8. What is ____ spoken language?

(Mother tongue must be specified in code "1" and second language in code "2")

1. Mother tongue ____
2. Second language ____

Column 8: Which language does ____ speak?

1. Mother tongue
2. Second language

1. Mother Tongue - This is the first language taught by the parents and spoken since childhood in the household. In other words, the first language a person speaks from when they are taught how to speak and is spoken in the household is the mother tongue. When recording the mother tongue of newly born infants, the language spoken in the household should be written. Different languages are spoken in various places of Nepal. The first language that anyone speaks in the household since childhood should be written as the mother tongue. If the person is unable to speak, then indicate mother tongue as "Sign Language". There can be members speaking different mother tongues in one household. So, mother tongue of head of the household and other members of the household could be different.

Mother tongue can be different according to the caste/ethnic group. A person from same caste/ethnic group can have different mother tongue due to difference in social, cultural, geographical situation. For example, a person of Magar caste might not know Magar language. Children born from the parents with different caste/ethnic group might have different mother tongue than that of their parents.

In the course of enumeration, the meaning of mother tongue should be made clear to the respondent, and the mother tongue of every individual in the household should be asked and written. Examples of the mother tongue are as follows: Nepali, Maithili, Bhojpuri, Magar, Thakali, Tamang, Limbu, Awadhi, etc.

Personal Information

[10] What is the mother tongue and second language of [the respondent]?

Individual information
After collecting the introductory and household information of data sheet 1, there are questions for individual information collection on the right side of the page. To write individual information, a row has been allocated for each member of the family. Sequence and rules for information collection have been put accordingly. In line with this, ask the question and fill the information. The response of each individual question should be written in the respective column.

Column 10: what is the mother tongue and second language of [the respondent]?

1. Mother tongue - The first language a person has learnt from his or her parents since early childhood and has grown up speaking it at home/family. In other words, the first language a person has learn from his parents since his first speaking and continue it for conversation at home, should be called mother tongue. When writing the mother tongue of newborn baby, write the first language the family speak at home. Different languages are spoken in various parts of Nepal. Write the first language of a person since he or she has been speaking from his first word of early childhood in the family as the mother tongue. If a person is dumb from the birth, then his mother tongue should be written as "sign language." There might be different mother tongue speakers in a family. Hence, there is the possibility that the mother tongue of household head and other members of the family differs.

Mother tongue can be different among different castes and ethnicities. Similarly, even people who are from same caste/ethnic community, their mother tongue can be different due to their living in different social and geographical environment. E.g. even if a person is from Magar ethnic community, he might not know how to speak Magar language. The mother tongue of a child born from the marriage of different language speakers or different castes might be different from the mother tongue of their mother or father.

At the time of enumeration, make the respondents clear about what is mother tongue and ask each person what is their mother tongue and write down. Some of the examples of mother tongues are Nepalese, - Maithili, Tharu, Newari, Bhojpuri, Magar, Thakali, Tamang, Limbu, Awadhi, etc.

2. Second language: Among the enumerated persons, some may know only one language and some can speak more than one languages. Above, we said the first language that a person learn at home form his parents since his first speaking in early childhood is mother tongue. If a person can speak another language besides his mother tongue, identify which language he is usually used to communicate with neighbors, at work or with others, and specify that language as the second language.

[p. 55]

In other words, mother tongue is the first language and among the languages learnt later in life, the commonly used language to speak with neighbors, at work or with others is the second language. Do not write the language learnt by a person later in his or life as second language that are mostly not in use while communicating with others (neighbors, at work). If a person speaks more than two languages, the mostly used language should be written as second language.

If a person does not know well another language besides the mother tongue, to indicate that the person does not know another language write a dash (-), do not leave the space in blank. Do not write the language as second language that is already specified under mother tongue.