How Nepal Is Characterized As Multilingual And...

Nepal is characterized as multilingual and multicultural country from the very beginning. It is common phenomenon in which Nepalese people are heard using bi/multi-lingual repertoire in their conversation at informal level. This is the case even before Nepal and its people were exposed to the outside world viz. the Hindi and the English languages in particular and other foreign languages in general. It is observed that people living in large city centres and small remote cities and villages are multilingual individuals in terms of the attributes active and passive communication as indicated by Wei (2010, p. 4). The local people in large cities communicate through their active use of Fishman states that:â€Å" Multilingualism often begins in the family and depends upon it for encouragement if not for protection ( Fishman, 1972:82)†. Nepalese people`s ability to speak their mother tongues and second language notably Nepali is the indicative of their bilingual status than multilingual. However, their mother tongue speaking ability or their existing linguistic repertoire is upset by second language or third language they have acquired or learned. For instance, a Nepalese speech participant who has one of the ethnic languages as his/her mother tongue also has Nepali, Hindi, and English as foreign languages at their disposal to use as and when the situation triggers in Nepal. This study will discuss the actual performance of Nepalese bilinguals who exploit the semiotic sources they