ABSTRACT
The chapter, primarily on linguistic investigation of variation in Angami of Kohima village, uses oral narratives to contribute to the understanding of the present clan structure and past mobility and its connections to the nature of linguistic variation. Among communities with a strong oral culture, the migration stories and oral histories forms an important source in understanding the community and the language. The present study investigates language variation by taking into account marriage practice in Kohima village among the four thinuos (a clan-based unit) who in turn speak their own ‘clanlects’ which varies to certain degree, but are mutually intelligible. This is compared with a linguistic study of clan-based society of the Sui community in southwest China. The study shows how clan-based practice turns out to be a major predictor of language variation.
