Eastern Bantawa has the strongest vitality whereas Northern Bantawa is endangered with speakers shifting to Nepali. Language shift to Nepali is caused mainly by low homogeneity and relative prestige.

"Only 59% of the respondents states their children primarily use Bantawa when playing with their friends, with 30% stating their children mainly use Nepali. In addition, only 57% of the subjects said that they primarily speak with their own children in Bantawa. This may be an indication of language shift among the younger generation." (p. 49)

"[E]ven where Bantawa is quite vital and still passed on to the next generation, the pressure on the language from the national language Nepali is immense. Many Bantawa speakers switch code frequently and use many loans in everyday speech." (p.6)

Nepali is the national language and serves as the medium for schooling.