Kohima, April 29: The Nagaland government is planning to approach the Centre for inclusion of Tenyidie in the Sixth Schedule, sources told The Telegraph here today.

Tenyidie has been the local language of the Angami, Chakhesang, Rengma and Zeliang tribes of the state for over a century now. It is also spoken by the Pochury tribe in Nagaland as well as Myanmar.

“We are trying our best to promote this language,” state planning minister Shürhozelie, who holds a doctorate in Tenyidie literature and has authored over 30 books, said.

Shürhozelie is also the chairman of the Ura Academy, the apex body framing rules of the dialect and regulating Tenyidie grammar. Tenyidie was accorded the Roman script in 1884 by the American missionary, Rev. Charles Dewitt King. It further evolved with the formation of a “literature committee” in the early part of the 20th century, with a final thrust being provided by the formation of the Ura Academy in 1972. More than 1,000 books have been written in the language, spoken mainly in Kohima and Phek districts.

The relative “generosity” of the language has helped it become more popular as a literary language. For instance, words like Eno (Mr) and Enoli (Ms) have been adopted from the Sumi dialect . It also has words borrowed from the English language.

“There have even been attempts to translate Sumi and Ao literature into Tenyidie, which has worked out as an advantage for the language,” said Mhalezolie Kire, lecturer in Tenyidie at Nagaland University and editor of Tenyidie daily Capi.

Nagamese, however, has worked out as a limiting factor for the language. “Had it not been for Nagamese, Tenyidie would have had more exposure,” Kire said.