Kohima, June 25: Akrutz?, a Chakhesang woman, is learning Ao. E.T. Ngullie’s wife speaks fluent Lotha, but she comes from a different tribe. Blame it on inter-tribe marriages. The Nagas, especially the youth, fumble for words when it comes to displaying their command over their mothertongue. The vocal chords are now more tuned to English and the ubiquitous Nagamese, a corrupt non-script version of Assamese that is serving as the lingua franca of this tiny hilly state for centuries.
The State Council of Educational Research and Training has discovered after a survey on the changing pattern of...