KATHMANDU: Language Preservation and Promoting Centre-Nepal (LPPC-N) on Monday urged the government and the people to preserve and promote the languages of indigenous communities to uplift the socio-cultural background and history of the Nepali people.

Ranjan Jha, vice president of LPPC-N said that the centre focused on preserving people's ethnicity, linguistic identity, age-old heritage, and socio-cultural as well as religious foundations.

Stating that there were nine ethnic languages on the verge of extinction at present, he said that the protection and preservation of the languages was the responsibility of every citizen. He said the languages would be documented which later would be compiled and converted into a book. "Though the 2001 consensus states there are 92 languages in the nation, linguists believe that there are 152 languages," informed Jha. He further said that indigenous language should be protected as they are assets of the people, which would help in highlighting the cultural norms, values and heritage of the community. Jha said that the centre was advocating to preserve languages which are on the verge of extinction.

Meanwhile, Senior linguist Madhav Prasad Pokharel said that documentation alone would not enough for the protection and promotion of culture. "The whole community should be uplifted to preserve and protect its culture," added Pokharel.