Page Type: languageDewas Rai | Ethnologue

DWZ ISO 639-3

Dewas Rai

राई‎ (rāī), राई दनुवार‎ (rāī danuwār) Autonym

A language of Nepal

ISO 639
dwz
Alternate Names
Danuwar Rai, Rai Danuwar
Autonym
राई‎ (rāī), राई दनुवार‎ (rāī danuwār)
Population
10,300, all users. L1 users: 10,000 (2017 SIL). L2 users: 300 (2018 SIL). No monolinguals (2018 SIL). Ethnic population: 30,000 (2018 SIL).
Location:
Bagmati province: Makwanpur district, Bagmati municipality; Sindhuli district, Hariharpurgadhi municipality; Janakpur province: Bara district, Nijagadh municipality; Rautahat district, Chandrapur and Gujara municipalities; Sarlahi district, Bagmati municipality.
Language Status
6b (Threatened).
Classification
Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Unclassified
Dialects
Reported distinct dialect in Bagmati municipality of Makwanpur district. Lexical similarity: below 60% with Danuwar [dhw].
Language Use
Use decreasing among children in some areas (2017 SIL). Home, friends; Mixed use: work, religion, community. Some young people, all adults. Positive attitudes. Most also use Nepali [npi].
Language Development
Literacy rate in L2: 15% in Nepali [npi]. Dictionary. Bible portions: 1976.
Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Dewas Rai
Writing
Devanagari script [Deva].
Other Comments
Previously defined as a dialect of Danuwar [dhw]. Some disagreement within the community on language and ethnic group name. Hindu, Christian, traditional religion.

Also Spoken in

Map

Location: Bagmati province: Makwanpur district, Bagmati municipality; Sindhuli district, Hariharpurgadhi municipality; Janakpur province: Bara district, Nijagadh municipality; Rautahat district, Chandrapur and Gujara municipalities; Sarlahi district, Bagmati municipality.