Nepal Development Research Institute

Prof Dr. Madhav Prasad Pokharel

Senior Research Specialist (Linguistic & Communication)

Dr. Madhav Prasad Pokharel is a Professor of Linguistics and the Chief Editor of The Jagadamba Comprehensive History of Nepali Literature. Having earned his Master's degree in Nepali from Tribhuvan University and a PhD (Vidhyavacaspati) in Linguistics with specialization in Experimental Phonetics and Phonology from Deccan College, Pune University, Dr. Pokharel taught Nepali literature, linguistics, and grammar at Tribhuvan University.

Professor Pokharel, who has supervised more than 30 doctoral dissertations in these diverse fields, is an essayist, critic, grammarian, and researcher. Credited with developing orthography for 69 unwritten languages of Nepal, Dr. Pokharel has been honored with the Pragya National Language Award. Furthermore, for his comparative research on the Nepali and Japanese languages, he was awarded Japan's 'Sakai Lions Club and Imanishi Memorial Fellowship Award' and is a two-time recipient of the Japan Foundation Fellowship. He has been fortunate to be a student of Professor Chomsky and Professor Shibatani.