OKM organizes Ao Naga language preservation competition

Aliba, 13 August (MTNews): The Ongpangkong Students’ Conference (OKM) organized a language competition with the aim of preserving and promoting the Ao Naga language on Saturday at Tatar Salang in Aliba village, as part of its “Tetsü Oshi Wazüka Ayuba Mapatong 2021 – 2024” initiative.

The fourth phase of the competition, under the banner of “Tetsü Oshi Wazüka Ayuba Mapatong” saw OKM delving deeper to unearth inner talents through Ao Naga song self-compositions in a quartet format. Participants were given the opportunity to express their inner emotions and more, captivating the audience with folk fusion melodies.

The competition held under the theme “Tetsü Oshi Tali Senputi (Let’s be more passionate about our mother tongue)” was participated by various units under OKM, and was hosted by Aliba Kaketshir Telungjem.

In the formal program, Advocate Imchayanger, Legal Advisor & PS to Minister Metsubo, served as the special guest. He emphasized that a mother tongue is a powerful tool for advancing learning and nurturing a child’s personal, social, and cultural identity. He also noted that many youngsters living outside Mokokchung have become isolated from or abandoned their mother tongue due to cross-cultural communication. This has led to negligence in actively passing down the linguistic heritage to the next generation. Consequently, he warned that the mother tongue could die out without speakers, allowing the dominant language to rapidly become the mother tongue of the next generation.

In this context, he praised OKM’s initiative to kindle the flame of the mother tongue among the younger generation. He commended the array of competitions for helping students become more knowledgeable about the values of the mother tongue, enriching the Ao tone, accent, and the deeper meaning and philosophy of Ao Naga culture and ethos. He urged OKM to remain focused on their objectives of promoting and preserving the Ao Naga language. He also urged OKM to collaborate with Ao Senden and other organizations to elevate Ao Naga language to a subject in schools, colleges, and universities.

Ongpangkong Tetsür Mungdang (Ongpangkong Women’s Conference) President Akumchila also addressed the event. She acknowledged that it is the mistake of the parents that today’s children cannot speak, write, and read their own language. However, she cautioned the student community that it would be their mistake if future generations cannot engage with the language. She emphasized, “If you love and appreciate our language, and want to keep it alive, then let us speak, write, and read our language.”

In the Ao Naga song self-composition competition, the Mokokchung Village Students’ Union was declared the winner, while the Aliba Students’ Union and Soyim Students’ Union were adjudged as the first and second runners-up, respectively.