Chungli Ao language

{{Short description|Sino-Tibetan language of Nagaland, India}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}} {{Use Indian English|date=July 2019}} {{Infobox language | name = Chungli Ao | states = India | region = Nagaland | ethnicity = Ao Naga | speakers = 130,004 | date = 2011 census | ref = <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011Census/Language_MTs.html|title=Statement 1: Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues - 2011|publisher=Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India|website=www.censusindia.gov.in|access-date=2018-07-07}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1mZVhbG7TtYC&q=mongsen+ao&pg=PR1|title=A Grammar of Mongsen Ao|last=Coupe|first=A. R.|date=2007-01-01|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=9783110198522|language=en}}</ref> | familycolor = Sino-Tibetan | fam2 = Ao languages | fam3 = Ao language | script = Latin | iso3 = none | glotto = chon1286 | glottorefname = Chungli }}

'''Chungli''' or '''Jungli Ao''' is the prestige dialect of Ao and it is a Sino-Tibetan language of northeast India. It is the most widely spoken of the Ao languages which also comprise Mongsen Ao and Changki Ao. It is taught up to the tenth grade in schools of the Mokokchung district. It is also spoken by the Ao Nagas of Nagaland, a hill state in northeast India. Being the official language of religion, the dialect has a Bible translation and is used in church services as well as to make public announcements.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Coupe|first=Alexander|date=2011-10-01|title=On core case marking patterns in two Tibeto-Burman languages of Nagaland|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286988589|journal=Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area|volume=34|pages=21–47}}</ref> A local Chungli newspaper, ''Tir Yimyim'', is also published online.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tiryimyim.in/about-us/|title=English {{!}} Tir Yimyim|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-24}}</ref> The number of speakers who reported Chungli Ao as their mother tongue are approximately 130,000 according to the 2011 census report of India.

==History== {{Unreferenced section|date=December 2025}} During the American Baptist Mission to Naga Hills, E. W. Clark first came in contact with the Molungkimong village that paved the way for a common Ao language. Chungli Ao is spoken in Molungkimong and Molungyimsen and other villages throughout Ao territory by roughly 50% of the Ao-speaking population. The speech of Molungkimong is the prestige dialect due to Baptist missionaries' influence. Most Ao can speak Chungli even if they are from Mongsen-speaking regions. Chungli is taught in schools.

==Phonology== Chungli Ao phonology has been described in Gowda (1972, 1975),<ref name=Gowda1972>{{cite book|first=K.S. Gurubasave|last=Gowda|year=1972|title=Ao-Naga Phonetic Reader|location=Mysore|publisher=Central Institute of Indian Languages}}</ref><ref name=Gowda1975>{{cite book|first=K.S. Gurubasave |last=Gowda|year=1975|title=Ao Grammar|location=Mysore|publisher=Central Institute of Indian Languages|url=https://dn721601.ca.archive.org/0/items/dli.language.0007/dli.language.0007.pdf}}</ref> Temsunungsang (2009, 2014, 2021)<ref name=TT2009>{{cite book|first=T.|last=Temsunungsang|year=2009|title=Aspects of the Prosodic Phonology of Ao: An Inter-Dialectal Study|publisher=English and Foreign Languages University|location=Hyderabad|url=https://www.academia.edu/738596/Aspects_of_the_prosodic_phonology_of_Ao_An_inter_dialectal_study}}</ref><ref name=TT2014>{{cite journal|last=Temsunungsang|first=T|year=2014|title=Syllable Restrictions in Chungli (Ao)|journal=North East Indian Linguistics|volume=6|pages=39–59|location=Canberra|publisher=Australian National University|url=https://www.academia.edu/97743478/Syllable_Restrictions_in_Chungli_Ao_}}</ref><ref name=TTLoans>{{cite journal|title=Tone Patterns in Jungli-Ao Loanwords|year=2021|journal=Indian Linguistics|volume=82|issue=3-4|pages=39–55|first=T.|last=Temsunungsang|url=https://www.academia.edu/97742828/TONE_PATTERNS_IN_JUNGLI_AO_LOANWORDS}}</ref> and Bruhn (2010).<ref name=Bruhn2010>{{cite journal|first=Daniel|last=Bruhn|publisher=University of California, Berkeley|journal=UC Berkeley Phonology Lab Annual Report|year=2010|volume=6|issue=6|title=Unearthing the Roots: Ao and Proto-Tibeto-Burman — The Rimes|doi=10.5070/P728z3k137|url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/28z3k137|pages=210–258}}</ref> Bruhn's description is based on a native speaker of Mongsen Ao who learned Chungli Ao after the age of 9,<ref name=Bruhn2010/>{{rp|213}} while Temsunungsang's analysis is based on monolingual Chungli speakers.<ref name=TT2009/>{{rp|5}}

===Vowels=== Sources do not agree on the amount of vowel phonemes in Chungli Ao. Inventories of four to six vowels have been posited. Bruhn initially posited a six-vowel system<ref name=:1/> but later switched to a four-vowel system.<ref name=Bruhn2010/>

==== Four-vowel system ==== Temsunungsang<ref name=TTLoans/> posits a four-vowel inventory for Chungli Ao.

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! ! Front ! Central ! colspan="2" |Back |- ! Close | {{IPA link|i}} | |{{IPA link|ɯ}} | {{IPA link|u}} |- !Mid | |({{IPA link|ə}}) | colspan="2" | |- ! Open | | {{IPA link|a}} | colspan="2" | |}

{{IPA|/ɯ/}} (Temsunungsang's notation; Bruhn notates this as {{IPA|/ə/}}) varies between {{IPA|[ə]}} and {{IPA|[ɯ]}} based on the phonetic environment. Temsunungsang finds that {{IPA|/ɯ/}} surfaces as {{IPA|[ə]}} before non-velar coda consonants and {{IPA|[ɯ]}}, a back vowel, before velar codas<ref name=TT2009/>{{rp|20–25}} and in monosyllabic words consisting of a single open syllable.<ref name=TTLoans/> According to Bruhn, {{IPA|[ɛ]}} is also found as an allophone of {{IPA|/ə/}}.<ref name=Bruhn2010/>{{rp|214}}

Bruhn states that {{IPA|/u/}} varies between {{IPA|[u]}} and {{IPA|[o]}}; he has not determined the conditioning of these variants.<ref name=Bruhn2010/>{{rp|215}}

==== Six-vowel system ==== Gowda (1975) sets up the following six-vowel inventory: {|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! rowspan="2" | ! rowspan="2" | Front ! colspan="2" | Back |- !unrounded !rounded |- ! Close / Near-close | {{IPA link|ɪ}} | {{IPA link|ɯ}} | {{IPA link|u}} |- ! Close-mid | {{IPA link|e}} | | {{IPA link|o}} |- ! Open | | {{IPA link|a}} | |}

{{IPA|/e/}} is retroflex {{IPA|[ɘ˞]}} in CVC syllables, {{IPA|[e]}} otherwise.

{{IPA|/a/}} is {{IPA|[ʌ]}} with a falling tone, {{IPA|[a]}} otherwise.

{{IPA|/o/}} is {{IPA|[ɔ]}} when adjacent to a velar consonant, {{IPA|[o]}} otherwise.

There is some indication in the description that the back unrounded vowels may be central. {{IPA|/a/}} behaves as a non-back vowel in that it triggers an epenthetic {{IPA|/j/}} rather than a {{IPA|/w/}}.<ref name=Gowda1975/>{{rp|23–24}}

===Consonants=== Different authors have reported varying consonant charts for the language.

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |+ Derived from Gowda (1975)<ref name=Gowda1975/> !colspan="2"| !Bilabial !Alveolar !Retroflex !Palatal !Velar !Glottal |- !colspan="2"|Nasal | {{IPA link|m}} | {{IPA link|n}} | | | {{IPA link|ŋ}} | |- ! colspan="2" |Plosive | {{IPA link|p}}{{efn|name=stops}} | {{IPA link|t}}{{efn|name=stops}} | | | {{IPA link|k}}{{efn|name=stops}} | {{IPA link|ʔ}} |- ! colspan="2" |Affricate | | | | {{IPA link|cç}}{{efn|name=ch}} | | |- ! rowspan="2" |Fricative !voiceless | | {{IPA link|s}}{{efn|name=sh}} | | | | ({{IPA link|h}}){{efn|name=h}} |- !voiced | | {{IPA link|z}}{{efn|name=z}} | {{IPA link|𝼅}}{{efn|name=r}} | | | |- !colspan="2"|Approximant | {{IPA link|w}} | {{IPA link|l}} | | {{IPA link|j}} | | |}

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |+ Derived from Bruhn (2010)<ref name=Bruhn2010/> !colspan="2"| !Bilabial !Dental/Alveolar !Palatal/Pal-Alv. !Velar !Glottal |- !colspan="2"|Nasal | {{IPA link|m}} | {{IPA link|n}} | | {{IPA link|ŋ}} | |- ! colspan="2" |Plosive | {{IPA link|p}}{{efn|name=stops}} | {{IPA link|t}}{{efn|name=stops}} | | {{IPA link|k}}{{efn|name=stops}} | {{IPA link|ʔ}} |- ! colspan="2" |Affricate | | {{IPA link|ts}}{{efn|name=ch}} | {{IPA link|tʃ}}{{efn|name=ch}} | | |- ! rowspan="2" |Fricative !voiceless | | {{IPA link|s}}{{efn|name=sh}} | | | ({{IPA link|h}}){{efn|name=h}} |- !voiced | | {{IPA link|z}}{{efn|name=z}} | | | |- ! colspan="2" |Approximant | {{IPA link|w}} | {{IPA link|l}}&emsp;{{IPA link|ɹ}}{{efn|name=r}} | {{IPA link|j}} | | |}

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |+ Derived from Temsunungsang (2021)<ref name=TTLoans/> !colspan="2"| !Bilabial !Dental !Palatal !Velar !Glottal |- !colspan="2"|Nasal | {{IPA link|m}} | {{IPA link|n}} | | {{IPA link|ŋ}} | |- ! colspan="2" |Plosive | {{IPA link|p}}{{efn|name=stops}} | {{IPA link|t}}{{efn|name=stops}} | | {{IPA link|k}}{{efn|name=stops}} | {{IPA link|ʔ}} |- ! colspan="2" |Affricate | | colspan="2" |{{IPAblink|ts}} ~ {{IPA link|tʃ}}{{efn|name=ch}} | | |- ! rowspan="2" |Fricative !voiceless | | colspan="2" |{{IPA link|s}} ~ {{IPAblink|ʃ}}{{efn|name=sh}} | | |- !voiced | | {{IPA link|z}}{{efn|name=z}} | | | |-

! colspan="2" |Lateral | |{{IPA link|l}} | | | |- ! colspan="2" |Rhotic | |{{IPA link|ɾ|r}}{{efn|name=r}} | | | |- ! colspan="2" |Approximant | {{IPA link|w}} | | {{IPA link|j}} | | |}

{{notelist|group=cons|refs= {{efn|name=stops|{{IPA|/p t k/}} are optionally aspirated {{IPA|[pʰ tʰ kʰ]}} in initial position. They are voiced {{IPA|[b d ɡ]}} between voiced sounds and {{IPA|[p t k]}} elsewhere.}} {{efn|name=ch|A "palatal affricate"; see {{section link|Chungli Ao language|Nature of ⟨c⟩ and ⟨s⟩|nopage=y}}. Gowda describes this as being voiced {{IPAblink|ɟʝ}} (using the transcription {{angbr IPA|ǰ}}, and later {{angbr IPA|j}}) between voiced sounds but voiceless elsewhere. It is voiceless alveolar {{IPA|[t͡s]}} before {{IPA|/ɯ/}}, even intervocalically.}} {{efn|name=sh|{{IPA|/s/}} is palatalized (see {{section link|Chungli Ao language|Nature of ⟨c⟩ and ⟨s⟩|nopage=y}}) before {{IPA|/i/}}. It is {{IPA|[s]}} elsewhere.}} {{efn|name=z|{{IPA|/z/}} only occurs before non-front vowels.}} {{efn|name=r|See {{section link|Chungli Ao language|Nature of ⟨r⟩|nopage=y}}.}} {{efn|name=h|{{IPA|/h/}} only occurs in a few interjections, mimetic words and loan words, such as {{IPA|/hàuʔ/}} 'yes'.}} }}

====Nature of ⟨c⟩ and ⟨s⟩==== Gowda and Temsunungsang both refer to orthographic {{angbr IPA|c}} as a "palatal affricate" phoneme. Gowda describes the sound as a "voiceless palatal affricate" ({{IPA|/cç/}}), that is produced by "raising the front of the tongue towards the hard palate", initially using the transcription {{IPA|/č/}}, with {{IPA|[c]}} for the allophonic alveolar affricate;<ref name=Gowda1972/>{{rp|26–27, 55}} he later transcribes these sounds as {{IPA|/c/}} and {{IPAblink|ts}}, respectively.<ref name=Gowda1975/>{{rp|11–12}} Temsunungsang uses the transcriptions {{IPA slink|tʃ}} and {{IPA|[ts]}}.<ref name=TTLoans/>{{rp|41}} Bruhn transcribes the affricates as {{IPA|[tʃ]}} and {{IPA|[ts]}}, but treats the sounds as distinct phonemes rather than allophones (which both Gowda and Temsunungsang regard them as), citing the need to verify their complementary distribution; he places them in the consonant chart as "palatal/palato-alveolar" and "dental/alveolar", respectively, without further description.<ref name=Bruhn2010/>{{rp|213}}

Gowda, Bruhn, and Temsunungsang all agree on the existence of a palatal or palatalized allophone of {{IPA|/s/}} before {{IPA|/i/}}. Gowda describes this allophone as a "voiceless palatal fricative" ({{IPA|[ç]}}), and transcribes it as {{IPA|[š]}}.<ref name=Gowda1975/>{{rp|12}} Bruhn and Temsunungsang transcribe it as {{IPA blink|ʃ}}.<ref name=Bruhn2010/>{{rp|214}}<ref name=TT2009/>{{rp|27}}

====Nature of ⟨r⟩==== The phonetic value of orthographic {{angbr IPA|r}} varies among reports on the language. Gowda describes the sound as a "voiced retroflex lateral fricative" ({{IPA|/𝼅/}} in extIPA), produced by having the blade of the tongue turned back toward the hard palate, with the air producing friction when it passes between the tongue and the palate, and then passing freely over the sides of the tongue;<ref name=Gowda1972/>{{rp|32–33}} as a designated symbol for the sound did not exist at the time, he provides the transcription {{IPA|/ḷʰ/}}, using the obsolete dot below diacritic for retroflexion and the superscript {{angbr IPA|ʰ}} to indicate fricative quality.<ref name=Gowda1975/>{{rp|14}} Temsunungsang simply calls it a "flap" ({{IPAslink|ɾ}}),<ref name=TT2014/>{{rp|40}} as well as a "rhotic", which he transcribes as {{IPA|/r/}}, and places in the dental column of the consonant chart.<ref name=TTLoans/>{{rp|41}} Bruhn transcribes it as {{IPA slink|ɹ}}, placing it in the consonant chart as a "dental/alveolar approximant", without further description.<ref name=Bruhn2010/>{{rp|213}}

===Phonotactics=== Ao syllables may be CVC, where either C may be a cluster of two consonants. Word-initially, the only consonant clusters are {{IPA|/t𝼅/}} and {{IPA|/p𝼅/}}. Word-finally, and excluding cases of -VwC and -VyC, the only clusters are {{IPA|/ʔk/}} and {{IPA|/lʔ/}}. Word-medially, other sequences occur, with the most complex being {{IPA|/𝼅tp𝼅/}}. Another medial cluster not predictable from the preceding is {{IPA|/ʔnc͡ç/}}.

===Tones=== Chungli Ao has three register tones: mid, low high. High is restricted, normally occurring only before low as a falling tone. There are also high-low and low-mid contour tones on single syllables. On disyllabic words, the most common tone patters are MM and HL, with LL and LM less common. ML and HH are very rare / marginal, except in that ML and HL may vary allophonically depending on the casualness of speech. These facts suggest that at least most apparently high tones are actually mid tones upstepped before a low tone.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Bruhn|first=Daniel|date=2009|title=The Tonal Classification of Chungli Ao Verbs|url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/22c6c7d9|journal=UC Berkeley PhonLab Annual Report|language=en|volume=5|issue=5}}</ref>

==Grammar== Published grammars of Chungli Ao include Clark (1893)<ref name=Clark1893>{{cite book|year=1893|last=Clark|first=Mary M.|title=Ao Naga grammar with illustrative phrases and vocabulary|location=Molung|publisher=Assam Secretariat Printing Office}}</ref> and Gowda (1975).<ref name=Gowda1975/> Some notes on verb morphology are also corroborated by Bruhn (2009).<ref name=:1/>

===Verb morphology=== Chungli Ao verbs are agglutinative,<ref name=:1/>{{rp|66}} but lack person and number marking.<ref name=Clark1893/>{{rp|16}}<ref name=Gowda1975/>{{rp|46}} Tense–aspect–mood distinctions are marked by various verbal suffixes.

Bruhn provides the following verb template:<ref name=:1/>{{rp|66}}

{|class="wikitable" |+ Chungli Ao verb template (Bruhn) ! Prefix !! Stem !! Lexical suffix !! Derivational suffix !! Inflectional suffix |- | me- (negative) te- (prohibitive) | ''stem of verb'' | -maʔ ‘completely’ -et 'persistently' etc. | -tsɨʔ BEN{{clarification needed|date=December 2025}} -tep RECIP{{clarification needed|date=December 2025}} etc. | -tsɨ (irrealis) -əɹ (present) etc. |}

====Tense, aspect and mood marking==== Chungli Ao verbs are marked for three tenses, namely the present, past, and future. Certain combinations of tense and aspect are also marked.

The past tense is unmarked, or rather it is expressed by the absence of any endings on the bare verb stem. Thus, bare verb stems like ''aru'' "to come" and ''jaja'' "to walk" actually mean "came" and "walked", respectively.<ref name=:1/>{{rp|67}}<ref name=Gowda1975/>{{rp|49}}

The perfect is marked with the suffix ''-ogo'' {{IPA|/uku/}}. Clark<ref name=Clark1893/>{{rp|19}} and Gowda<ref name=Gowda1975/>{{rp|51}} specify that this is a past perfect while Bruhn<ref name=:1/>{{rp|71}} labels this as a present perfect.

The simple present tense is marked with the suffix ''-er''. Clark and Gowda do not agree on the allomorphy of this suffix when applied to verbs ending in vowels. Clark states that the suffixal vowel generally disappears if the preceding stem ends in a vowel,<ref name=Clark1893/>{{rp|18}} while Gowda only has the suffix vowel disappear after {{IPA|/a u o/}}. After {{IPA|/ɯ i/}}, Gowda states that a glide {{IPA|/j/}} separates the vowels of the stem and suffix.<ref name=Gowda1975/>{{rp|50}}

The present progressive (or immediate present in Bruhn's description<ref name=:1/>{{rp|71}}) is marked by either {{IPA|/-taki/}} (spelled ''-dage'' in Clark's grammar) or ''-dar'' {{IPA|/-taɹ/}}. The choice between the two endings, which are perfectly equivalent, varies by village.<ref name=Clark1893/>{{rp|18}}

A pair of forms suffixed with ''-a'' and {{IPA|/-i/}} are called "present participles" in Clark's grammar<ref name=Clark1893/>{{rp|20}} and mark "durative aspect" in Gowda's grammar.<ref name=Gowda1975/>{{rp|50–51}} The ''-a'' form is used in non-negative sentences while the {{IPA|/-i/}} form is used in negative sentences.

The future tense is marked with ''-tsü'' {{IPA|[tsɯ]}}.<ref name=Clark1893/>{{rp|20}}<ref name=Gowda1975/>{{rp|50}} An alternative near-future marker ''-di'' also exists.<ref name=Clark1893/>{{rp|20}} This ending ''-tsü'' also marks what Clark and Gowda call an infinitive which is instead labelled by Bruhn as irrealis.

The imperative mood is marked with the suffix ''-ang''. The vowel in this suffix is lost if the preceding stem ends in {{IPA|/u/}} or {{IPA|/a/}}.<ref name=Gowda1975/>{{rp|51–52}}

====Negative prefixes==== To negate a verb, the verb is prefixed with ''ma-'' outside of the imperative. According to Gowda, ''ma-'' surfaces as ''me-'' before consonants. In the imperative, ''te-'' is used instead for negation. The vowel in the negative prefixes is lost when the following verb stem begins in ''a''.<ref name=Gowda1975/>{{rp|54–55}}

===Noun morphology=== 2) The following table shows the case marking present in Chungli Ao.<ref name=":0" /> {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |+ Case marking |- ! × ! Agentive case ! Instrumental case ! Allative case ! Ablative case ! Locative case |- | || i || i || i || nungi ||nung |}

== Numbers == {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |+ Number system<ref>{{Cite web |title=Numbers in Chungli Ao |url=https://www.omniglot.com/language/numbers/aonaga.htm |access-date=2020-04-24 |website=www.omniglot.com}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable (WP:NOTRS).|date=November 2025}} |- ! × ! Numeral ! Cardinal number ! Ordinal number |- ! 1 | 1 || ka || tamaba |- ! 2 | 2 || ana || tanabuba |- ! 3 | 3 || asem || asembuba |- ! 4 | 4 || pezü || |- ! 5 | 5 || pungu || |- ! 6 | 6 || terok || |- ! 7 | 7 || tenet || |- ! 8 | 8 || ti || |- ! 9 | 9 || teku || |- ! 10 | 10 || ter || |- ! 11 | 11 || terka || |- ! 12 | 12 ||ter ana || |- ! 13 | 13 || ter asem || |- ! 14 | 14 || ter pezü || |- ! 15 | 15 || ter pongu || |- ! 16 | 16 || ter terok || |- ! 17 | 17 || ter tenet || |- ! 18 | 18 || ter ti || |- ! 19 | 19 || ter teku || |- ! 20 | 20 || metsü || |}

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chungli Ao Language}} Category:Ao languages Category:Languages of Nagaland