Kochila Tharu, also called Septari or Saptariya Tharu, Madhya-Purbiya Tharu, and Mid-Eastern Tharu, is a diverse group of language varieties in the Tharu group of the Indo-Aryan languages. The several names of the varieties refer to the regions where they dominate.[2] It is one of the largest subgroupings of Tharu.[3] It is spoken mainly in Nepal and India, with approximately 250,000 speakers as of 2003.[4] In addition to language, cultural markers around attire and customs connect individuals into the ethnic identity Kochila.
Kochila Tharu | |
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Native to | Nepal |
Ethnicity | Tharu |
Native speakers | 0.3 millions in Nepal (2011 census)[1] |
Language family | Indo-European
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Writing system | Devanagari |
Official status | |
Official language in | Tharuban of Nepal |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | thq |
Glottolog | koch1247 |
Heavily concentrated in the eastern area of Terai,[4] speakers of Kochila Tharu live in linguistically diverse regions and are generally multilingual (with the exception of some elderly female speakers).[5] A 2013 survey by SIL International found that the language was being taught to children as their first language and used conversationally between multiple generations of speakers, characteristics of a "vigorous" language as defined by the Ethnologue Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (EGIDS).[2][5]
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Languages of Nepal | |||||||||||||||||||
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Indigenous languages |
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Northwestern |
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Western |
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Central |
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See also: Old and Middle Indo-Aryan; Indo-Iranian languages; Nuristani languages; Iranian languages |