KHAMLAN BINKHAM: My tribe is Tangshang Naga, unfoturnately, proper grammar and dictionary of our language are not available yet

This article is a part of series of articles about languages and polyglots.

Interview (2016 10 29).

Tell more about Yourself. You represent a small nation which still doesn't have a grammar, dictionaries and original script? Or those things already exist? What nation is it?

My name is Khämlan Binkhäm /kʰɐ̄m.lān. bīn.kʰɐ̄m/. I am from Naga Hills, Northwest of Myanmar (Burma). Myanmar (Burmese) has a national language and spoken by more than 50 million people.

There are more than 30 Naga tribes, and I am one of them. My tribe is Tangshang Naga, which is known as Naga Tase in the ethnolouge coding name, nst. There are more than 10 languages with 70 dialects approximately in Tangshang Naga. The common language for Tangshang Naga is still underdeveloped. Unfoturnately proper grammar and dictionary are not available yet. Tangshang Naga can be found in both countries, viz, Myanmar and India.

Now it's both important to learn languages to communicate (especially, the most popular ones), but also people tend to learn rare, vanishing or even extinct languages, try to give them a possibility to become alive again. Is this a part of Your work and please tell how and what do You do it?

Yes, I believe that it is also important to maintain and develop less-known or extinct languages. I am doing for Tangshang Naga language development. Firstly, I plan to do literacy development among the Tangshang Naga people.

Tell more about Your nation. I guess still lots of people do not even know anything about it, but it's traditions, songs, dress and everything else show that it's rich in culture. What is it? Were You born as a native of this nation and how do You exactly call it?

Myanmar is a very diverse country with many ethnic groups. The culture and traditions, cuisine and costume, and music vary from each other more or less. I was born in Myanmar. Even though, my ethnic background is different, I am a citizen of Myanmar.

Frankly to say, Naga people were divided in two countries, Myanmar and India without the consent of the Naga people. NNC (Naga National Council) declared independence in August 14th, 1947 before India and Burma got independence from British colony. Naga is still defending their freedom.

What can we all do to preserve all the cultures and languages? There are about 8000 of them. Is it true, what do You think, that after some dozens of years there will vanish lots of them. What can we all do?

This is a trick question since there are many things to do in the world. Most of people may not want to preserve less-known cultures and the languages. But every culture and language is important, valuable, and piece of art to the human society. It is beautiful piece of God’s creations. Unless, people give a room to preserve the languages, they will extinct day by day.