Nagaland University Develops Written Grammars for 18 Naga Languages

Nagaland University has launched an ambitious project to create written grammars for all 18 recognised Naga languages in collaboration with the State's Directorate of School Education. This initiative addresses a significant gap - despite decades of classroom instruction, these languages lacked formal grammatical frameworks.

The project will systematically document linguistic features including parts of speech, tense and aspect, and phonological tone, while standardising orthography and enriching vocabulary. The resulting grammars will be integrated into school textbooks from Classes 5 to 12, aligned with the National Education Policy 2020.

Led by associate professor Mimi Kevichüsa Ezung from the Department of Tenyidie, the initiative reflects what Vice Chancellor Jagadish K. Patnaik describes as a "cultural mission" - one that preserves indigenous linguistic heritage. Teacher training programmes through refresher courses will support classroom implementation. Currently, only a few languages like Tenyidie, Ao, Lotha, and Sümi extend beyond Class 8, with Tenyidie offered at postgraduate levels.