The official language of Kathmandu is Nepali but this is not the only language of the region. The Nepal Bhasa is a language, which is closely related to and influenced by the official language, but the origin of the two are different. While the official language of Kathmandu is of Indo-Aryan origin, the Nepal Bhasa is one of the Sino Tibetan language. The Indo Aryan languages include most of the languages spoken in India, while the Sino Tibetan languages include the Burmese language, Chinese language, and all other south East Asian languages.
Languages Spoken in Nepal
The official Nepali language is known by many regional names, such as Bhasa Purbi, Gorkhali, Khas Kura, Parbati Bhasa, Eastern Pahari Bhasa and the likes. Hindi and English are easily understood and tourists knowing either or both languages would find it easy to interact with people of Kathmandu. Apart from these a number of dialects too are in use by people from different region of Nepal. It is not unusual to find people interacting in Kathmandu using these dialects. The following are the names of some of these dialects:
- Bhojpuri
- Jirel
- Baragaunle
- Kayort
- Bodo
- Darmiya
- Bote Majhi
- Byangsi
- Camling
- Chantel
- Chepang
- Kagate
- Chukwa
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- Bantawa
- Dhanwar
- Athpariya
- Dhimal
- Bagheli
- Awadhi
- Dungmali
- Baraamu
- Dolpo
- Chourase
- Ghale Northern
- Bahing
- Belhariya
- Gharti
- Gurung
- Dumi
- Helambu Sherpa
- Dzongkha
- Chhathar
- ChhulungDarai
- Humla Bhotia
- Gurung Eastern
- Jerung
- Ghale Southern
- Ghali Kutang
- Kaike
- Chaudangsi
The Indo Aryan Nepali Language is written in Devanagari script. The pronunciation of the words is the same as the written language. The alphabets comprise thirty-three consonants and 11 vowels. The Nepal Bhasa is spoken by the Newars. This language has its birth in the valley of Kathmandu. In Nepal, there are twenty million people who speak Nepali language. Out of these 20 million people, the language is the mother tongue of 11 million people in Nepal. Apart from Nepal, Nepali is spoken also in Bhutan, Tibet, China and Northeastern hilly regions of India, including Darjeeling.
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