major languages of Nepal (percent spoken as mother tongue) are  Nepali  (48.61%),  Maithili  (12.30%),  Bhojpuri  (7.53%),  Tharu  (5.86%),  Tamang  (5.19%),  Newari / Nepal Bhasa  (3.63%),  Magar  (3.39%), Awadhi  (2.47%),  Rai  (2.79%),  Limbu  (1.47%), and  Bajjika  (1.05%). Derived from  Sanskrit ,  Nepali  has roots in Sanskrit and is written in  Devanagari  script.