Assamese language explained

Assamese
Nativename:Assamese: অসমীয়া
State:India
Pronunciation:in Assamese pronounced as /ɔxɔmija/
States:India
Region:
Ethnicity:Assamese
Speakers: million
Date:2011 census
Ref:e25
Familycolor:Indo-European
Fam2:Indo-Iranian
Fam3:Indo-Aryan
Fam4:Eastern
Fam5:Bengali–Assamese
Fam6:Kamrupa
Ancestor:Magadhi Prakrit
Ancestor2:Magadhan Apabhraṃśa
Ancestor3:Kamarupi Prakrit
Ancestor4:Old Assamese
Script:
Nation:
Agency:Asam Sahitya Sabha (Literary Society of Assam)
Dia1:Eastern, Central, Kamrupi, Goalpariya
Map:File:Geographical distribution of Assamese language.png
Iso1:as
Iso2:asm
Iso3:asm
Glotto:assa1263
Glottorefname:Assamese
Lingua:59-AAF-w
Notice:IPA

Assamese or Asamiya (Assamese: অসমীয়া in Assamese pronounced as /ɔxɔmija/)[3] is an Indo-Aryan language spoken mainly in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam, where it is an official language. It serves as a lingua franca of the wider region[4] and has over 15 million native speakers according to Ethnologue. Nefamese, an Assamese-based pidgin in Arunachal Pradesh, was used as the lingua franca till it was replaced by Hindi; and Nagamese, an Assamese-based Creole language, continues to be widely used in Nagaland. The Kamtapuri language of Rangpur division of Bangladesh and the Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri districts of India is linguistically closer to Assamese, though the speakers identify with the Bengali culture and the literary language.[5] In the past, it was the court language of the Ahom kingdom from the 17th century.

Along with other Eastern Indo-Aryan languages, Assamese evolved at least before the 7th century CE[6] from the middle Indo-Aryan Magadhi Prakrit. Its sister languages include Angika, Bengali, Bishnupriya Manipuri, Chakma, Chittagonian, Hajong, Rajbangsi, Maithili, Rohingya and Sylheti. It is written in the Assamese alphabet, an abugida system, from left to right, with many typographic ligatures.

History

Assamese originated in Old Indo-Aryan dialects, though the exact nature of its origin and growth is not clear yet.[7] It is generally believed that Assamese and the Kamatapuri lects derive from the Kamarupi dialect of Eastern Magadhi Prakrit[8] though some authors contest a close connection of Assamese with Magadhi Prakrit.[9] [10] The Indo-Aryan, which appeared in the 4th–5th century in Assam, was probably spoken in the new settlements of Kamarupa—in urban centers and along the Brahmaputra river—surrounded by Tibeto-Burman and Austroasiatic communities.[11] Kakati's (1941) assertion that Assamese has an Austroasiatic substrate is generally accepted—which suggests that when the Indo-Aryan centers formed in the 4th–5th centuries CE, there were substantial Austroasiatic speakers that later accepted the Indo-Aryan vernacular.[12] Based on the 7th-century Chinese traveller Xuanzang's observations, suggests that the Indo-Aryan vernacular differentiated itself in Kamarupa before it did in Bengal,[13] and that these differences could be attributed to non-Indo-Aryan speakers adopting the language.[14] [15] The newly differentiated vernacular, from which Assamese eventually emerged, is evident in the Prakritisms present in the Sanskrit of the Kamarupa inscriptions.[16]

Magadhan and Gauda-Kamarupa stages

The earliest forms of Assamese in literature are found in the 9th-century Buddhist verses called Charyapada[17] the language of which bear affinities with Assamese (as well as Bengali, Maithili and Odia) and which belongs to a period when the Prakrit was at the cusp of differentiating into regional languages.[18] The spirit and expressiveness of the Charyadas are today found in the folk songs called Deh-Bicarar Git.[19]

In the 12th-14th century works of Ramai Pundit (Sunya Puran), Boru Chandidas (Krishna Kirtan), Sukur Mamud (Gopichandrar Gan), Durllava Mullik (Gobindachandrar Git) and Bhavani Das (Mainamatir Gan)[20] Assamese grammatical peculiarities coexist with features from Bengali language.[21] [22] Though the Gauda-Kamarupa stage is generally accepted and partially supported by recent linguistic research, it has not been fully reconstructed.[23]

Early Assamese

See also: Early Assamese. A distinctly Assamese literary form appeared first in the 13th-century in the courts of the Kamata kingdom when Hema Sarasvati composed the poem Prahrāda Carita.[24] In the 14th-century, Madhava Kandali translated the Ramayana into Assamese (Saptakanda Ramayana) in the court of Mahamanikya, a Kachari king from central Assam. Though the Assamese idiom in these works is fully individualised, some archaic forms and conjunctive particles too are found. This period corresponds to the common stage of proto-Kamta and early Assamese.[25]

The emergence of Sankardev's Ekasarana Dharma in the 15th century triggered a revival in language and literature.[26] Sankardev produced many translated works and created new literary forms—Borgeets (songs), Ankia Naat (one-act plays)—infusing them with Brajavali idioms; and these were sustained by his followers Madhavdev and others in the 15th and subsequent centuries. In these writings the 13th/14th-century archaic forms are no longer found. Sankardev pioneered a prose-style of writing in the Ankia Naat. This was further developed by Bhattadeva who translated the Bhagavata Purana and Bhagavad Gita into Assamese prose. Bhattadev's prose was classical and restrained, with a high usage of Sanskrit forms and expressions in an Assamese syntax; and though subsequent authors tried to follow this style, it soon fell into disuse.[27]

Middle Assamese

The language moved to the court of the Ahom kingdom in the seventeenth century,[29] where it became the state language. In parallel, the proselytising Ekasarana dharma converted many Bodo-Kachari peoples and there emerged many new Assamese speakers who were speakers of Tibeto-Burman languages. This period saw the emergence of different styles of secular prose in medicine, astrology, arithmetic, dance, music, besides religious biographies and the archaic prose of magical charms.[30] The Buranjis, dealing with statecraft, was also the vehicle by which Arabic and Persian elements crept into the language in abundance.[32] The general schwa deletion that occurs in the final position of words came into use in this period.

Modern Assamese

The modern period of Assamese begins with printing—the publication of the Assamese Bible in 1813 from the Serampore Mission Press. But after the British East India Company (EIC) removed the Burmese in 1826 and took complete administrative control of Assam in 1836, it filled administrative positions with people from Bengal, and introduced Bengali language in its offices, schools and courts.[33] The EIC had earlier promoted the development of Bengali to replace Persian, the language of administration in Mughal India,[34] and maintained that Assamese was a dialect of Bengali.[35]

Amidst this loss of status the American Baptist Mission (ABM) established a press in Sibsagar in 1846 leading to publications of an Assamese periodical (Orunodoi), the first Assamese grammar by Nathan Brown (1846), and the first Assamese-English dictionary by Miles Bronson (1863).[36] Among the local personalities Anandaram Dhekial Phukan drew up an extensive catalogue of medieval Assamese literature (among other works) and pioneered the effort among the natives to reinstate Assamese in Assam.[37] Though this effort was not immediately successful the administration eventually declared Assamese the official vernacular in 1873 on the eve of Assam becoming a Chief Commissioner's Province in 1874.[38]

Standardisation

In the extant medieval Assamese manuscripts the orthography was not uniform. The ABM had evolved a phonemic orthography based on a contracted set of characters. Working independently Hemchandra Barua provided an etymological orthography and his etymological dictionary, Hemkosh, was published posthumously. He also provided a Sanskritised approach to the language in his Asamiya Bhaxar Byakaran ("Grammar of the Assamese Language") (1859, 1873). Barua's approach was adopted by the Asamiya Bhasa Unnati Sadhini Sabha (1888, "Assamese Language Development Society") that emerged in Kolkata among Assamese students led by Lakshminath Bezbaroa. The Society published a periodical Jonaki and the period of its publication, Jonaki era, saw spirited negotiations on language standardisation. What emerged at the end of those negotiations was a standard close to the language of the Buranjis with the Sanskritised orthography of Hemchandra Barua.[39]

As the political and commercial center moved to Guwahati in the mid-twentieth century, of which Dispur the capital of Assam is a suburb and which is situated at the border between the western and central dialect speaking regions, standard Assamese used in media and communications today is a neutral blend of the eastern variety without its distinctive features.[40] This core is further embellished with Goalpariya and Kamrupi idioms and forms.[41]

Geographical distribution

Assamese is native to Assam. It is also spoken in states of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Nagaland. The Assamese script can be found in of present-day Burma. The Pashupatinath Temple in Nepal also has inscriptions in Assamese showing its influence in the past.

There is a significant Assamese-speaking diaspora worldwide.[42] [43] [44] [45]

Official status

Assamese is the official language of Assam, and one of the 22 official languages recognised by the Republic of India. The Assam Secretariat functions in Assamese.[46]

Phonology

The Assamese phonemic inventory consists of eight vowels, ten diphthongs, and twenty-three consonants (including two semivowels).[47]

Vowels!!Front!Central!Back
Closepronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/
Near-closepronounced as /link/
Close-midpronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/
Open-midpronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/
Openpronounced as /link/
Diphthongs!!pronounced as /link/!pronounced as /link/!pronounced as /link/
pronounced as /link/pronounced as /ai/pronounced as /au/
pronounced as /link/pronounced as /ɔi/
pronounced as /link/pronounced as /ei/pronounced as /eu/
pronounced as /link/pronounced as /oi/pronounced as /ou/
pronounced as /link/pronounced as /iu/
pronounced as /link/pronounced as /ua/pronounced as /ui/
!Labial!Alveolar!Dorsal!Glottal
Nasalpronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/
Stopvoicelesspronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/
aspiratedpronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/
voicedpronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/
murmuredpronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/
Fricativevoicelesspronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/
voicedpronounced as /link/
Approximantcentralpronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/
lateralpronounced as /link/

Alveolar stops

The Assamese phoneme inventory is unique in the group of Indo-Aryan languages as it lacks a dental-retroflex distinction among the coronal stops as well as the lack of postalveolar affricates and fricatives.[48] Historically, the dental and retroflex series merged into alveolar stops. This makes Assamese resemble non-Indic languages of Northeast India (such as Austroasiatic and Sino-Tibetan languages). The only other language to have fronted retroflex stops into alveolars is the closely related group of eastern dialects of Bengali (although a contrast with dental stops remains in those dialects). pronounced as /link/ is normally realised as pronounced as /link/ or pronounced as /link/.

Voiceless velar fricative

Assamese is unusual among Eastern Indo-Aryan languages for the presence of pronounced as //x// (realised as pronounced as /link/ or pronounced as /link/, depending on the speaker and speech register), due historically to the MIA sibilants' lenition to pronounced as //x// (initially) and pronounced as //h// (non-initially).[49] The use of the voiceless velar fricative is heavy in the eastern Assamese dialects and decreases progressively to the west—from Kamrupi[50] to eastern Goalparia, and disappears completely in western Goalpariya.[51] [52] The change of pronounced as //s// to pronounced as //h// and then to pronounced as //x// has been attributed to Tibeto-Burman influence by Suniti Kumar Chatterjee.[53]

Velar nasal

Assamese, Odia, and Bengali, in contrast to other Indo-Aryan languages, use the velar nasal (the English ng in sing) extensively. While in many languages, the velar nasal is commonly restricted to preceding velar sounds, in Assamese it can occur intervocalically.[47] This is another feature it shares with other languages of Northeast India, though in Assamese the velar nasal never occurs word-initially.

Vowel inventory

Eastern Indic languages like Assamese, Bengali, Sylheti, and Odia do not have a vowel length distinction, but have a wide set of back rounded vowels. In the case of Assamese, there are four back rounded vowels that contrast phonemically, as demonstrated by the minimal set: kola pronounced as /[kɔla]/ ('deaf'), kóla pronounced as /[kola]/ ('black'), kwla pronounced as /[kʊla]/ ('lap'), and kula pronounced as /[kula]/ ('winnowing fan'). The near-close near-back rounded vowel pronounced as //ʊ// is unique in this branch of the language family. But in lower Assam, ও is pronounced the same as অ' (ó): compare kwla pronounced as /[kóla]/ and mwr pronounced as /[mór]/.

Vowel harmony

Assamese has vowel harmony. The vowels [i] and [u] cause the preceding mid vowels and the high back vowels to change to [e] and [o] and [u] respectively. Assamese is one of the few languages spoken in India which exhibit a systematic process of vowel harmony.[54]

Schwa deletion

The inherent vowel in standard Assamese, /pronounced as /ɔ//, follows deletion rules analogous to "schwa deletion" in other Indian languages. Assamese follows a slightly different set of "schwa deletion" rules for its modern standard and early varieties. In the modern standard /pronounced as /ɔ// is generally deleted in the final position unless it is (1) /w/ (Assamese: ); or (2) /y/ (Assamese: য়) after higher vowels like /i/ (Assamese: ) or /u/ (Assamese: ); though there are a few additional exceptions. The rule for deleting the final /pronounced as /ɔ// was not followed in Early Assamese.

The initial /pronounced as /ɔ// is never deleted.

Writing system

See main article: Assamese alphabet.

Modern Assamese uses the Assamese script. In medieval times, the script came in three varieties: Bamuniya, Garhgaya, and Kaitheli/Lakhari, which developed from the Kamarupi script. It very closely resembles the Mithilakshar script of the Maithili language, as well as the Bengali script.[55] There is a strong literary tradition from early times. Examples can be seen in edicts, land grants and copper plates of medieval kings. Assam had its own manuscript writing system on the bark of the saanchi tree in which religious texts and chronicles were written, as opposed to the pan-Indian system of Palm leaf manuscript writing. The present-day spellings in Assamese are not necessarily phonetic. Hemkosh (Assamese: হেমকোষ pronounced as /[ɦɛmkʊx]/), the second Assamese dictionary, introduced spellings based on Sanskrit, which are now the standard.

Assamese has also historically been written using the Arabic script by Assamese Muslims. One example is Tariqul Haq Fi Bayane Nurul Haq by Zulqad Ali (1796–1891) of Sivasagar, which is one of the oldest works in modern Assamese prose.[56]

In the early 1970s, it was agreed upon that the Roman script was to be the standard writing system for Nagamese Creole.[57]

Sample text

The following is a sample text in Assamese of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

Assamese in Assamese alphabet

Assamese: '''১ম অনুচ্ছেদ:''' জন্মগতভাৱে সকলো মানুহ মৰ্য্যদা আৰু অধিকাৰত সমান আৰু স্বতন্ত্ৰ। তেওঁলোকৰ বিবেক আছে, বুদ্ধি আছে। তেওঁলোকে প্ৰত্যেকে প্ৰত্যেকক ভ্ৰাতৃভাৱে ব্যৱহাৰ কৰা উচিত।[58] Assamese in WRA Romanisation

Prôthôm ônussêd: Zônmôgôtôbhawê xôkôlû manuh môrjyôda aru ôdhikarôt xôman aru sôtôntrô. Têû̃lûkôr bibêk asê, buddhi asê. Têû̃lûkê prôittêkê prôittêkôk bhratribhawê byôwôhar kôra usit.

Assamese in SRA Romanisation

Prothom onussed: Jonmogotobhabe xokolü manuh moirjjoda aru odhikarot xoman aru sotontro. Teü̃lükor bibek ase, buddhi ase. Teü̃lüke proitteke proittekok bhratribhawe bebohar kora usit.

Assamese in Common Romanisation

Prothom onussed: Jonmogotobhawe xokolu manuh morjyoda aru odhikarot xoman aru sotontro. Teulukor bibek ase, buddhi ase. Teuluke proitteke proittekok bhratribhawe byowohar kora usit.

Assamese in IAST Romanisation

Prathama anucchēda: Janmagatabhāve sakalo mānuha maryadā āru adhikārata samāna āru svatantra. Tēõlokara bibēka āchē, buddhi āchē. Tēõlokē pratyēkē pratyēkaka bhrātribhāvē byavahāra karā ucita.Assamese in the International Phonetic Alphabet

pronounced as //pɹɔ̞tʰɔ̞m o̞nusːɛd zɔ̞nmɔ̞ɡɔ̞tɔ̞bʰäβe̞ x̟ɔ̞kɔ̞lʊ mänuɦ mo̞idzɔ̞dä äɹu o̞dʰikaɹɔ̞t x̟ɔ̞män äɹu s(ʷ)ɔ̞tɔ̞ntɹɔ̞ tɛʊ̃lʊkɔ̞ɹ bibɛk äsɛ budːʱi äsɛ tɛʊ̃lʊke̞ pɹo̞itːɛke̞ pɹo̞itːɛkɔ̞k bʰɹätɹibʰäβe̞ bɛβɔ̞ɦäɹ kɔ̞ɹä usit//

Gloss

1st Article: Congenitally all human dignity and right-in equal and free. their conscience exists, intellect exists. They everyone everyone-to brotherly behaviour to-do should.

Translation

Article 1: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience. Therefore, they should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Morphology and grammar

The Assamese language has the following characteristic morphological features:

Negation process

Verbs in Assamese are negated by adding pronounced as //n// before the verb, with pronounced as //n// picking up the initial vowel of the verb. For example:

Classifiers

Assamese has a large collection of classifiers, which are used extensively for different kinds of objects, acquired from the Sino-Tibetan languages. A few examples of the most extensive and elaborate use of classifiers are given below:

Assamese Classifiers! Classifier !! Referent !! Examples
pronounced as //zɔn// males (adult) manuh-zɔn (the man – honorific)
pronounced as //zɔni// females (women as well as animals) manuh-zɔni (the woman), sɔrai-zɔni (the bird)
pronounced as //zɔna// honorific kobi-zɔna (the poet), gʊxai-zɔna (the god/goddess)
pronounced as //ɡɔɹaki// males and females (honorific) manuh-ɡɔɹaki (the woman), rastrɔpɔti-gɔɹaki (the president)
pronounced as //tʊ// inanimate objects or males of animals and men (impolite) manuh- (the man – diminutive), gɔɹu- (the cow)
pronounced as //ti// inanimate objects or infants kesua-ti (the baby)
pronounced as //ta// for counting numerals e-ta (count one), du-ta (count two)
pronounced as //kʰɔn// flat square or rectangular objects, big or small, long or short
pronounced as //kʰɔni// terrain like rivers and mountains
pronounced as //tʰupi// small objects
pronounced as //zak// group of people, cattle; also for rain; cyclone
pronounced as //sati// breeze
pronounced as //pat// objects that are thin, flat, wide or narrow.
pronounced as //paɦi// flowers
pronounced as //sɔta// objects that are solid
pronounced as //kɔsa// mass nouns
pronounced as //mɔtʰa// bundles of objects
pronounced as //mutʰi// smaller bundles of objects
pronounced as //taɹ// broomlike objects
pronounced as //ɡɔs// wick-like objects
pronounced as //ɡɔsi// with earthen lamp or old style kerosene lamp used in Assam
pronounced as //zʊpa// objects like trees and shrubs
pronounced as //kʰila// paper and leaf-like objects
pronounced as //kʰini// uncountable mass nouns and pronouns
pronounced as //dal// inanimate flexible/stiff or oblong objects; humans (pejorative)
In Assamese, classifiers are generally used in the numeral + classifier + noun (e.g. pronounced as //ezɔn manuh// ejon manuh 'one man') or the noun + numeral + classifier (e.g. pronounced as //manuh ezɔn// manuh ejon 'one man') forms.

Nominalization

Most verbs can be converted into nouns by the addition of the suffix pronounced as //ɔn//. For example, pronounced as //kʰa// ('to eat') can be converted to pronounced as //kʰaɔn// khaon ('good eating').

Grammatical cases

Assamese has 8 grammatical cases:

Cases Suffix Example
Absolutivenone
ErgativeNote: The personal pronouns without a plural or other suffix are not marked.
Accusative
Genitive
Dative
Terminative
Instrumental
Locative

Pronouns

NumberPersonGenderPronouns
Absolutive
Ergative
Accusative
Dative
Genitive Locative Dative
Singular1stm/f (I)moimwkmwrmwtmwlói
2ndm/f (you)toi ᵛ
tumi ᶠ
apuni ᵖ
twk
twmak
apwnak
twr
twmar
apwnar
twt
twmat
apwnat
twloi
twmalói
apwnaloi
3rdm (he)
n (it, that)
i *
xi **
iak
tak
iar
tar
iat
tat
ialoi
taloi
f (she)ei *
tai **
eik
taik
eir
tair
eit
tait
eilói
tailói
n & p (he/she)ew/ekhet(-e ᵉ) *
teü/tekhet(-e ᵉ) **
ewk/ekhetok
tewk/tekhetok
ewr/ekhetor
tewr/tekhetor
ewt/ekhetot
tewt/tekhetot
ewloi/ekhetólói
tewlói/tekhetólói
Plural1stm/f (we)amiamakamaramatamalói
2ndm/f (you)tohot(-e ᵉ) ᵛ
twmalwk(-e ᵉ) ᶠ
apwnalwk(-e ᵉ) ᵖ
tohõtok
twmalwkok
apwnalwkok
tohõtor
twmalwkor
apwnalwkor
tohõtot
twmalwkot
apwnalwkot
tohõtolói
twmalwkolói
apwnalwkolói
3rdm/f (they)ihõt *
ewlwk/ekhetxokol(-e ᵉ) ᵖ *
xihõt **
tewlwk/tekhetxokol(-e ᵉ) ᵖ **
ihõtok
xihotõk
ewlwkok/ekhetxokolok
tewlwkok/tekhetxokolok
ihõtor
xihotõr
eülwkor/ekhetxokolor
tewlwkor/tekhetxokolor
ihõtot
xihotõt
ewlwkot/ekhetxokolot
tewlwkot/tekhetxokolot
ihõtoloi
xihotõloi
ewlwkok/ekhetxokololoi
tewlwkoloi/tekhetxokololoi
n (these, those)eibwr(-e ᵉ) ᵛ *
eibilak(-e ᵉ) ᶠ *
eixómuh(-e ᵉ) ᵖ *
xeibwr(-e ᵉ) ᵛ **
xeibilak(-e ᵉ) ᶠ **
xeixómuh(-e) ᵖ **
eibwrok
eibilakok
eixómuhok
xeibwrok
xeibilakok
xeixómuhok
eibwror
eibilakor
eixómuhor
xeibwror
xeibilakor
xeixómuhor
eibwrot
eibilakot
eixómuhot
xeibwrot
xeibilakot
xeixómuhot
eibwrolói
eibilakolói
eixómuholói
xeibwroloi
xeibilakoleó
xeixómuhólói

m=male, f=female, n=neuter., *=the person or object is near., **=the person or object is far., v =very familiar, inferior, f=familiar, p=polite, e=ergative form.

Tense

With consonant ending verb likh (write) and vowel ending verb kha (eat, drink, consume).

StemLikh, Kha
GerundLikha, khüa
CausativeLikha, khüa
ConjugativeLikhi, Khai & Kha
InfinitiveLikhibo, Khabo
GoalLikhibólói, Khabólói
TerminativeLikhibólóike, Khabólóike
AgentiveLikhü̃ta np/Likhwra mi/Likhwri fi, Khawta np/Khawra mi/Khawri fi
ConverbLikhü̃te, Khaü̃te
ProgressiveLikhü̃te likhü̃te, Khaü̃te khaü̃te
ReasonLikhat, Khüat
Likhilot, Khalot
ConditionalLikhile, Khale
PerfectiveLikhi, Khai
HabitualLikhi likhi, Khai khai

For different types of verbs.

TensePersontho "put"kha "consume"pi "drink"de "give"dhu "wash"kor "do"randh "cook"ah "come"
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
Simple Present1stper.thoünothoükhaünakhaü ~ nekhaüpiünipiüdiünidiüdhüünüdhüükorünokorürandhünarandhü ~ nerandhüahünahü
2ndper.inf.thoonothookhaonakhao ~ nekhaopionipiodionidiodhüonüdhüokoronokororandhonarandho ~ nerandhoahonaho
2ndper.pol.thüanüthüakhüanükhüapianipiadianidiadhüanüdhüakoranokorarandhanarandha ~ nerandhaahanaha
2ndper.hon.&3rdper.thoenothoekhaenakhae ~ nekhaepienipiedienidiedhüenüdhüekorenokorerandhenarandhe ~ nerandheahenahe
Present continuous1st per.thói aswthoi thoka naikhai aswkhai thoka naipi asupi thoka naidi aswdi thoka naidhui aswdhui thoka naikori aswkóri thoka nairandhi aswrandhi thoka naiahi aswahi thoka nai
2ndper.inf.thoi asokhai asopi asodi asodhui asokori asorandhi asoahi aso
2ndper.pol.thoi asakhai asapi asadi asadhui asakori asarandhi asaahi asa
2ndper.hon.&3rdper.thoi asekhai asepi asedi asedhui asekori aserandhi aseahi ase
Present Perfect1st per.thoiswthwa naikhaiswkhwa naipiswpia naidiswdia naidhui aswdhwa naikoriswkora nairandhiswrondha naiahi aswoha nai
2ndper.inf.thóisókhaisópisódisódhuisókórisórandhisóahisó
2nd per. pol.thoisakhaisapisadisadhuisakorisarandhisaahisa
2nd per. hon. & 3rd per.thoisekhaisepisedisedhuisekoriserandhiseahise
Recent Past1st per.thölwnothölwkhalwnakhalw ~ nekhalwpilwnipilwdilwnidilwdhulwnudhulwkorilwnokórilwrandhilwnarandhilw ~ nerandhilwahilwnahilw
2nd per. inf.thölinothölikhalinakhali ~ nekhalipilinipilidilinidilidhulinudhulikórilinókórilirandhilinarandhili ~ nerandhiliahilwnahilw
2nd per. pol.thölanothölakhalanakhala ~ nekhalapilanipiladilanidiladhulanudhulakórilanókórilarandhilanarandhila ~ nerandhilaahilanahila
2ndper.hon.&3rdper.thölenothölekhalenakhale ~ nekhalepilenipiledilenidiledhulenudhulekórilenókórilerandhilenarandhile ~ nerandhileahile / ahiltrnahile / nahiltr
Distant Past1st per.thoisilwnothoisilw ~ thwa nasilwkhaisilwnakhaisilw ~ nekhaisilw ~ khwa nasilwpisilwnipisilw ~ pia nasilwdisilwnidisilw ~ dia nasilwdhuisilwnudhuisilw ~ dhüa nasilwkórisilwnókórisilw ~ kora nasilwrandhisilwnarandhisilw ~ nerandhisilw ~ rondha nasilwahisilwnahisilw ~ oha nasilw
2nd per. inf.thoisilinothóisili ~ thwa nasilikhaisilinakhaisili ~ nekhaisili ~ khwa nasilipisilinipisili ~ pia nasilidisilinidisili ~ dia nasilidhuisilinudhuisili ~ dhwa nasilikorisilinokorisili ~ kora nasilirandhisilinarandhisili ~ nerandhisili ~ rondha nasiliahisilinahisili ~ oha nasili
2nd per. pol.thoisilanothóisila ~ thwa nasilakhaisilanakhaisila ~ nekhaisila ~ khüa nasilapisilanipisila ~ pia nasiladisilanidisila ~ dia nasiladhuisilanudhuisila ~ dhwa nasilakorisilanokorisila ~ kora nasilarandhisilanarandhisila ~ nerandhisila ~ rondha nasilaahisilanahisila ~ oha nasila
2nd per. hon. & 3rd per.thoisilenothoisile ~ thwa nasilekhaisilenakhaisile ~ nekhaisile ~ khwa nasilepisilenipisile ~ pia nasiledisilenidisile ~ dia nasiledhuisilenudhuisile ~ dhüa nasilekorisilenokorisile ~ kora nasilerandhisilenarandhisile ~ nerandhisile ~ rondha nasileahisilenahisile ~ oha nasile
Past continuous1st per.thoi asilwthoi thoka nasilwkhai asilwkhai thoka nasilwpi asilwpi thoka nasilwdi asilwdi thoka nasilwdhui asilsdhui thoka nasilskori asilskori thoka nasilsrandhi asilsrandhi thoka nasilsahi asilsahi thoka nasils
2nd per. inf.thoi asilithoi thoka nasilikhai asilikhai thoka nasilipi asilipi thoka nasilidi asilidi thoka nasilidhui asilidhui thoka nasilikori asilikori thoka nasilirandhi asilirandhi thoka nasiliahi asiliahi thoka nasili
2nd per. pol.thoi asilathoi thoka nasilakhai asilakhai thoka nasilapi asilapi thoka nasiladi asiladi thoka nasiladhui asiladhui thoka nasilakori asilakori thoka nasilarandhi asilarandhi thoka nasilaahi asilaahi thoka nasila
2nd per. hon. & 3rd per.thoi asil(e)thoi thoka nasil(e)khai asil(e)khai thoka nasil(e)pi asil(e)pi thoka nasil(e)di asil(e)di thoka nasil(e)dhui asil(e)dhui thoka nasil(e)kori asil(e)kori thoka nasil(e)randhi asil(e)randhi thoka nasil(e)ahi asil

Relationship suffixes

Persons Suffix Example English translation
1st personnoneMwr/Amar ma, bap, kokai, vai, ba, voniMy/Our mother, father, elder-brother, younger-brother, elder-sister, younger-sister
2nd person
(very familiar; inferior)
-(e)rTwr/Tohõtor mar, baper, kokaier, vaier, bar, vonierYour/Your(pl) mother, father, elder-brother, younger-brother, elder-sister, younger-sister
2nd person
familiar
-(e)raTwmar/Twmalwkor mara, bapera, kokaiera, vaiera, bara, vonieraYour/Your(pl) mother, father, elder-brother, younger-brother, elder-sister, younger-sister
2nd person
formal;
3rd person
-(e)kApwnar/Apwnalwkor/Tar/Tair/Xihotõr/Tewr mak, bapek, kokaiek, bhaiek, bak, voniekYour/Your(pl)/His/Her/Their/His~Her(formal) mother, father, elder-brother, younger-brother, elder-sister, younger-sister

Dialects

Regional dialects

The language has quite a few regional variations. Banikanta Kakati identified two broad dialects which he named (1) Eastern and (2) Western dialects,[59] of which the eastern dialect is homogeneous, and prevalent to the east of Guwahati, and the western dialect is heterogeneous. However, recent linguistic studies have identified four dialect groups listed below from east to west:

Samples

Collected from the book, Assamese – Its formation and development.[60] The text below is from the Parable of the Prodigal Son. The translations are of different versions of the English translations:

Non-regional dialects

Assamese does not have many caste- or occupation-based dialects. In the nineteenth century, the Eastern dialect became the standard dialect because it witnessed more literary activity and it was more uniform from east of Guwahati to Sadiya, whereas the western dialects were more heterogeneous. Since the nineteenth century, the center of literary activity (as well as of politics and commerce) has shifted to Guwahati; as a result, the standard dialect has evolved considerably away from the largely rural Eastern dialects and has become more urban and acquired western dialectal elements. Most literary activity takes place in this dialect, and is often called the likhito-bhaxa, though regional dialects are often used in novels and other creative works.

In addition to the regional variants, sub-regional, community-based dialects are also prevalent, namely:

  • Standard dialect influenced by surrounding centers.
  • Bhakatiya dialect highly polite, a sattra-based dialect with a different set of nominals, pronominals, and verbal forms, as well as a preference for euphemism; indirect and passive expressions. Some of these features are used in the standard dialect on very formal occasions.
  • The fisherman community has a dialect that is used in the central and eastern region.
  • The astrologer community of Darrang district has a dialect called thar that is coded and secretive. The ratikhowa and bhitarpanthiya secretive cult-based Vaisnava groups too have their own dialects.
  • The Muslim community have their own dialectal preference, with their own kinship, custom, and religious terms, with those in east Assam having distinct phonetic features.
  • The urban adolescent and youth communities (for example, Guwahati) have exotic, hybrid and local slangs.
  • Ethnic speech communities that use Assamese as a second language, often use dialects that are influenced heavily by the pronunciation, intonation, stress, vocabulary and syntax of their respective first languages (Mising Eastern Assamese, Bodo Central Kamrupi, Rabha Eastern Goalpariya etc.). Two independent pidgins/creoles, associated with the Assamese language, are Nagamese (used by Naga groups) and Nefamese (used in Arunachal Pradesh).

Literature

See main article: Assamese literature. There is a growing and strong body of literature in this language. The first characteristics of this language are seen in the Charyapadas composed in between the eighth and twelfth centuries. The first examples emerged in writings of court poets in the fourteenth century, the finest example of which is Madhav Kandali's Saptakanda Ramayana. The popular ballad in the form of Ojapali is also regarded as well-crafted. The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries saw a flourishing of Vaishnavite literature, leading up to the emergence of modern forms of literature in the late nineteenth century.

See also

References

  • Book: Chatterji . Suniti Kumar Chatterji . 1926 . The Origin and Development of the Bengali Language .
  • Book: DeLancey, Scott . Scott DeLancey . Hyslop . Gwendolyn . Morey . Stephen . Post . Mark W. . 2012 . On the Origin of Bodo-Garo . Northeast Indian Linguistics . 4 . 3–20 . 10.1017/UPO9789382264521.003 . 978-93-82264-52-1.
  • Book: Dutta, Birendranath . Birendra Nath Datta . 1995 . A Study of the Folk Culture of the Goalpara Region of Assam . University Publication Department, Gauhati University . Guwahati, Assam . 978-81-86416-13-6.
  • Book: Dutta, Birendranath . Birendra Nath Datta . Mrinal . Miri . 2003 . Linguistic Situation in North-East India . Concept Publishing Company, New Delhi . 2nd . 101–110 . Non-Standard Forms of Assamese: Their Socio-cultural Role . 978-81-8069-026-6.
  • Book: Goswami . G. C. . Tamuli . Jyotiprakash . Cardona . George . Jain . Dhanesh . 2003 . Asamiya . The Indo-Aryan languages . Routledge . 391–443 . 978-0-7007-1130-7 . .
  • Guha . Amalendu . Amalendu Guha . December 1983 . The Ahom Political System: An Enquiry into the State Formation Process in Medieval Assam (1228-1714) . Social Scientist . 11 . 12 . 3–34 . 10.2307/3516963 . 3516963 .
  • Book: Kakati, Banikanta . Banikanta Kakati . 1941 . Assamese: Its Formation and Development . Government of Assam . Gauhati, Assam.
  • Book: Kakati, Banikanta . Banikanta Kakati . Kakati . Banikanta . 1953 . Assamese Language . Aspects of Early Assamese Literature . Gauhati University . 1–16 . 578299.
  • Kar . Boddhisattva . 2008 . 'Tongue Has No Bone': Fixing the Assamese Language, c.1800–c.1930 . Studies in History . 24 . 1 . 27–76 . 10.1177/025764300702400102 . 144577541.
  • Khan . M. Siddiq . The Early History of Bengali Printing . The Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy . 32 . 1 . 1962 . 51–61 . 10.1086/618956 . 4305188 . 148408211.
  • Kommaluri . Vijayanand . Subramanian . R. . Sagar K . Anand . 2005 . Issues in Morphological Analysis of North-East Indian Languages . Language in India . 5.
  • Mahanta . Sakuntala . 2012 . Assamese . Journal of the International Phonetic Association . 42 . 2 . 217–224 . 10.1017/S0025100312000096 . free.
  • Book: Masica, Colin P . Colin Masica . 1993 . The Indo-Aryan Languages . 4 February 2013 . Cambridge University Press . 978-0-521-29944-2.
  • Book: Medhi, Kaliram . Kaliram Medhi . 1988 . Assamese Grammar and the Origin of Assamese Language . Publication Board, Assam . Guwahati . 22067340.
  • Moral . Dipankar . 1997 . North-East India as a Linguistic Area . Mon-Khmer Studies . 27 . 43–53 .
  • Book: Neog, Maheshwar . Maheswar Neog . 1980 . Anandaram Dhekiyal Phukan . Sahiyta Akademi . New Delhi . 9110997.
  • Book: Oberlies, Thomas . 2007 . Chapter Five: Aśokan Prakrit and Pāli . https://books.google.com/books?id=OtCPAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA161 . Cardona . George . Jain . Danesh . The Indo-Aryan Languages . Routledge . 978-1-135-79711-9.
  • Book: Pattanayak, D. P. . 2016 . Oriya and Assamese . Emeneau . Murray B. . Fergusson . Charles A. . Linguistics in South Asia . De Gruyter . 122–152 . 978-3-11-081950-2.
  • Book: Saikia, Nagen . Nagen Saikia . 1997 . Assamese . Paniker . Medieval Indian Literature: Surveys and selections . https://books.google.com/books?id=KYLpvaKJIMEC&pg=PA4 . 3–20 . Sahitya Akademi . 978-81-260-0365-5.
  • Sarma . Parismita . 2017 . Analysis and building an unrestricted speech synthesizer with reference to assamese language . PhD . Gauhati University . 10603/195592 .
  • Book: Sharma, M. M. . Barpujari . H. K. . 1990 . Language and Literature . The Comprehensive History of Assam: Ancient Period . I . 263–284 . Guwahati, Assam . Publication Board, Assam . 25163745.
  • Toulmin . Mathew W S . Reconstructing linguistic history in a dialect continuum: The Kamta, Rajbanshi, and Northern Deshi Bangla subgroup of Indo-Aryan . PhD . The Australian National University . 2006.
  • Book: Toulmin, Mathew W S . 2009 . From Linguistic to Sociolinguistic Reconstruction: The Kamta Historical Subgroup of Indo-Aryan . Pacific Linguistics . 978-0-85883-604-4.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: SEAlang Library Ahom Lexicography. sealang.net.
  2. Bhattacharjya . Dwijen . 2001 . The genesis and development of Nagamese: Its social history and linguistic structure . PhD . City University of New York . .
  3. Assamese is an anglicized term used for the language, but scholars have also used Asamiya (Moral 1992, Goswami & Tamuli 2003) or Asomiya as a close approximation of /ɔxɔmijɑ/, the word used by thespeakers for their language.
  4. "Axomiya is the major language spoken in Assam, and serves almost as a lingua franca among the different speech communities in the whole area."
  5. "...Rajbangshi dialect of the Rangpur Division (Bangladesh), and the adjacent Indian Districts of Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar, has been classed with Bengali because its speakers identify with the Bengali culture and literary language, although it is linguistically closer to Assamese."
  6. Sen, Sukumar (1975), Grammatical sketches of Indian languages with comparative vocabulary and texts, Volume 1, P 31
  7. "Asamiya has historically originated in Old Indo-Aryan dialects, but the exact nature of its origin and growth is not very clear as yet."
  8. "Dr. S. K. Chatterji basing his conclusions on the materials accumulated in LSI, Part I, and other monographs on the Bengali dialects, divides Eastern Mag. Pkt. and Ap. into four dialect groups. (1) Raddha dialects which comprehend Western Bengali which gives standard Bengali colloquial and Oriya in the South West. (2) Varendra dialects of North Central Bengal. (3) Kumarupa dialects which comprehend Assamese and the dialects of North Bengal. (4) Vanga dialects which comprehend the dialects of East Bengal (ODBL VolI p140)."
  9. There is evidence that the Prakrit of the Kamarupa kingdom differed enough from the Magadhi Prakrit to be identified as either a parallel Kamrupi Prakrit or at least an eastern variety of the Magadha Prakrit
  10. 'One of the interesting theories propounded by Sri Medhi is the classification of Assamese "as a mixture of Eastern and Western groups" or a "mixture of Sauraseni and Magadhi". But whether it is word resemblance or grammatical resemblance, the author admits that in some cases they may be accidental. But he says, "In any case, they may be of some help to scholars for more searching enquiry in future".'
  11. "(W)e should imagine a linguistic patchwork with an eastern Indo-Aryan vernacular (not yet really "Assamese") in the urban centers and along the river and Tibeto-Burman and Austroasiatic communities everywhere."
  12. "While Kakati's assertion of an Austroasiatic substrate needs to be re-established on the basis of more systematic evidence, it is consistent with the general assumption that the lower Brahmaputra drainage was originally Austroasiatic speaking. It also implies the existence of a substantial Austroasiatic speaking population till the time of spread of Aryan culture into Assam, i.e. it implies that up until the 4th-5th centuries CE and probably much later Tibeto-Burman languages had not completely supplanted Austroasiatic languages."
  13. "It is curious to find that according to (Hiuen Tsang) the language of Kamarupa 'differed a little' from that of mid-India. Hiuen Tsang is silent about the language of Pundra-vardhana or Karna-Suvarna; it can be presumed that the language of these tracts was identical with that of Magadha."
  14. "Perhaps this 'differing a little' of the Kamarupa speech refers to those modifications of Aryan sounds which now characterise Assamese as well as North- and East-Bengali dialects."
  15. "When [the Tibeto-Burman speakers] adopted that language they also enriched it with their vocabularies, expressions, affixes etc."
  16. "... (it shows) that in Ancient Assam there were three languages viz. (1) Sanskrit as the official language and the language of the learned few, (2) Non-Aryan tribal languages of the Austric and Tibeto-Burman families, and (3) a local variety of Prakrit (ie a MIA) wherefrom, in course of time, the modern Assamese language as a MIL, emerged." Book: Sharma, Mukunda Madhava . 1978 . Inscriptions of Ancient Assam . . Guwahati, Assam . xxiv-xxviii . 559914946.
  17. "The earliest specimen of Assamese language and literature is available in the dohās, known also as Caryās, written by the Buddhist Siddhacharyas hailing from different parts of eastern India. Some of them are identified as belonging to ancient Kāmarūpa by the Sino-Tibetologists."
  18. "The language of [''charyapadas''] was also claimed to be early Assamese and early Bihari (Eastern Hindi) by various scholars. Although no systematic scientific study has been undertaken on the basis of comparative reconstruction, a cursory look is enough to suggest that the language of these texts represents a stage when the North-Eastern Prakrit was either not differentiated or at an early stage of differentiation into the regional languages of North-Eastern India."
  19. "The folk-song like Deh Bicarar Git and some aphorisms are found to contain sometimes the spirit and way of expression of the charyapadas."
  20. ""There are some works of the period between 12th and 14th centuries, which kept the literary tradition flowing after the period of the charyapadas. They are Sunya Puran of Ramai Pandit, Krishna Kirtan of Boru Chandi Das, Gopichandrar Gan of Sukur Mamud. Along with these three works Gobindachandrar Git of Durllava Mullik and Mainamatirgan of Bhavani Das also deserve mention here."
  21. "No doubt some expression close to the Bengali language can be found in these works. But grammatical peculiarities prove these works to be in the Assamese language of the western part of Assam."
  22. "In Krishna Kirtana for instance, the first personal affixes of the present indicative are -i and -o; the former is found in Bengali at present and the later in Assamese. Similarly the negative particle na- assimilated to the initial vowel of the conjugated root which is characteristic of Assamese is also found in Krishna Kirtana. Modern Bengali places the negative particle after the conjugated root."
  23. "In summary, none of Pattanayak's changes are diagnostic of a unique proto Bangla-Asamiya subgroup that also includes proto Kamta.... Grierson's contention may well be true that 'Gauḍa Apabhraṁśa' was the parent speech both of Kamrupa and today's Bengal (see quote under §7.3.2), but it has not yet been proven as such by careful historical linguistic reconstruction." and "Though it has not been the purpose of this study to reconstruct higher level proto-languages beyond proto-Kamta, the reconstruction here has turned up three morphological innovations—[MI 73.] (diagnostic), [MI 2] (supportive), [MI 70] (supportive)—which provide some evidence for a proto-language which may be termed proto Gauḍa-Kamrupa."
  24. "However, the earliest literary work available which may be claimed as distinctly Asamiya is the Prahrāda Carita written by a court poet named Hema Sarasvatī in the latter half of the thirteenth century AD.
  25. "The phonological and morphological reconstruction of the present study has found three morphological innovations that give some answers to these questions: [MI 67.] (diagnostic), [MI 22.] (supportive), and [MI 23.] (supportive). These changes provide evidence for a proto Kamrupa stage of linguistic history—ancestral to proto-Kamta and proto eastern-Kamrupa (Asamiya). However, a thorough KRDS-andAsamiya-wide reconstruction of linguistic history is required before this protostage can be robustly established."
  26. "Sankaradeva (1449–1567) brought about a Vaishnavite revival accompanied by a revival of the language and literature."
  27. "[Bhattadev's] prose was an artificial one and yet it preserves certain grammatical peculiarities. The first personal ending -m in the future tense appears for the first time in writing side by side with the conventional -bo."
  28. In this writing the first person future tense ending -m (korim: "will do"; kham: "will eat") is seen for the first time.[27]
  29. "Incidentally, literate Ahoms retained the Tai language and script well until the end of the 17th century. In that century of Ahom-Mughal conflicts, this language first coexisted with and then was progressively replaced by Assamese (Asamiya) at and outside the Court."
  30. The language of the Buranjis is nearly modern with some minor differences in grammar and with a pre-modern orthography. The Assamese plural suffixes (-bor, -hat) and the conjunctive participles (-gai: dharile-gai; -hi: pale-hi, baril-hi) become well established.
  31. Most importantly this was also when Assamese developed a standardised prose in the Buranjis—documents related to the Ahom state dealing with diplomatic writings, administrative records and general history.[30]
  32. Due to the influence of the Ahom state the speech in eastern Assam took a homogeneous and standard form.
  33. "The British administration introduced Bangla in all offices, in the courts and schools of Assam."
  34. "By 1772, the Company had skillfully employed the sword, diplomacy, and intrigue to take over the rule of Bengal from her people, factious nobles, and weak Nawab. Subsequently, to consolidate its hold on the province, the Company promoted the Bengali language. This did not represent an intrinsic love for Bengali speech and literature. Instead it was aimed at destroying traditional patterns of authority through supplanting the Persian language which had been the official tongue since the days of the great Moguls."
  35. "[W]e should not assent to uphold a corrupt dialect, but endeavour to introduce pure Bengallee, and to render this Province as far as possible an integral part of the great country to which that language belongs, and to render available to Assam the literature of Bengal. - This brief aside of Francis Jenkins in a Revenue Consultation remains one of theclearest policy statements of the early British Indian administration regarding thevernacular question in Assam."
  36. The ABM argued strongly with the EIC officials in an intense debate in the 1850s to reinstate Assamese.
  37. "He wrote under a pen name, A Native, a book in English, A Few Remarks on the Assamese Language and on Vernacular Education in Assam, 1855, and had 100 copies of it printed by A H Danforth at the Sibsagar Baptist Mission Press. One copy of the publication was sent to the Government of Bengal and other copies were distributed free among leading men of Assam. An abstract of this was published later in The Indian Antiquary (1897, p57)".
  38. "In less than twenty years' time, the government actually revised its classification and declared Assamese as the official vernacular of the Assam Division (19 April 1873), as a prelude to the constitution of a separate Chief Commissionership of Assam (6 February 1874)."
  39. "They looked back to the fully mature prose of the historical writings of earlier periods, which possessed all the strength and vitality to stand the new challenge. Hemchandra Barua and his followers immediately reverted to the syntax and style of that prose, and Sanskritized the orthography and spelling system entirely. He was followed by one and all including the missionaries themselves, in their later writings. And thus, the solid plinth of the modern standard language was founded and accepted as the norm all over the state."
  40. "In contemporary Assam, for the purposes of mass media and communication, a certain neutral blend of eastern Assamese, without too many distinctive eastern features, like /ɹ/ deletion, which is a robust phenomenon in the eastern varieties, isstill considered to be the norm."
  41. "Now, Dispur, the Capital city being around Guwahati, as also with the spread of literacy and education in the western Assam districts, forms of the Central and Western dialects have been creeping into the literary idiom and reshaping the standard language during the last few decades."
  42. Web site: Assamese Association – of Australia (ACT & NSW).
  43. Web site: Welcome to the Website of "Axom Xomaj",Dubai, UAE (Assam Society of Dubai, UAE)!.
  44. Web site: Constitution. 5 June 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20181227135059/http://assamforumgb.org.uk/index.php/about/constitution. 27 December 2018. dead.
  45. Web site: AANA - AANA Overview.
  46. Web site: Secretariat Administration Department. assam.gov.in. 5 June 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20180620044451/http://assam.gov.in/web/secretariat-administration-department. 20 June 2018. dead.
  47. http://www.iitg.ernet.in/rcilts/assamese.html Assamese
  48. "Assamese, alone among NIA languages except for Romany, has also lost the characteristic IA dental/retroflex contrast (although it is retained in spelling), reducing the number of articulations, with the loss also of pronounced as //c//, to three."
  49. The word "hare", for example: śaśka (OIA) > χɔhā (hare).
  50. Goswami, Upendranath (1970), A Study on Kamrupi, p.xiii pronounced as //x// does not occur finally in Kamrupi. But in St. Coll. it occurs. In non-initial positions O.I.A sibilants became pronounced as //kʰ// and also pronounced as //h// whereas in St. Coll. they become pronounced as //x//.
  51. B Datta (1982), Linguistic situation in north-east India, the distinctive h sound of Assamese is absent in the West Goalpariya dialect
  52. Whereas most fricatives become sibilants in Eastern Goalpariya (sukh, santi, asa in Eastern Goalpariya; xukh, xanti, axa in western Kamrupi) ; some use of the fricative is seen as in the word xi (for both "he" and "she") and xap khar (the snake) . The pronounced as /link/ is completely absent in Western Goalpariya
  53. Chatterjee, Suniti Kumar, Kirata Jana Krti, p. 54.
  54. Directionality and locality in vowel harmony: With special reference to vowel harmony in Assamese. www.lotpublications.nl.
  55. Book: Bora, Mahendra . 1981 . The Evolution of the Assamese Script . Jorhat, Assam . . 5, 53 . 59775640.
  56. Book: Hanif, N. 401–402. Biographical Encyclopaedia of Sufis: South Asia. 2000. Zulqad Ali, Sufi Shaheb Hazrad (d. 1891A.D.).
  57. Bhattacharjya . Dwijen . 2001 . The genesis and development of Nagamese: Its social history and linguistic structure . PhD . City University of New York . .
  58. Web site: Universal Declaration of Human Rights Assamese . ohchr.org. 21 September 2020.
  59. "Assamese may be divided dialectically into Eastern and Western Assamese"
  60. Web site: Assamese:Its formation and development. Internet Archive.