhuri 5535 0.02
36 Bangla 5447 0.02
37 Wambule 5227 0.02
38 Darchuleli 4272 0.01
39 Puma 4271 0.01
40 Rajbanshi 4103 0.01
41 Bote 3891 0.01
42 Mewahang 3669 0.01
43 Marwadi 3449 0.01
44 Nachhiring 3176 0.01
45 Tibetan 3134 0.01
46 Bajhangi 2641 0.01
47 Khash 2607 0.01
48 Chhintang 2135 0.01
49 Tilung 1762 0.01
50 Sunuwar 1597 0.01
51 Belhare 1491 0.01
52 Punjabi 1274 0
53 Dungmali 1271 0
54 Jero/Jerung 1245 0
55 Jumli 1125 0
56 Bajureli 1076 0
57 Dhimal 999 0
58 Majhi 971 0
59 Ghale 963 0
60 Koyee 928 0
61 Ranatharu 871 0
62 Thami 859 0
63 Danuwar 845 0
64 Chepang 833 0
65 Sign Language 828 0
66 Bhujel 740 0
67 Thakali 733 0
68 Yakkha 704 0
69 Santhali 703 0
70 Chhiling 685 0
71 Ganagai 644 0
72 Lohorung 622 0
73 Kumal 615 0
74 Kagate 615 0
75 Darai 591 0
76 Khamchi(Raute) 526 0
77 Magar Kaike 515 0
78 Hyolmo/Yholmo 508 0
79 Yamphu/Yamphe 494 0
80 Dailekhi 434 0
81 Chhantyal 394 0
82 Hayu/Vayu 349 0
83 Koche 335 0
84 Jirel 332 0
85 Athpahariya 320 0
86 Balkura/Baram 307 0
87 Waling/Walung 304 0
88 Manange 304 0
89 Dura 278 0
90 Uranw/Urau 245 0
91 Lapcha 242 0
92 Sindhi 217 0
93 Tajpuriya 209 0
94 Dhuleli 187 0
95 Pahari 142 0
96 Lhopa 129 0
97 Dolpali 127 0
98 Sadhani 125 0
99 Sadri 106 0
100 Baragunwa 89 0
101 Phangduwali 85 0
102 Hariyanwi 84 0
103 Sam 79 0
104 Malpande 78 0
105 Raji 76 0
106 Meche 75 0
107 Tichhurong Poike 72 0
108 Surel 64 0
109 Kurmali 60 0
110 Bankariya 42 0
111 Kewarat 38 0
112 Sonaha 35 0
113 Karmarong 34 0
114 Kisan 33 0
115 Byansi 32 0
116 Kusunda 32 0
117 Lungkhim 28 0
118 Mugali 23 0
119 Others 159 0
120 Not stated 8105 0.03
Number of native speakers (2011 Census)[8]
Rank Language Language family Count Percentage
1 Nepali Indo-European 11,826,953 44.64%
2 Maithili Indo-European 3,092,530 11.67%
3 Bhojpuri Indo-European 1,584,958 5.98%
4 Tharu Indo-European 1,529,875 5.77%
5 Tamang Sino-Tibetan 1,353,311 5.11%
6 Nepal Bhasa (Newar) Sino-Tibetan 846,557 3.20%
7 Bajjika Indo-European 793,416 2.99%
8 Magar Sino-Tibetan 788,530 2.98%
9 Dotyali/Doteli Indo-European 787,827 2.97%
10 Urdu Indo-European 691,546 2.61%
11 Awadhi Indo-European 501,752 1.89%
12 Limbu Sino-Tibetan 343,603 1.30%
13 Gurung Sino-Tibetan 325,622 1.23%
14 Baitadeli Indo-European 272,524 1.03%
15 Rai (Kiranti) Sino-Tibetan 159,114 0.60%
16 Aachami Indo-European 142,787 0.54%
17 Bantawa (Rai) Sino-Tibetan 132,583 0.50%
18 Rajbanshi Indo-European 122,214 0.46%
19 Sherpa Sino-Tibetan 114,830 0.43%
20 Hindi Indo-European 77,569 0.29%
21 Chamling (Rai) Sino-Tibetan 76,800 0.29%
22 Bajhangi Indo-European 67,581 0.26%
23 Santhali Austro-Asiatic 49,858 0.19%
24 Chepang Sino-Tibetan 48,476 0.18%
25 Danuwar Indo-European 45,821 0.17%
26 Sunuwar Sino-Tibetan 37,898 0.14%
27 Magahi Indo-European 35,614 0.13%
28 Uranw/Kurux Dravidian 33,651 0.13%
29 Kulung (Rai) Sino-Tibetan 33,170 0.13%
30 Kham (Magar) Sino-Tibetan 27,113 0.10%
31 Rajasthani Indo-European 25,394 0.10%
32 Majhi Indo-European 24,422 0.09%
33 Thami Sino-Tibetan 23,151 0.09%
34 Bhujel Sino-Tibetan 21,715 0.08%
35 Bengali Indo-European 21,061 0.08%
36 Thulung (Rai) Sino-Tibetan 20,659 0.08%
37 Yakkha Sino-Tibetan 19,558 0.07%
38 Dhimal Sino-Tibetan 19,300 0.07%
39 Tajpuriya Indo-European 18,811 0.07%
40 Angika Indo-European 18,555 0.07%
41 Sampang (Rai) Sino-Tibetan 18,270 0.07%
42 Khaling (Rai) Sino-Tibetan 14,467 0.05%
43 Wambule (Rai) Sino-Tibetan 13,470 0.05%
44 Kumal Indo-European 12,222 0.05%
45 Darai Indo-European 11,677 0.04%
46 Bahing (Rai) Sino-Tibetan 11,658 0.04%
47 Bajureli Indo-European 10,704 0.04%
48 Hyolmo Sino-Tibetan 10,176 0.04%
49 Nachiring (Rai) Sino-Tibetan 10,041 0.04%
50 Yamphu (Rai) Sino-Tibetan 9,208 0.03%
51 Bote Indo-European 8,766 0.03%
52 Ghale Sino-Tibetan 8,092 0.03%
53 Dumi (Rai) Sino-Tibetan 7,638 0.03%
54 Lepcha Sino-Tibetan 7,499 0.03%
55 Puma (Rai) Sino-Tibetan 6,686 0.03%
56 Dungmali (Rai) Sino-Tibetan 6,260 0.02%
57 Darchuleli Indo-European 5,928 0.02%
58 Aathpariya (Rai) Sino-Tibetan 5,530 0.02%
59 Thakali Sino-Tibetan 5,242 0.02%
60 Jirel Sino-Tibetan 4,829 0.02%
61 Mewahang (Rai) Sino-Tibetan 4,650 0.02%
62 Sign Language 4,476 0.02%
63 Tibetan Sino-Tibetan 4,445 0.02%
64 Meche Sino-Tibetan 4,375 0.02%
65 Chhantyal Sino-Tibetan 4,283 0.02%
66 Raji Sino-Tibetan 3,758 0.01%
67 Lohorung (Rai) Sino-Tibetan 3,716 0.01%
68 Chhintang (Rai) Sino-Tibetan 3,712 0.01%
69 Gangai Indo-European 3,612 0.01%
70 Pahari Sino-Tibetan 3,458 0.01%
71 Dailekhi Indo-European 3,102 0.01%
72 Lhopa Sino-Tibetan 3,029 0.01%
73 Dura Sino-Tibetan 2,156 0.01%
74 Koch Sino-Tibetan 2,080 0.01%
75 Chiling (Rai) Sino-Tibetan 2,046 0.01%
76 English Indo-European 2,045 0.01%
77 Jerung (Rai) Sino-Tibetan 1,763 0.01%
78 Khas Indo-European 1,747 0.01%
79 Sanskrit Indo-European 1,669 0.01%
80 Dolpali Indo-European 1,667 0.01%
81 Hayu Sino-Tibetan 1,520 0.01%
82 Tilung (Rai) Sino-Tibetan 1,424 0.01%
83 Koi (Rai) Sino-Tibetan 1,271 0.00%
84 Kisan Indo-European 1,178 0.00%
85 Waling (Rai) Sino-Tibetan 1,169 0.00%
86 Musalban Indo-European 1,075 0.00%
87 Hariyani/Haryanvi Indo-European 889 0.00%
88 Jumli Indo-European 851 0.00%
89 Lhomi Sino-Tibetan 808 0.00%
90 Punjabi Indo-European 808 0.00%
91 Belhare (Rai) Sino-Tibetan 599 0.00%
92 Odia Indo-European 584 0.00%
93 Sonaha Indo-European 579 0.00%
94 Sindhi Indo-European 518 0.00%
95 Dadeldhuri Indo-European 488 0.00%
96 Byangshi Sino-Tibetan 480 0.00%
97 Assamese Indo-European 476 0.00%
98 Raute Sino-Tibetan 461 0.00%
99 Saam (Rai) Sino-Tibetan 401 0.00%
100 Manange Sino-Tibetan 392 0.00%
101 Dhuleli Sino-Tibetan 347 0.00%
102 Phangduali (Rai) Sino-Tibetan 290 0.00%
103 Surel Sino-Tibetan 287 0.00%
104 Malpande Indo-European 247 0.00%
105 Chinese Sino-Tibetan 242 0.00%
106 Khariya Austro-Asiatic 238 0.00%
107 Kurmali Indo-European 227 0.00%
108 Baram Sino-Tibetan 155 0.00%
109 Lingkhim (Rai) Sino-Tibetan 129 0.00%
110 Sadhani Indo-European 122 0.00%
111 Kagate Sino-Tibetan 99 0.00%
112 Dzongkha Sino-Tibetan 80 0.00%
113 Bankariya Sino-Tibetan 69 0.00%
114 Kaike Sino-Tibetan 50 0.00%
115 Garhwali (Gadhawali) Indo-European 38 0.00%
116 French Indo-European 34 0.00%
117 Mizo Sino-Tibetan 32 0.00%
118 Kuki Sino-Tibetan 29 0.00%
119 Kusunda Language Isolate 28 0.00%
120 Russian Indo-European 17 0.00%
121 Spanish Indo-European 16 0.00%
122 Nagamese Sino-Tibetan 10 0.00%
123 Arabic Afro-Asiatic 8 0.00%
Not reported 47,718 0.18%
Others 21,173 0.08%
Total 26,494,504 100%
Second language speakers (2011 Census)
Language Count Percentage
Nepali 8,682,499 32.77%
Maithili 1,225,950 4.62%
Hindi 195, 287 0.73%
Bhojpuri 159,518 0.60%
Tharu 84,748 0.32%
English 81,447 0.30%
Bajjika 60,863 0.23%
Urdu 45,766 0.17%
Awadhi 45,428 0.17%
Magar 42,952 0.16%
Tamang 33,450 0.12%
Nepal Bhasa (Newar) 32,594 0.12%
Sanskrit 2,975 0.01%
Others 190,327 0.72%
Total 10,883,804 41.04%

Official languages

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Government office with signage in Ranjana script, Devanagari and English.

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.[3]

Scripts

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Most of the languages are found exclusively in oral form. According to the Language Commission, fifteen scripts are currently in use in Nepal,[3][11] including the following:

See also

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Further reading

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  • Hale, Austin. 1973. Clause, sentence, and discourse patterns in selected languages of Nepal IV: word lists. SIL and Tribhuvan University Press (CLDF dataset on Zenodo doi:10.5281/zenodo.3537629)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "National Population and Housing Census 2021 National Report on Caste/ethnicity, Language & Religion"" (PDF).
  2. ^ a b c "The Constitution of Nepal" (PDF). Nepal Law Commission. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "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.
  6. ^ "Constitution of Nepal, Part-1 Preliminary". Nepal Law Commission. Archived from the original on 15 September 2018.
  7. ^ Kansakar, Tej R. (Fall 1996). "Multilingualism and the Language Situation in Nepal" (PDF). Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area. 19 (2).
  8. ^ a b c "Population Monograph of Nepal Volume II (Social Demography)" (PDF).
  9. ^ Whitehouse, Paul; Usher, Timothy; Ruhlen, Merritt; Wang, William S.-Y. (13 April 2004). "Kusunda: An Indo-Pacific language in Nepal". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 101 (15): 5692–5695. Bibcode:2004PNAS..101.5692W. doi:10.1073/pnas.0400233101. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 397480. PMID 15056764.
  10. ^ Hurlbut, Hope M. (June 2012). A Lexicostatistic Survey of the Signed Languages in Nepal (PDF) (Report). SIL International. SIL Electronic Survey Report 2012-021.
  11. ^ Ganesh, Rai. "प्रदेशमा ११ भाषा सिफारिस". Kantipur Daily. Retrieved 29 October 2021. आयोगले १५ वटा लिपि प्रचलनमा रहेको जनाएको छ ।