Ao language

Last updated
Ao
Central Naga
Ethnicity Ao Naga
Geographic
distribution
Nagaland, India
Linguistic classification Sino-Tibetan
Subdivisions
ISO 639-3 njo
Glottolog aona1235

The Ao language is a Naga language spoken by the Ao Naga in Nagaland of northeast India. It is written in Latin script.

Contents

Ao language cluster

Ethnologue lists the following varieties of Ao.

Chongli and Mongsen are nearly mutually unintelligible.

Mills (1926) lists the Ao Naga tribes of Nagaland as speaking three languages: Chungli, Mongsen, and Changki. Chungli Ao and Mongsen Ao are spoken in majority of the Ao villages, whereas Changki speakers form the minor speakers.

Mongsen Ao is spoken primarily in the western part of Ao territory.

Changki Ao is spoken only in 3 villages - Changki, Japu and Longjemdang - which is poorly documented though reportedly related to Mongsen Ao. Some Changki speakers can fluently converse in both Mongsen and Chungli, but a Mongsen Ao cannot speak Changki or understand it, whereas a Chungli can hardly understand or speak Changki. Chungli Ao and Mongsen Ao are not mutually intelligible. [1]

The speech of each Ao village has its own distinctive characteristics. Many villages contain both Chungli and Mongsen speakers.

Phonology

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i ɯ u
Mid e ə o
Open a ɔ

Consonants

Labial Alveolar Retroflex Dorsal Glottal
Nasal m n ŋ
Plosive plain p t k ʔ
voiced b d g
aspirated
Affricate voiceless t͡s t͡ɕ
voiced d͡ʑ
Fricative voiceless s ɕ
voiced z ɭ˔
Tap ɾ
Approximant w l j

Tones

This language has 3 tones, mid tone ˧ rising tone ˩˥ and falling tone ˥˩.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mongsen Ao language</span> Sino-Tibetan language spoken in India

Mongsen Ao is a member of the Ao languages, a branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages, predominantly spoken in central Mokokchung district of Nagaland, northeast India. Its speakers see the language as one of two varieties of a greater "Ao language," along with the prestige variety Chungli Ao.

The Kuki-Chin–Naga languages are a geographic clustering of languages of the Sino-Tibetan family in James Matisoff's classification used by Ethnologue, which groups it under the non-monophyletic "Tibeto-Burman". Their genealogical relationship both to each other and to the rest of Sino-Tibetan is unresolved, but Matisoff lumps them together as a convenience pending further research.

The Naga languages are a geographic and ethnic grouping of. Kuki-Chin-Naga languages, spoken mostly by Naga peoples.

The Ao or Central Naga languages are a small family of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken by various Naga peoples of Nagaland in northeast India. Conventionally classified as "Naga", they are not clearly related to other Naga languages, and are conservatively classified as an independent branch of Sino-Tibetan, pending further research. There are around 607,000 speakers of the languages in total.

The Tangkhulic and Tangkhul languages are a group of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken mostly in northeastern Manipur, India. Conventionally classified as "Naga," they are not clearly related to other Naga languages, and are conservatively classified as an independent Tangkhul–Maring branch of Tibeto-Burman, pending further research.

Chungli Ao is the prestige dialect of Ao and it is a Sino-Tibetan language of northeast India. It is the most widely spoken of the Ao languages which also comprise Mongsen Ao and Changki. It is taught up to the tenth grade in schools of the Mokokchung district. It is also spoken by the Ao Nagas of Nagaland, a hill state in northeast India. Being the official language of religion, the dialect has a Bible translation and is used in church services as well as to make public announcements. A local Chungli newspaper is also published online. The number of speakers who reported Chungli Ao as their mother tongue are approximately 130,000 according to the 2011 census report of India. A phonological reconstruction of Proto-Central-Naga has been compiled by Daniel Bruhn

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lahe Township</span> Township in Sagaing Region, Burma

Lahe Township is a township located within the Naga Self-Administered Zone of Sagaing Division, Myanmar. The principal town is Lahe.

Konyak is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Konyak people in the state of Nagaland, north-eastern India.

Karenni or Red Karen, known in Burmese as Kayah, is a Karen dialect continuum spoken by over half a million Kayah people in Burma.

Lawa is a Mon–Khmer language of Thailand. There are two distinct varieties or dialects of Lawa, considered to be separate languages; their names in the Ethnologue are Eastern Lawa and Western Lawa. They are spoken in Lawa villages in the provinces of Mae Hong Son and Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand.

Mok, also known as Amok, Hsen-Hsum, and Muak, is an Angkuic language or dialect cluster spoken in Shan State, Myanmar

Kyirong is a language from the subgroup of Tibetic languages spoken in the Gyirong County of the Shigatse prefecture, of the Tibetan Autonomous Region.

Lainong Naga, or Htang Ngan, is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken in Burma. Lainong Naga is spoken in about 32 villages of Lahe Township and northwestern Hkamti Township, Naga Self-Administered Zone, Sagaing Division, Myanmar (Ethnologue). Dialects are Zëūdiāng.

Koki, or Koki Naga, is an unclassified Sino-Tibetan language spoken in Burma. Speakers are included under the wider Naga ethnicity. It has been documented in Shintani (2018).

Long Phuri, or Long Phuri Naga, is an unclassified Naga language of Burma. Long Phuri is spoken in 6 villages of Leshi Township, Hkamti District, Sagaing Region, Myanmar.

Makury, or Makury Naga, is a Naga language of India and Myanmar. Shi (2009:3) and Saul (2005:25) suggest that Makury may be an Ao language. The Makury dialects share 93% lexical similarity.

Para or Para Naga, is an unclassified Naga language of India and Burma. It is not close to other Naga languages which it has been compared to, though Para Naga, Long Phuri Naga, and Makuri Naga may be closest to each other, with Para the most distinct. Barkman (2014) notes that Para Naga could possibly be an Ao or Tangkhulic language. Saul (2005) classifies Para Naga as an Ao language. Hsiu (2021) classifies Para as a sister of the Central Naga (Ao) languages.

Makyam Naga is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken in Myanmar. The Western Makyam Naga dialects share 99% lexical similarity.

Muak Sa-aak is an Angkuic language spoken in the Burma-China border region by over 4,000 people.

References

  1. Escamilla, R. M. (2012). An Updated Typology of Causative Constructions: Form-Function Mappings in Hupa (California Athabaskan), Chungli Ao (Tibeto-Burman), and Beyond. Unpublished PhD dissertation, U.C. Berkeley.