Kathmandu, February 22

Linguists in Nepal have underscored the need of equal treatment and even promotion of all mother languages spoken in Nepal.

At a seminar organised by Nepal Academy and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation on the occasion of International Mother Language Day, here, today, Professor Yogendra Prasad Yadav, chief of Department of Linguistics, Tribhuvan University, demanded an alternative provision for 22 per cent of the total population who, he said, do not know any Greek of Nepali language.

Inaugurating the seminar, State Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Bal Bahadur Mahat spoke of the need to provide education to children in their mother language.

Language experts Nawaraj Lamsal and Amrit Yonjan and Joint-Secretary at the Ministry of Education Labadev Awasthi presented working papers on Mother Language.

At the programme were Secretary of MoCTCA Prem Kumar Rai, Chancellor of Nepal Academy Ganga Prasad Uprety, former chancellor of the Academy Bairagi Kaila, Vice-chancellor of the Academy Bishnubibhu Ghimire, member secretary of the Academy Professor Jivendra Dev Giri and Chief of Mother Language Department, Nepal Academy Shrawan Mukarung, among others.

All of them pressed for the promotion of all mother languages in the country.

Nepal is home to as many as 123 mother tongues, according to UNESCO.