The career of endangered languages in Nepal’s young democracy

Borchers Dörte

Abstract

Most of the more than 70 languages spoken in Nepal played no role in the written history or in the public life of Nepal before the citizens of that country established in 1990 a multi-party democracy. The language of education, administration and the media was and still is almost exclusively the national language Nepali, but since the establishment of democracy, the awareness of the rights of speakers of other languages than Nepali grows continously and rapidly. The leaders of the non-Nepali speaking groups argue for their right to a bigger share of political power by pointing out that their people had settled in Nepal a long time before the Nepali-speakers immigrated from India. As a result of the establishment of democracy In Nepal, speakers of languages other than Nepali have for the first time in history a real chance to participate in the country's central political institutions. For these groups, their mother tongue is what makes them most obviously different from their neighbours and what connects them with the ancient history of the country. Despite this vital role, language plays in the process of accessing power and connecting people with their history, many young people who identify with being speakers of one of Nepal's smaller language only have a limited command of their parent's language. This article discusses the on-going change of the role of small languages in Nepal before and after the democratisation. The focus is on the interplay of language rights, claims on history and access to power.