ABSTRACT
High in the mountains of eastern Nepal is the Naawa language, known as Naget, an endangered language spoken among 1,000 speakers. Still vigorously spoken in homes, Naget has only a few textbooks used in local schools. The introduction of these textbooks sparked debates about the nature of Naget, the way it was represented, and the perceived correctness of the language. Set against the backdrop of language ideologies, education policy in Nepal and colonialism, this study uses ethnography and perceptual dialectology to approach the problem of standardising Naget dialects into a written form. The study reveals what Naget speakers perceive to be authentic features of their language, the closeness of dialects and the variation between dialects, and examines a failed attempt to standardise Naget. This study contributes to understanding how languages are used in education in South Asia by providing a detailed study of a community’s perception of the representation of their language in writing.
