Ao

The Ao or Central Naga languages are a small family of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken by various Naga peoples of Nagaland in northeast India. Conventionally classified as "Naga", they are not clearly related to other Naga languages, and are conservatively classified as an independent branch of Sino-Tibetan, pending further research. There are around 607,000 speakers of the languages in total. Coupe (2012) considers the Angami–Pochuri languages to be most closely related to Ao as part of a wider Angami–Ao group. Languages The following languages are widely accepted as Central Naga languages: Ao language Chungli Ao Mongsen Ao Sangtam ('Thukumi') Yimkhiungrü ('Yachumi') Lotha (Lhota) There are also various undescribed Ao varieties including Yacham and Tengsa, which may turn out to be separate languages (see Mongsen Ao). The following "Naga" languages spoken in and around Leshi Township, Myanmar are classified as Ao languages ("Ao-Yimkhiungrü") by Saul (2005). Koki Makury Long Phuri Para