header banner

'Nepali' or 'Nepalese'? A linguist chimes in

alt=
Nepalese rest inside a van where they have taken shelter as it is considered safer in cars than inside houses with repeated aftershocks, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sunday, April 26.
By No Author
KATHMANDU, Nepal, May 3: What is the difference between the words "Nepali" and "Nepalese"? Very little, it seems — even if the question has come up repeatedly in newsrooms since the April 25 earthquake.

The ending "i'' in Nepal's main language is very similar to using "ese" in English (think how Americans turn words like "Brooklyn" or "bureaucrat" into "Brooklynese" or "bureaucratese")."Functionally, there is no difference," the Himalayan linguist Bhim Regmi wrote in an email. However, Regmi prefers "Nepali" to describe both the people of his country and the main language.

Why? Because he does not like to mix the local word "Nepal" with the English suffix "ese."



Related story

Linguist Pokharel passes away

Related Stories
The Week

A taste of the best

taste-of-the-best.jpg
My City

Book on tea’s history launched in Nepal

kanak_tea.jpg
ECONOMY

IMS Motors launches SsangYong Rexton in Nepalese m...

Rexton.gif
SOCIETY

Ten Nepali nationals  succumbed to COVID-19 in Ind...

coronavirus_20210112102539.jpg
ECONOMY

NYEF Kathmandu Startup Awards for Nepali startups

NYEFStartupAwardslogo_20210805173307.png