Nagamese

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nagamese is a creole used in Nagaland. Since Nagaland is inhabited by people belonging to different Naga tribes speaking languages which are mutually unintelligible, Nagamese is the preferred form of communication for all. It is used in the Nagaland Legislature, as a means of explanation in Nagaland schools and in mixed households. It has been described as a creole, which was stable by 1936 and which is unlikely to decreolize. Though English is the official language of Nagaland, it is understood by a very small fraction of the people.

Nagamese has two cases, two tenses, three aspectual distinctions and no gender. It shares a large part of its lexicon with Assamese.

[edit] External links

• Review of Bhattacharya's "Nagamese: Pidgin, Creole or Creoloid?"