Vaak Manthan Vol. 11, Issue II (2026) brings together studies on a remarkable range of lesser-known, endangered, and contact languages of India. The contributions span Tibeto-Burman languages (Maram from Manipur/Nagaland; Thang Hrangkhol and Uchoi from Tripura; and Karbi from Assam/Meghalaya), Central and Northern Indo-Aryan enclave languages (West-Central Haryanvi, Kannauji of Uttar Pradesh, and Kumauni of Uttarakhand), and contact/trans-border varieties (Dooars Sadri of West Bengal; Kudmali of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, and Odisha; and Koch and Banai of Assam, Meghalaya, and Bangladesh). Collectively, these studies highlight language contact and convergence, the erosion and transformation of traditional cultural practices, cross-linguistic grammatical typology, and the revitalization of Indigenous heritage through oral traditions and folk literature.

The linguistic ecology of north-eastern and eastern India has long been shaped by sustained multilingual contact. The dominance of major Indo-Aryan languages such as Bengali, Assamese, Odia, and Hindi has resulted in significant contact-induced changes not only in Tibeto-Burman languages but also in marginalized Indo-Aryan and other Indigenous languages. Many minority languages are experiencing a gradual decline owing to increasing bilingualism and the growing influence of dominant regional languages. For example, younger Kudmali speakers increasingly use Bengali in West Bengal and Hindi in Jharkhand, while Banai is written in the Assamese script in Assam and the Bengali script in Meghalaya. Likewise, Kudmali literature is published in both Bengali and Devanagari scripts, and Karbi employs both Assamese and Roman scripts. These developments vividly illustrate the complex relationship between language contact, script choice, and linguistic identity.

Several papers in this volume examine these contact-induced processes from different perspectives. Mahato and Pal argue that although Kudmali is generally classified as a dialect of Magahi, it possesses a distinct “Bangla feel” in both its linguistic character and usage. Their detailed analysis of the pronominal system reveals significant structural convergence with Bengali, Magahi, and neighbouring Munda languages. Similarly, Das, in The Classification Dilemma of Banai: Indo-Aryan Core or Tibeto-Burman Influence, demonstrates through lexical and syntactic evidence that Banai is fundamentally an Indo-Aryan language with a substantial Tibeto-Burman substratum, exhibiting both inherited and contact-induced features. The influence of language contact is equally evident at the phonological level. Sarfaraj and Laskar provide a detailed account of the sound system of Dooars Sadri, showing that although its vowel inventory closely resembles Bhojpuri, the incorporation of a low back rounded vowel in Bengali loanwords reflects the phonetic influence of the dominant regional language.

Marginalized communities frequently reinterpret and adapt their cultural traditions in response to social change, globalization, and increasing linguistic assimilation. CP and Sharma examine the endangered Malavedan community of Kerala, documenting the gradual erosion of its matrilineal clan system alongside the decline of traditional ecological knowledge as speakers increasingly shift towards standard Malayalam and a globalized identity. Likewise, Mahanta explores cultural continuity and change among the Koch community of Meghalaya, illustrating how rituals and cultural practices continue to be transmitted across generations while simultaneously adapting to contemporary social realities. The issue also includes Ezung’s bibliometric review of ethnolinguistic research published between 2003 and 2024. Using Biblioshiny and VOSviewer, the study maps the global landscape of ethnolinguistic scholarship and identifies emerging trends in research on language and culture.

Beyond language contact and ethnolinguistic perspectives, the volume makes significant contributions to the phonological description of lesser-known languages. Mohan presents a comprehensive analysis of the phonemic inventory and phonological processes of the West-Central Haryanvi variety spoken in the Bhiwani and Hisar districts, distinguishing it from the Bangru and Deswali varieties and demonstrating the role of dynamic features in shaping its segmental phonology. Complementing this study, Sarfaraj and Laskar show that the phonemic inventory of Dooars Sadri largely corresponds with Bhojpuri and other Sadri varieties spoken in Jharkhand, thereby providing valuable comparative data for future studies on inter-dialectal variation.

Another major contribution of this volume lies in its exploration of cross-linguistic grammatical typology. Hrangkhol provides a detailed account of negation in Thang Hrangkhol, demonstrating how negative markers and negative words vary according to person, number, tense, imperative mood, and adjective class. Victoria and Haokip investigate one of the most significant morphological features of Maram Naga – the attributive and nominalising prefix kV- and situate it within the broader Central Naga, Southern Naga, Kuki-Chin, and Sino-Tibetan context. Their analysis further shows that adjectives functioning as stative or property verbs employ the attributive prefix ka- in nominal modification.

Chakraborty presents a detailed description of the tense, aspect, and mood system of the Jawlai dialect of Uchoi, spoken in Gomati and South Tripura districts. Although Uchoi verb forms have traditionally been analysed in terms of past, present, and future tense, the study argues convincingly that the language is better understood within an aspect–modality framework centred on the realis–irrealis distinction, a pattern that extends even to negative constructions. Sen contributes a comprehensive analysis of the syntax–morphology interface in Kumauni, focusing on argument structure and providing evidence for its conformity with universal principles of syntactic organization.

The final group of papers shifts attention from linguistic structure to Indigenous knowledge systems and oral traditions. These contributions demonstrate how folklore, oral narratives, rituals, ecological knowledge, and traditional practices constitute invaluable repositories of linguistic and cultural heritage while preserving archaic vocabulary and distinctive grammatical structures. Rastogi’s documentation of the Raji creation narrative, From Sky to Earth, reflects the community’s worldview and cultural values while highlighting the historical significance of Raji lexical items embedded within the myth. Singh and Kakoti examine folk beliefs among Kannauji speakers, illustrating their importance in sustaining cultural identity and community cohesion. Rahang provides a detailed ethnographic account of Karbi marriage customs in Assam and Meghalaya, while Kumari documents Bihari folk traditions through Chhath festival songs and the life of the folk artist who helped popularize this important genre.

The Hindi section of this issue includes two significant contributions. The first examines the phonology of the Jad language, while the second discusses Parsi Boli, the secret language used among twelve nomadic communities of Madhya Pradesh, thereby bringing attention to another important yet under-documented linguistic tradition.

Beyond the research articles, Vaak Manthan continues its tradition of documenting the voices of distinguished scholars through in-depth interviews. In this issue, we are pleased to feature a conversation with Dr. Dharmendra Pare, whose reflections on linguistic research, fieldwork, and academic life offer valuable methodological and intellectual insights. Such conversations constitute important intellectual resources by preserving scholarly experiences that often remain undocumented and by inspiring younger generations of researchers.

Collectively, the contributions in this volume underscore the richness of India’s linguistic diversity while reaffirming the importance of documenting endangered languages, oral traditions, and Indigenous knowledge systems. We hope that this issue will stimulate further scholarly dialogue, encourage interdisciplinary research, and contribute meaningfully to ongoing efforts in language documentation, linguistic analysis, and language revitalization.