Centre for Naga Tribal Language Studies

The Centre for Naga Tribal Language Studies (CNTLS) was established in 2016 and began offering courses in 2018. Its core aim is to facilitate academic inquiry into Naga languages through a multidisciplinary lens—integrating language, linguistics, verbal arts, and traditional practices to study Naga culture and society. The courses offered by CNTLS are grounded in the belief that language and culture are interrelated expressions of human experience. Languages are not isolated systems but are shaped by cultural ways of making meaning through sound.

By adopting an interdisciplinary approach, CNTLS moves beyond conventional academic silos, aligning with global trends in higher education. This framework prepares students and scholars to address contemporary challenges—ranging from grassroots policymaking and social impact to the preservation of cultural heritage and language revitalisation.

Courses Offered:

  • Master of Arts in Language and Culture (2 years)
  • Post Graduate Diploma in Folkloristics (1 Year)
  • Post Graduate Diploma in Naga Languages and Cultural Studies (1 Year)
  • PhD (The PhD degree from CNTLS is offered in the field of Linguistics, English, or any other department of the school, depending on the affiliation of the topic, given the varied interdisciplinary nature of research work done in the centre)

Vision:

  • Documentation of Naga languages and diminishing traditional verbal art forms.
  • To map the similarities, diversity and cognate relationship of Naga languages.
  • To document and correlate the traditional practices of the Nagas to the larger framework of contemporary discourses.
  • To create an audio-visual archive of the different performing Naga folk arts.

Research Activities/Thrust Areas:

  • Linguistics and Language Studies
  • Language and Culture
  • Language and Society
  • Language Documentation
  • Language and Folk Culture
  • Folk Culture and Performing Arts
  • Folklore and Culture

CONTACT INFORMATION:-

  1. E-mail: ntls[at]nagalanduniversity.ac.in
  2. Phone: 7005305717 / 8730018035 / 8794523438