KU info lab leads efforts to digitise and preserve Nepal’s indigenous languages
Summary
Kathmandu University’s Information and Language Processing Research Lab has unveiled a trilingual translation system for Nepali, Tamang and English, using AI to help preserve indigenous languages. Across Nepal, universities, municipalities and community groups are building keyboards, dictionaries, speech tools and digital archives to keep mother tongues alive online.
Key Points
- Kathmandu University’s Information and Language Processing Research Lab launched a Nepali-Tamang-English translation system trained on more than 100,000 parallel sentences.
- Researchers and community groups are using AI, Unicode tools and digital archives to preserve indigenous languages such as Tamang, Nepal Bhasha, Magar and Tharu.
- Archive Nepal has digitised thousands of pages of Nepal Bhasha manuscripts with UNESCO support, while Kathmandu Metropolitan City is backing language apps and script promotion.
- Experts say digital technology is becoming essential for passing mother tongues to younger generations and keeping traditional knowledge alive.
