Participants of the five-day national workshop on “Crafting Digital Resources for Languages of Nagaland” at Tetso College, Sovima, Chümoukedima, on August 18. (Photo Courtesy: Tetso College)
Chümoukedima, August 18 (MExN): A five-day national workshop on “Crafting Digital Resources for Languages of Nagaland” began at Tetso College, Sovima, on August 18, bringing together native language speakers, community resource persons, linguists, language teachers and technology experts.
Organised jointly by the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysuru, through its Centre of North Eastern Language Development (C-NELD), and the Department of Linguistics, Tetso College, the workshop will continue till August 22.
The initiative aims to develop prototype digital resources for 12 languages of Nagaland, combining community knowledge, linguistic expertise and technology to support language learning, documentation, intergenerational transmission and wider digital use.
Speaking at the inaugural programme, Programme Coordinator and Head of the Department of Linguistics, Tetso College, Dr Wichamdinbo Mataina, stressed the need for indigenous languages to have a meaningful presence in digital spaces.
He said languages carrying histories, traditional knowledge, songs, stories and cultural identities could face declining visibility if absent from digital environments. He also noted that Nagaland’s languages require different approaches because of their varied linguistic, orthographic, technological and community-specific challenges.
Chief guest Padma Shri awardee Sentila T Yanger, State Convenor of INTACH, Nagaland Chapter, highlighted the link between language, cultural identity and intergenerational transmission. She expressed concern over the shift towards dominant languages, particularly among younger generations in urban areas, and said language carries the memories, knowledge, traditions and worldview of communities.
Yanger highlighted digital dictionaries, archives, fonts, keyboards and learning resources, along with AI applications in transcription, translation, speech recognition and documentation. However, she cautioned that technology alone cannot preserve a language, stressing the need for communities to continue speaking, teaching and using their languages.
Prof Umarani Pappuswamy, Professor-cum-Deputy Director and Programme Coordinator, CIIL, said many of Nagaland’s languages remain under-documented and most are low-resourced in the digital domain. She said advances in AI and digital technologies have made the digital divide increasingly a language divide.
The workshop follows a community-oriented approach involving native speakers, community resource persons, linguists and technology experts. Participants will develop prototype resources using approximately 500 words, 20 phrases and 50 example sentences, along with audio and linguistic information, subject to community and linguistic verification.
Resources being explored include a talking children’s dictionary, vocabulary activities, language games, quizzes, phrase and sentence resources, listening and speaking activities, and a digital language starter kit.
A total of 26 native speakers and community resource persons, eight linguists, two language teachers and three software and technology developers are participating, according to a college press release.
Principal Dr Hewasa L Khing welcomed the initiative and linked it to the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022–2032), Tetso College’s Vision 2030 and its digital indigenous knowledge archive, NEIIPA.
Practical sessions began Tuesday afternoon, focusing on language data collection, verification and conversion into digital formats.
