The Asian Division Friends Society
Presents

"Compiling the First Comprehensive English-Nepali Dictionary: a Lexicographer's Experiences"
a presentation by Prof. Shanker Raj Pathak, an educator and scholar in Economics and English literature

Thursday, April 10, 2008, 12:00pm-1:00pm
Asian Reading Room Foyer, LJ-150, Jefferson Building, Library of Congress
Metro Stop: Capitol South on Blue/Orange Line

Contact: Dr. Allen Thrasher, 202-707-3732, athr@loc.gov

Description:
Prof. Shankar Raj Pathak will share his experience in compiling the first comprehensive English-Nepali dictionary ever published in Nepal. The 1,565-page dictionary contains over 130,000 words. It is considered a major contribution to the educational development of Nepal, a developing country that aims at catching up with the world in the development of modern science and technology.

About the speaker:
Prof. Pathak, 75, is a well-known educator and an administrator in Nepal. After completing his Masters degree from India’s Allahabad University in 1957, Prof. Pathak started his teaching career in Kathmandu and founded a private college in the early 1960s. In 1989-90 he held the position of Vice-Chancellor of Nepal’s then only university, the Tribhuvan University. He also taught Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1968 as a Visiting Professor.

Although trained as an economist, Prof. Pathak also achieved excellence in English literature. He spent 8-years of his post-retirement time in compiling the Comprehensive English-Nepali Dictionary and presented it as his gift to inter-linguistic and inter-societal knowledge and understanding in Nepal.