Ao languages

Culture of the Nagas
History History of the Nagas Christianity in Nagaland Battle of Kikrüma Battle of Kohima Naga National Council Shillong Accord of 1975 List of massacres in Nagaland
Languages Angami–Pochuri Central Naga Tangkhul–Maring Zemeic
Cuisine Anishi Bastenga Akhuni Galho Thuthse Zutho
Festivals Aoleang Gaan-Ngai Chavan Kumhrin Chiithuni Kaīvi Khautsauhsie Luira Phanit Metümnyo Miu Moatsü Mungmung Monyü Naknyulüm Ngada festival Sekrenyi Sükhrünyie Te–l Khukhu Thounii Tsoukum Tokhü Emong Tsükhenyie Tülüni Ahuna Yemshi Hornbill Festival Lui Ngai Ni
Religion Christianity in Nagaland Hinduism in Nagaland Heraka Tingkao Ragwang Chapriak
Art Music of Nagaland Li
Literature Naga literature in English Tenyidie literature Ao literature Tangkhul literature Lotha literature
Media Naga newsmedia in Nagaland Naga newsmedia in Manipur Radio TV Cinema
Sport Pcheda Pcheda Kene Aki Kiti
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Symbols Emblem of Nagaland Mithun Tragopan Rhododendron Alder Chocolate Masheer Hornbill
v t e

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.

Coupe (2012)^[1] considers the Angami–Pochuri languages to be most closely related to Ao as part of a wider Angami–Ao group.

The following languages are widely accepted as Central Naga languages:

• Ao language
  • Chungli Ao
  • Mongsen Ao
• Sangtam ('Thukumi')
• Yimkhiungrü ('Yachumi')
• Lotha (Lhota)

There are also various undescribed Ao varieties including Yacham and Tengsa, which may turn out to be separate languages (see Mongsen Ao).

The following "Naga" languages spoken in and around Leshi Township, Myanmar are classified as Ao languages ("Ao-Yimkhiungrü") by Saul (2005).^[2]

• Koki
• Makury
• Long Phuri
• Para

Hsiu (2021) places Makury, Long Phuri, and Para into a Greater Central Naga branch, but excludes Koki (Kokak).^[3]

• Greater Central Naga
  • Makury
  • Long Phuri
  • Para (Jejara)
  • Central Naga
    • Lotha
    • Sangtam
    • Yimchungrü
    • Ao

Bruhn (2014:370) also surmises that Makury may be an Ao language.

Bruhn (2014) uses the term Central Naga to refer to all of the languages above, and uses the Ao to refer to only two languages, namely Chungli Ao and Mongsen Ao. The internal structure of Bruhn's Central Naga group is as follows.

Central Naga

• Lotha
• Sangtam
• Yimkhiungrü
• Ao
  • Chungli Ao
  • Mongsen Ao

Coupe (2023) suggests that Wui, a recently described divergent language of eastern Nagaland, is likely a divergent Aoic (i.e., Central Naga) language.^[4]

Proto-Central Naga (Proto-Ao) has been reconstructed by Bruhn (2014).

Bruhn (2014:363) identifies the following four sound changes from Proto-Tibeto-Burman (PTB) to Proto-Central Naga (PCN) as sound changes that are characteristic of the Central Naga branch.

1. PTB *-a(ː)w, *-əw, *-ow, *-u > PCN *-u(ʔ) ‘back diphthong merger’
2. PTB *-r > PCN *-n ‘*r-coda nasalization’
3. PTB *-s > PCN *-t ‘*s-coda occlusivization’
4. PTB *-i(ː)l, *‑al, *‑uːl > PCN *‑ə(ʔ) ‘*l-rime erosion’

• Ao Naga
• Lotha Naga
• Sangtam Naga
• T Senka Ao
• Yimkhiung Naga

• 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) Archived 2019-10-06 at the Wayback Machine. MA thesis, Chiang Mai: Payap University.
• Shi, Vong Tsuh. 2009. Discourse studies of Makuri Naga narratives Archived 2020-05-01 at the Wayback Machine. 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.