Raji is a small

Sino-Tibetan Sino-Tibetan, also cited as Trans-Himalayan in a few sources, is a family of more than 400 languages, second only to Indo-European in number of native speakers. The vast majority of these are the 1.3 billion native speakers of Chinese languages. ...

language of Nepal and

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Speakers were until recently nomadic.

Distribution

Raji is spoken in the following areas of southwestern Nepal: *

Lumbini Province Lumbini Province ( ne, लुम्बिनी प्रदेश, Lumbinī pradēśa) is a province in western Nepal. It borders Gandaki Province and Karnali Province to the north, Sudurpashchim Province to the west, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar o ...

: Banke and

Bardiya Bardiya or Smerdis ( peo, 𐎲𐎼𐎮𐎡𐎹 ; grc, Σμέρδις ; possibly died 522 BC), also named as Tanyoxarces ( grc, Τανυοξάρκης ) by Ctesias, was a son of Cyrus the Great and the younger brother of Cambyses II, both ...

districts *

Karnali Province Karnali Province ( ne, कर्णाली प्रदेश) is one of the seven federal provinces of Nepal formed by the new constitution which was adopted on 20 September 2015. The total area of the province is covering 18.97% of the cou ...

Surkhet Surkhet District ( ne, सुर्खेत जिल्ला, ) is a district in Karnali Province of mid-western Nepal. Surkhet is the one of the ten districts of Karnali located about west of the national capital Kathmandu. The district's are ...

Sudurpashchim Province Sudurpashchim Province ( ne, सुदूरपश्चिम प्रदेश, ''Sudurpashchim Province'') (''Far-West Province'') is one of the seven provinces established by the new constitution of Nepal which was adopted on 20 September ...

: Kailali and Kanchanpur districts It is also spoken by

Raji people The Raji people are a community found in Uttarakhand, India. , the Raji people are classified as a Scheduled Tribe The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvant ...

, primarily living in

Pithoragarh district Pithoragarh district is the easternmost district in the state of Uttarakhand. It is located in the Himalayas and has an area of and a population of 483,439 (as of 2011). The city of Pithoragarh, located in Saur Valley, is its headquarters. T ...

. In

, Rastogi (2015) reports that Raji is spoken in the hamlets of Kimkhola, Bhogtirua, Ganagaon, Chipaltara, Madanbori, Kutachaurani, Altodi, Jamtadi, Khirdwari and Chakarpur.

Dialects

Khatri (2008)Khatri, Ramesh. 2008. ''The structure of verbs and sentences of Raji''. MA thesis, Kirtipur: Tribhuvan University. divides Raji into 3 main regional dialects, for which he also provides word lists. *Barabandale: spoken in Jyotinagar, Katasi, Lalbojhi, Kuti, Bhuruwa, Solta, Khairehi, and Keodi of Kailali District; Sundarpur, Bandevi Sibir, Daiji, krishanpur and Chela Sibir of

Kanchanpur District Kanchanpur District ( ne, :ne:कञ्चनपुर जिल्ला, कञ्चनपुर जिल्ला ), a part of Sudurpashchim Province in the Terai plain, is one of seventy seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Bhimdatt ...

; and Rajigaun, Galfa, and Babiyachaur of

Surkhet District Surkhet District ( ne, सुर्खेत जिल्ला, ) is a district in Karnali Province of mid-western Nepal. Surkhet is the one of the ten Districts of Nepal, districts of Karnali located about west of the national capital Kathmandu ...

. *Purbiya: Shankarpur, Machhagadh, Baniyabhar, Rambhapur, Dhakela, Dhadhawar, Sanoshree, Gulariya Municipality and Phanphena of

Bardiya District Bardiya District ( ne, बर्दिया जिल्ला), one of the seventy-seven Districts of Nepal, is part of Lumbini Province of Nepal. The district, with Gulariya as its headquarters, covers an area of and according to the 2001 ce ...

.Also Speak in Chhinchu of

. *Naukule : Spoken in Jhil and Kuchaini of Chaumala, Shankarpur of Masuriya, Jarahi of Sadepani, Dhangaghi Municipality and Manera. All are located within Kailali District.

References

Raji–Raute languages Languages of Nepal Languages of Uttarakhand Endangered languages of India Languages of Lumbini Province Languages of Karnali Province {{st-lang-stub