Languages of South Asia at SOAS: Nepali
Nepali is the national language of Nepal, spoken as a mother-tongue by over 50% of Nepal’s 20 million people, and as a second language by almost all other Nepalis. It is the official language of Sikkim and the Darjeeling district of West Bengal, and is also the dominant language of southern Bhutan.
Nepali is used as a lingua franca by large Nepali communities all over Himalayan India; it is closely related to Hindi and the other languages of north India, and possesses a rich body of modern literature.
See this article in the Nepali Times, by Professor Michael Hutt, on the learning and teaching of Nepali at SOAS.
We offer courses in Nepali language and literature at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, both as part of degree programmes within the Department, and as minor or open options on a wide variety of SOAS degrees. A selection of those programmes, as well as a list of Nepali courses, are listed below.
Contacts:
Professor Michael Hutt (mh8@soas.ac.uk), or Mr Krishna Pradhan (kp15@soas.ac.uk); or the Language Centre (languages@soas.ac.uk).
Degree Programmes
- BA South Asian Studies (4 years)
- BA South Asian Studies and... (4 years)
- Nepali Pathway
- BA South Asian Studies (3 years)
- BA South Asian Studies and... (3 years)
- Certificate in South Asian Studies
- MA Comparative Literature (Africa/Asia)
- MA Languages and Cultures of South Asia
- MA Postcolonial Studies
- MA South Asian Area Studies
- Degree Programmes with Language Options
Degree Course Options
- Nepali Language 1
- Nepali Language 2
- Nepali Language 3
- Directed Readings in a South Asian Literature or Culture (Nepali)
- Society, Culture and Politics in Nepal
- Nepali Language 1 (Postgraduate)
- Nepali Language 2 (Postgraduate)
- Directed Readings in the Literature of a Modern South Asian Language
Language Centre
Other Resources
Suggested reading
- M. J. Hutt and A. Subedi, Teach yourself Nepali, London 1999.
- M.J.Hutt, Himalayan voices: an introduction to modern Nepali literature, Berkeley, 1991.
- D.J. Matthews, A course in Nepali, London 1984.
- J. Whelpton, Nepal, Oxford 1990.
Please Note: Not all courses and programmes are available every year
