Nagamese

Pidgin (Indo-Aryan-lexified, Assamese)

FamilyPidgin (Indo-Aryan-lexified, Assamese) Speakers~30K (L1) + ~1.4M (L2) ScriptLatin / Assamese (Bengali-derived) / Devanagari CountriesIndia (Nagaland, parts of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur) Official inNagaland (de facto state lingua franca; English is the only official language) Vitalityvulnerable ISO 639-3nag

Nagamese (also Naga Pidgin) is an Assamese-lexified contact language that emerged in the 19th century as a trade lingua franca between speakers of dozens of mutually unintelligible Naga languages (Tibeto-Burman) of northeastern India. It serves as the primary inter-ethnic medium across Nagaland, where English is the only official language but is not universally spoken. Some children now grow up with Nagamese as L1, making it a creole-in-formation. Reduced morphology compared to Standard Assamese; lexically Assamese with Naga substrate features.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Nagamese

Water

pani

pani

Fire

jui

dʒui

Sun

suruj

suɾudʒ

Moon

chand

tʃaːnd

Star

tara

taɾa

Night

rati

rati

Rain

borkhon

boɾkʰon

Snow

borop

bɔɾɔp

Wind

hawa

hawa

Earth

mati

mati

Stone

pathor

patʰor

Mountain

pahar

pahaɾ

Sea

samundar

samundaɾ

Mother

ma

ma

Father

baba

baba

Daughter

chukri

tʃukɾi

I

moi

moi

You

tumi

tumi

We

amikhan

amikʰan

Name

naam

nam

Person

manu

manu

Head

matha

matʰa

Eye

suku

suku

Ear

kan

kan

Nose

nak

nak

Mouth

mukh

mukʰ

Tooth

dat

dat

Tongue

jib

dʒib

Hand

hath

haːtʰ

Foot

theng

tʰeŋ

Heart

mon

mon

Bone

haddi

hadːi

Blood

khun

kʰun

Love

morom

moɾom

Tree

gus

ɡus

Dog

kukur

kukuɾ

Cat

mekuri

mekuɾi

Fish

maas

maːs

Bird

sorai

sɔrai

Egg

anda

anda

Bear

bhaluk

bʱaluk

Horse

ghora

ɡʱoɾa

House

ghor

ɡʱoɾ

Milk

dudh

dudʱ

Honey

mou pani

mou pani

Salt

nimok

nimok

Wine

angur ros

aŋur ros

Iron

luha

luha

Silk

resham

reʃam

Book

kitab

kitab

Eat

kha

kʰa

Drink

pi

pi

Sleep

ghum

ɡʱum

One

ek

ek

Two

dui

dui

Three

tin

tin

Four

char

tʃar

Five

pans

pans

Hundred

eksoh

eksoh

Hello

namaskar

namaskaɾ

Thank you

dhonyobad

dʱoɲobad

Good

bhal

bʱal

New

notun

notun

Red

lal

lal

White

boga

boɡa

Black

kala

kala

Green

hara

haɾa

Blue

nila

nila

Cuckoo

Kuli Sorai

kuli sɔrai

Sugar

chini

tʃini

Ninety-nine

ninyanve

ninjanve

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Pidgin (Indo-Aryan-lexified, Assamese)

Meaning NagameseRangpuriHajongBishnupriya ManipuriBengaliAssameseSylheti
Water pani /pani/ পানি /pani/ pani /pani/ পানি /paːni/ জল /dʒɔl/ পানী /pani/ পানি /pani/
Fire jui /dʒui/ আগুন /aɡun/ ag /aɡ/ আগুন /aːɡun/ আগুন /aɡun/ জুই /zui/ আগুন /aɡun/
Sun suruj /suɾudʒ/ সুরুজ /suɾudʒ/ bela /bela/ বেল /bel/ সূর্য /ʃuɾdʒo/ সূৰ্য /xuɹjɔ/ সুরুজ /suruz/
Moon chand /tʃaːnd/ চাইন /tʃain/ চান /tʃan/ জুনাক /dʒunak/ চাঁদ /tʃãd/ জোন /zon/ চান /tʃan/
Star tara /taɾa/ তারা /taɾa/ tara /taɾa/ তারা /taɾa/ তারা /taɾa/ তৰা /tɔɹa/ তারা /tara/
Night rati /rati/ রাইত /rait/ rati /rati/ রাতি /rati/ রাত /rat/ ৰাতি /ɹati/ রাইত /rait/
Rain borkhon /boɾkʰon/ ঝড়ি /dʒʱoɽi/ mek /mek/ — বৃষ্টি /ˈbriʃʈi/ বৰষুণ /bɔɹɔxun/ মেঘ /mɛɡ/
Snow borop /bɔɾɔp/ বরফ /bɔɾɔf/ borof /bɔrof/ বরফ /bɔrof/ তুষার /tuʃar/ বৰফ /bɔɹɔf/ বরফ /bɔɾɔf/
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