Marginalization of Indigenous Languages of Nepal (Report‪)‬

Introduction Nepal is a multi-ethnic and multi-lingual nation with different ecological zones such as mountain, hill, inner Tarai and Tarai. It is a home to 59 indigenous nationalities, who speak more than 70 languages. But many of the indigenous languages are seriously endangered and quite a few have been extinct due to the wrong language policy of the state before the introduction of multiparty democracy in the country. This paper defines the indigenous languages listing them according to government gazette, points out the process of their marginalization, evaluates their present situation, and suggests ways how to bring them to the main stream of national language and culture.