Nocte is a Northern Naga language of northeastern

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 ...

Alternate names

Nocte is known by various alternate names, including: * Borduria * Jaipuria * Mohongia * Namsangia * Nocte * Nokte * Paniduria

Classification

Nocte belongs to the Northern Naga branch of the Konyak subgroup under the larger

Sino-Tibetan language family Sino-Tibetan (also referred to as Trans-Himalayan) is a language family, family of more than 400 languages, second only to Indo-European languages, Indo-European in number of native speakers. Around 1.4 billion people speak a Sino-Tibetan languag ...

. It is closely related to other Naga languages such as: * Wancho – Spoken in adjoining areas of Arunachal Pradesh. *

Tangsa The Tangshang people or Tangsa, are of Tibeto-Burmese ethnic group of the Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. They also reside in Sagaing Region and parts of Kachin State of Myanmar. In Myanmar they were formerly known as Rangpang, Pangmi, and Haimi. ...

– Another related language spoken in the neighboring districts. * Konyak – A prominent language spoken in Nagaland. Linguistic studies show that Nocte shares phonological, grammatical, and lexical similarities with these languages, although it has evolved independently with distinct dialectal variations.

Dialects

* Bote Naga * Hakhi Naga * Hakhun * Hame Naga * Hasik Naga * Hathim Naga * Khapa * Laju (Ollo Naga) * Lama Naga

Geographical distribution

According to ''Ethnologue'', Nocte is spoken in the following locations. *Khonsa, Namsang, and Laju circles of

Tirap district Tirap district (Pron:/tɪˈɹæp/) is a district located in the southeastern part of the state of Arunachal Pradesh in India. It shares a state border with Assam, an international border with Myanmar and a district border with Changlang and ...

, southeastern

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeast India. It was formed from the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and India declared it as a state on 20 February 1987. Itanagar is its capital and la ...

Changlang district Changlang district (Pron:/tʃæŋˈlæŋ/) is located in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, located south of Lohit District, Lohit district and north of Tirap District, Tirap district. Naga people reside here . As of 2011 it is the second ...

, southeastern

*Jaipur,

Lakhimpur district Lakhimpur district ( ) is an administrative district in the state of Assam, India. The district headquarters is located at North Lakhimpur. It is bounded on the north by the Siang and Papumpare districts of Arunachal Pradesh and on the east by t ...

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

Phonology & Grammar

Phonology

Nocte features a range of consonant and vowel phonemes, typical of the Northern Naga languages. Key phonological features include: * Tonal variation – Nocte is a tonal language, where differences in pitch distinguish meaning. * Consonant clusters – Common in initial positions. * Vowel system – Consists of multiple vowel qualities, often modified by nasality.

Grammar

The grammatical structure of Nocte follows a subject-object-verb (SOV) order, with extensive use of suffixes to indicate case, number, and tense. Pronouns and honorifics are culturally important, reflecting social hierarchies within the Nocte community.

Writing System

Historically, Nocte was transmitted orally, and like many other tribal languages in the region, it did not have a formal script. The

Roman script The Latin script, also known as the Roman script, is a writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae in Magna Graecia. The Gree ...

is now commonly used for writing Nocte, especially in educational and religious contexts. Efforts have been made to standardize the orthography of Nocte, including the development of primers and dictionaries.

Threats and Language Preservation

Endangerment Status

Although Nocte is actively spoken by around 60,000 speakers (as per the 2011 Census), the language is considered vulnerable due to increasing influence from Hindi, Assamese, and English.https://www.um.edu.mt/research/cognitivescience/ratics8/abstracts/Abstract_1.pdf Young Nocte speakers are gradually shifting toward these languages in urban and educational contexts, threatening the intergenerational transmission of Nocte.

Revitalization Efforts

Efforts to preserve and promote Nocte include: * Bilingual education programs in schools to promote literacy in Nocte alongside Hindi and English. * Documentation projects by linguists and local organizations to record oral traditions, grammar, and vocabulary. * Community-led initiatives to revive cultural practices and encourage the use of Nocte in everyday life.

References

{{Languages of Northeast India Languages of Assam Languages of Arunachal Pradesh Languages of Nagaland Sal languages Endangered languages of India