of around 800,000 (metropolitan area: 1.5 million), is the largest city in the country. Languages Nepal's diverse linguistic heritage evolved from four major language groups:  Indo-Aryan ,  Tibeto-Burman ,  Mongolian  and various  indigenous language  isolates. The major languages of Nepal (percent spoken as mother tongue) are  Nepali  (48.61%),  Maithili  (12.30%),  Bhojpuri