From the Editor’s Desk
Season’s Greetings!
This volume brings together sixteen original papers exploring the intricate and dynamic linguistic landscape of South and Northeast India. The contributions span a broad range of linguistic subfields—phonetics and phonology, morphology, syntax, sociolinguistics, cognitive linguistics, language policy, and language vitality—and are united by their shared focus on lesser-described languages and dialects, endangered language communities, and grassroots linguistic realities.
The volume opens with descriptive studies of Poula, Simte, Kokborok, Uchoi, and Sütsa, each documenting key grammatical, phonological, or lexical features. These are complemented by classifier systems in Uchoi and Kokborok, gender distinctions in Simte, and pronouns in Sütsa, illustrating the internal diversity of the Tibeto-Burman language family.
A second cluster of contributions centres around language endangerment and vitality—with studies on Uchoi, Deori, Khortha, and the recognized Naga languages. These works apply tools like UNESCO’s language vitality framework and Swadesh Word Lists to assess degrees of intergenerational transmission, domain usage, and speaker attitudes. The Naga study, in particular, offers a macro-view of language shift in the face of English dominance and Nagamese proliferation.
Several contributions interrogate language policy and identity, including the examination of NEP 2020's three-language formula in Tiwa communities and a sociolinguistic study on ethnic identity and language politics in Manipur. These papers highlight how linguistic questions intersect with education, conflict, and representation, making clear that language is both a social and political resource.
The volume’s only cognitive linguistic paper explores metaphors of TIME in Hindi, applying Conceptual Metaphor Theory to structure abstract domains in a non-Indo-European context. In contrast, historical-comparative analysis in the study on Patkaian rimes provides a fine-grained reevaluation of reconstructed forms with newly available dialectal data.
The Konyak phonological study reflects on the effects of standardization and borrowing, showing how language change is shaped by internal variation and external influence alike. Similarly, the Deori study explores linguistic resilience within a community where three of four clans have already shifted to Assamese.
The sixteen and final paper adds a dialectological perspective, comparing Standard Assamese (Eastern dialect) with the Palasbaria dialect of Kamrupi. The study highlights systematic phonological processes such as paragoge, syncope, and consonantal substitutions, demonstrating how regional varieties within dominant languages deserve equal scholarly attention and preservation efforts.
Across all sixteen papers, a unifying theme emerges: that linguistic diversity in India is both expansive and endangered. While some communities are witnessing robust intergenerational transmission, others are struggling against the tide of dominant language encroachment. Structural variation—be it in sounds, classifiers, metaphors, or pronouns—remains a vital source of cultural expression and intellectual insight.
By documenting these languages and varieties through fieldwork, analysis, and community reflection, this volume contributes not only to academic knowledge but also to language preservation, revitalization, and equity. The voices of India’s linguistic margins—rural dialects, endangered tongues, tribal expressions—deserve not only documentation but also recognition, support, and space within the national narrative.
Dr. Bishakha Sarma
Independent Researcher,
Senior Fellow,
SEL
