KATHMANDU: Chairman of Language Commission Lavadev Awasthi has said as many as 37 languages spoken in Nepal are on the verge of extinction.

He also claimed that indigenous nationalities will lose their identities once their languages disappear.

Speaking at  an interaction entitled ‘Indigenous Nationalities: Status, Policies, Programs and Challenges’  organized by Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN) on Sunday, Awsthi said that the indigenous languages are disparaging and when the their language is lost we cannot call them ‘indigenous’ in a mere word.

Professor Dr Yogendra Prasad Yadav said of the total 123 languages, 19 languages are spoken by over 100,000 people but most of the languages are on the verge of extinction.