HT Bureau
DIPHU, Feb 10: Efforts to preserve and standardise the Karbi language gathered momentum on Tuesday as the International Workshop on Standardisation of Karbi Language entered its second day at the Arboretum-cum-Craft Centre in Matipung.
Organised by the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council in collaboration with the Centre for Karbi Studies (CKS) and the Standardisation Committee for Karbi Language (SCKL), the three-day workshop aims to develop a definitive framework for the written and spoken forms of the Karbi language and move it from a largely oral tradition to a documented academic standard.
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The day’s sessions focused on the technical foundations of the language.
Maggie Katharpi, deputy director of CKS, opened the proceedings with a presentation on the phonological foundations of Karbi, explaining the sound systems that shape the language.
This was followed by a presentation from Dr Amalesh Gope of Tezpur University, who emphasised the importance of lexical tones in Karbi.
He noted that, like other Tibeto-Burman languages, Karbi possesses rich tonal inventories and that tone plays a crucial role in conveying meaning at the word level.
Dr Gope stressed the need to train school teachers to help students recognise these linguistic features from an early age for effective standardisation.
A major development concerning the Karbi writing system was announced by Khorsing Teron, who said the standardisation committee has proposed moving beyond the traditional five-vowel system.
Based on detailed phonetic analysis, the committee has recommended adopting seven vowels, 18 consonants and four diphthongs, a proposal that has received approval from the KAAC.
Teron also confirmed that the Rongkhang variation from West Karbi Anglong will continue as the standard written form due to its wider clarity and acceptance.
The workshop also examined sociolinguistic challenges confronting the language.
The’ang Teron presented a paper on indigenous epistemologies, cautioning against the “museumification” of Karbi and warning that the language risks becoming a cultural artefact if it ceases to be actively spoken.
Similar concerns were raised in a presentation on code-switching by Sarbinong E Kathar and Habe Teron, who highlighted increasing code-mixing among Karbi youth, leading to difficulties in expressing complete thoughts in their mother tongue.
An international perspective was added by Dr Linda Konnerth of the University of Bern, who chaired the pre-lunch session.
Other contributors included Mirdom Teronpi and Prof Bidisha Som on linguistic landscaping, Kar’etso Rongpipi on syllable structures and word stress, and Sikari Tisso and Khoyasing Hanse on tonal necessity and regional orthographic variations.
The day concluded with an intensive session on developing a Karbi glossary, chaired by Dr Dharamsing Teron, director of CKS. Participants noted that as the workshop heads into its final day, there is growing consensus that language standardisation is not merely a linguistic exercise but a crucial step towards cultural preservation and continuity.
