ABSTRACT
This
research paper analyses the role and attitude of English and other languages in Nepal. It also sheds light on
how the English language is being used in areas such as education, media and
business. Nepal is a country rich in cultural and linguistic diversity. In this study, the lifestyle of the user, the current and political
situation of the country, use of science and technology, politics, education
and transportation have played a major role in the language use in Nepal. Over
the last 50 - 60 years, the influence of English as a foreign language in the Nepalese
education system has been increasing. The attraction of English has increased
in such a way that it has become like a tradition to learn English before own
mother tongue. Not only in school but parents are also eager to teach English
to their children from home. Parents are constantly trying to improve their
child’s English. Due to these elements, the world is shrinking or narrowing day
by day. Nepal has not been able to remain untouched by this kind of problem.
People seem to be motivated to learn English for economic, social, political,
international relations and other benefits. Therefore, everyone is trying to
enable their children by sending them to English medium schools. The fact that
reading only in English medium has affected the learning of the local language
has been brought out from this educational research. The research sought to
highlight the increasing use of English language teaching in Nepal, the state
of the language, language change due to the language policy of the Government
of Nepal, and the possibility of languages dying due to language change. Textbooks, medium of examination, question papers, giving a lot
of opportunities to students who know English have drawn everyone towards
English. Multilingualism, language contact and language change are the
fundamental experiences in Nepal. This paper is concerned with the language
changing forms in Nepalese context based on Fishman’s (1991) Reversing
Language Shift (RLS). This paper presents the problems, solutions and
suggestions in four different sections. In the first section, the early stages
of English education in Nepal are discussed. In the second section, the
influence of foreign languages on the original language and culture is discussed.
Third, the fact that English influence has increased in important places like
available textbooks, exams and question papers, schools, offices etc. is
presented in graphs and bars. The final section includes research findings, solutions, and recommendation.