Students in Toronto, Canada, are taking extra classes just so as to learn the Nepali language. The students normally meet every Tuesday evening close to Rose Avenue Junior Public School. They have a Nepali teacher and some written resources to help them master the Nepali language. Some of the things they are taught includes the Nepali alphabet, reading and writing in Nepali. Some of the students are originally Canadian, while other students are originally from Nepal and have a basic knowledge of the language. Most of the Nepali parents enrolled their children for the classes as they think that there are chances they could relocate back to Nepal and it would be easier for their children if they knew the Nepali language. The Canadian government provides a teacher if there are at least 20 students who are interested in learning a language.
Nepal is home to over 100 languages. Out of these, most of the population heavily relies on the Nepali language for their day to day communication, as it is the official language of the country. Two thirds of the Nepal population speak Nepali as their native language. This has led to the decline of other indigenous languages in the country. 11 languages have already become extinct, while 7 other languages have less than 100 speakers and 34 other languages are endangered as they have less than 500 speakers. Nepali used to be called Khas-Kura. It was the language that was used by the Khasa kingdom in Nepal during the 13th and 14th centuries. Other names that have been used to refer to the language before includes Gurkhali, Gorkhali, Parbatiya and Lhotshammikha.
Nepali is an Indo-Aryan language. Approximately 17 million people worldwide speak the language, 11 million of these people are based in Nepal. Speakers can be found in Nepal, India, Burma and Bhutan. Nepali is written using the Devanagari alphabet, which was developed from the Brahmi script. Other scripts that have been historically used to write the language includes the Takri script and Ranjana script. Nepali is closely related to other Tibeto-Burman languages such as Gurung and Kirati.
