National Indigenous Women's Federation with support from Pawanka Fund from 1JUNE 2026 to 27 MAY 2027 jointly implement the project intitled " Orthography Development Project in Endangered Languages of Nepal".
Project Background:
Developing writing system is very important to the endangered languages of Nepal. Nepal is now moving to federal system and use of languages in the Local level is now discussing. There are many languages which are spoken by few populations of indigenous group but vigorous which are going to be neglected to recognize to use in local levels because the languages have not started to write. So, it is very important to develop the writing system, teaching to write their languages. It is also important to develop to preserve by written documents and it also create respect to the indigenous languages when it is written. It is already a big step to write the unwritten languages but this step should be taken. Choosing script, standardization, dialects, community acceptances etc. will be challenges for this project. The previous study on that languages will be studied, discussion with community will be priorities, linguistic and technical problem will be observed before the projects implement. After developing the orthography, the spelling guide, alphabet chart, book etc. will be published and distributed to the community so that the community acceptance will increase and writing system will standardize.
Project Objectives:
- To project Indigenous Four community critically endangered languages; Hayu, Kisan, Byasisauka and Chhantyal; by developing standaedizing and promoting orthographies through community-led and linguistically informed process
Activities which are implemented under this project are as follow:
1.Organize Orthography Development workshop for Kisan Langauges:
Background of kisan Community:
The kisan are one of the indigenous nationalities of Nepal, officially recognized by the Government of Nepal. They are a small, marginalized ethnic group with distinct linguistic and cultural identity, and are categorized as "endangered" due to their small population and diminishing language and traditions. As per the 2011 Nepal census, there were 1739 individuals identifying as kisan. Among them, only 601 were able to speak the Kisan language. The Kisan people are mainly found in the Jhapa District of Province No.1 in eastern Nepal. The kisan language is part of the Munda branch of the Austroasiatic language family. It is severely in Nepal, with very few fluent speakers, especially among the younger generation.
NIWF Successfully Conducts Orthography Development Workshop for the Kisan Language.
Jhapa, Nepal | 6–9 July 2026
The National Indigenous Women’s Federation (NIWF), successfully conducted a four-day Orthography Development Workshop for the Kisan Language from 6–9 July 2026 in Jhapa.
The workshop brought together 19 participants from the Kisan community, including community representatives and language practitioners, with the shared objective of developing and validating a standardized writing system for the Kisan language. The initiative is an important step toward preserving and revitalizing the Kisan language while strengthening the cultural identity and linguistic heritage of the Kisan Indigenous community.
The workshop was technically facilitated by Dr. Netra Mani Rai, Senior Linguist, with the support of Chhing Chippa Lhomi, Assistant Linguist, Mr.Temba Bhote provided computer and documentation support throughout the workshop to ensure the efficient documentation and development of the orthography.
Over the four days, participants actively engaged in discussions, language analysis, and collaborative exercises to review and refine the writing system. The workshop provided a valuable platform for community members and language experts to exchange knowledge and reach a common understanding on the orthographic standards of the Kisan language.
The workshop concluded successfully with the active participation and commitment of all attendees, marking another significant milestone in the preservation, promotion, and documentation of Indigenous languages in Nepal. NIWF remains committed to working closely with the Kisan community and its partners to preserve, promote, and revitalize Indigenous languages for future generations.
The project is currently under Implementation.
