Magar Dhut ( ne, मगर ढुट, ) is a Sino-Tibetan Language spoken mainly in Nepal, Southern Bhutan, and in Darjeeling and Sikkim, India, by the Magar people. It is divided into two groups (Eastern and Western) and further dialect divisions give distinct tribal identity. In Nepal 788,530 people speak the language. While the government of Nepal developed Magar language curricula, as provisioned by the constitution, the teaching materials have never successfully reached Magar schools, where most school instruction is in the Nepali language. It is not unusual for groups with their own language to feel that the "mother-tongue" is an essential part of identity. The Dhut Magar language is sometimes lumped with the

Magar Kham language Magar Kham (मगर खाम), also known as ''Kham'', ''Kham Magar'', and ''Khamkura'', is the Sino-Tibetan language variety of the Northern Magar people of Nepal. The language is situated in the upper elevations of Baglung, East Rukum, an ...

spoken further west in Bheri, Dhaulagiri, and Rapti zones. Although the two languages share many common words, they have major structural differences and are not

mutually intelligible In linguistics, mutual intelligibility is a relationship between languages or dialects in which speakers of different but related varieties can readily understand each other without prior familiarity or special effort. It is sometimes used as an ...

Geographical distribution

Western Magar

Western Magar (dialects: ''Palpa'' and ''Syangja'') is spoken in the following

districts of Nepal Districts in Nepal are second level of administrative divisions after provinces. Districts are subdivided in municipalities and rural municipalities. There are seven provinces and 77 districts in Nepal. After the state's reconstruction of admi ...

(''

Ethnologue ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' (stylized as ''Ethnoloɠue'') is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world. It is the world's most comprehensiv ...

''). * Lumbini Zone: Palpa District * Gandaki Province: Syangja District, and Tanahu District * Small border area in Dhawalagiri Zone: Parbat District * Scattered throughout Bheri Zone: especially in Surkhet District, Jajarkot District, and Dailekh District

Eastern Magar

Eastern Magar (dialects: ''Gorkha'', ''Nawalparasi'', and ''Tanahu'') is spoken in the following

(''

''). * ''Zone 1: central mountains of Nepal east of the Bagmati River'' ** Gandaki Province: Tanahu District and southern Gorkha District ** Lumbini Zone: Palpa District Kapilvastu District and Nawalparasi District ** Small border area in Bagmati Zone: Dhading District * ''Zone 2: eastern Nepal'' ** Sindhuli District, Janakpur Zone ** Okhaldhunga District,

Sagarmatha Zone Sagarmāthā Zone ( ne, सगरमाथा अञ्चल) or Sagarmatha Anclal ( ne, सगरमाथा अञ्चल) was one of the fourteen zones of Nepal until the restructuring of zones into provinces. The headquarters of Sagarmat ...

** Udayapur District ** Scattered communities in central Kosi Zone, Dhankuta District, Bhojpur and southern

Province No. 1 Province No. 1 (proposed names: Kirat Autonomous State, Kirat, Limbuwan, Khambuwan Rashtriya Morcha, Nepal, Khambuwan, Mount Everest, Sagarmatha, Virata, Birat and Koshi River, Koshi) is the easternmost of the seven Provinces of Nepal, province ...

, Illam District, Jhapa District ** Some areas in India: Sikkim, Darjeeling, Assam, Manipur ** Southern Bhutan

Phonology

Consonants

*-only occur in the Tanahu dialect. is only a marginal phoneme.

Vowels

References

External links

detailed language map, western Nepal. Eastern Magar is language #33; Western Magar is #113.
*ELAR archive o
Magar language documentation materialsThe Magar language - Linguistics research - Folktales in Magar (Western) - Nepal
{{Authority control Languages of India Languages of Nepal Languages of Sikkim Magaric languages