The Ao language is a
Naga language
The Naga languages are a geographic and ethnic grouping of Tibeto-Burman, spoken mostly by Naga peoples.
Konyak languages, Northern Naga languages do not fall within the group, in spite of being spoken by Naga groups; instead, these form part ...
spoken by the
Ao Naga
The Aos are a major Naga ethnic group native to Mokokchung District of Nagaland in Northeast India. Their main territory is from Tsüla (Dikhu) Valley in the east to Tsürang (Disai) Valley in the west in Mokokchung District.
The Ao Nagas r ...
in
Nagaland
Nagaland () is a States and union territories of India, state in the northeast India, north-eastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south, and the Naga Sel ...
of northeast
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, whose two varieties are nearly mutually unintelligible. It is written in Latin script.
Ao language cluster
''
Ethnologue
''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world. It is the world's most comprehensive catalogue of languages. It w ...
'' lists the following varieties of Ao.
*
Mongsen Khari
*Changki
*
Chongli (Chungli)
*Dordar (Yacham)
*Longla
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.
[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 Unpublished PhD dissertation, U.C. Berkeley.]
The speech of each Ao village has its own distinctive characteristics. Many villages contain both Chungli and Mongsen speakers.
Phonology
Vowels
Consonants
Tones
This language has 3 tone (linguistics), tones, mid tone ˧ rising tone ˩˥ and falling tone ˥˩.
References
*van Driem, George (2001). ''Languages of the Himalayas: An Ethnolinguistic Handbook of the Greater Himalayan Region.'' Leiden: Brill.
*Bruhn, Daniel Wayne. 2014.
A Phonological Reconstruction of Proto-Central Naga
'. Ph.D. dissertation. University of California, Berkeley.
*Saul, J. D. 2005. ''The Naga of Burma: Their festivals, customs and way of life''. Bangkok, Thailand: Orchid Press.
*Barkman, Tiffany. 2014
''A descriptive grammar of Jejara (Para Naga)''
. MA thesis, Chiang Mai: Payap University.
*Shi, Vong Tsuh. 2009.
Discourse studies of Makuri Naga narratives
''. MA thesis, Chiang Mai: Payap University.
*Language and Social Development Organization (LSDO). 2006. ''A sociolinguistic survey of Makuri, Para, and Long Phuri Naga in Layshi Township, Myanmar''. Unpublished manuscript.
*Mills, J. P (1926). The Ao Nagas. London: MacMillan & Co.
{{authority control
*
Languages of Nagaland