The Ao language is a Naga language spoken by the

Ao Naga The Ao Nagas are a major Naga ethnic group native to Mokokchung District of Nagaland, 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 ...

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern 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 Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...

of northeast

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Ao language cluster

'' Ethnologue'' 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 Unpublished PhD dissertation, U.C. Berkeley.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

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Vowels

Consonants

Tones

This language has 3 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.

Ao language cluster

Phonology

Consonants

Tones

References

See also