The Newar are the indigenous group of Nepal's Kathmandu valley. Newars are a linguistic community with multiple ethnicity/race (Mongoloid, Indo-Aryan, and Dravidian) and faith, bound together by a common language1. The term Newar applies roughly to the people who inhabited Kathmandu valley and its peripheries before the unification of Nepal and speaking Nepal Bhasa or the languages progenitor of Nepal Bhasa. According to Nepal’s 2001 census, the 1,245,232 Newar in the country are the nation's sixth largest ethnic group, representing 5.48% of the population. The main Newari language is Nepal Bhasa, is of Tibeto-Burman origin and 825,458 Nepalese speak Newari as their mother language.
NEPAL BHASA (नेपाल भाषा)
Nepalbhasa (Newari Language) is the oldest language of Sino-Tibetan Group in South Asia. The Newars speak Nepal Bhasha, a Himalayan language of Tibeto-Burman branch of the Sino-Tibetan group. It has been incorrectly called by the term ‘Newari’ by westerners and non-Newars of Nepal. From the very beginning of history of Nepal it has been known as Nepal Bhasha. According to the research findings on this language it is proved that Nepal Bhasha shares the feature of Kirant and Tibetan dialects of Northen Himalayas. Nepalbhasa is one of the Sino-Tibetan languages which have old literature extant.
Nepal Bhasa originated in the Kathmandu Valley, the capital of Nepal. After Nepali, the national language, it is the second most widely spoken language here. Nepal Bhasa embodies the valley's rich cultural heritage and is a vibrant part of its social life. A number of daily and weekly newspapers are published in the tongue, and regular programs are broadcast over the radio. It is also spoken in many towns throughout Nepal.