I am no linguist but here’s my two cents Nepali (the language) is a derivative of Sanskrit as are Hindi and Bengali. Since you don’t say Hindese or Bengalese, it makes sense not to lump all references to Asian languages in the same format, i.e. “noun + ese.” It may sound okay in case of Japanese, Burmese, Chinese etc but what is often forgotten is that it’s the East not the West that should come up with such “referral words.” While CI suggests that the “Location + I” rule is a dumb one, I think the same applies for “Location + ese.” Then you would have Pakistanese, Srilankese or whatever else you can think of. At the same time, I respect the argument that Newari and Kiranti are not the right terminologies. Bottomline- the use of –i- Vs –ese- is selective and for adjectives related to Nepal, it makes more sense to use Nepali(s). I mean c’mon talk to yourself- say “Nepali food” and then say “Nepalese food,” say “...us Nepalis” vs “...us Nepalese.” Which makes more sense to you? To me, its definitely “ Nepali culture” or “Nepalis in the US.” According to my limited knowledge of English language the plural of a noun more often has "s" in the end than "ese."