| 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.
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]
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]
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]
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.
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]
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]
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]
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]
The Assamese phonemic inventory consists of eight vowels, ten diphthongs, and twenty-three consonants (including two semivowels).[47]
| Close | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Near-close | pronounced as /link/ | |||
| Close-mid | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| Open-mid | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| Open | 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/ |
| Nasal | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | voiceless | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |
| aspirated | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| voiced | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| murmured | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| Fricative | voiceless | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |
| voiced | pronounced as /link/ | ||||
| Approximant | central | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |
| lateral | pronounced as /link/ | ||||
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/.
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]
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.
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]/.
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]
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: ৱ); or (2) /y/ (Assamese: য়) after higher vowels like /i/ (Assamese: ই) or /u/ (Assamese: উ); 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.
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]
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.
The Assamese language has the following characteristic morphological features:
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:
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:
| 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-tʊ (the man – diminutive), gɔɹu-tʊ (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) |
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').
Assamese has 8 grammatical cases:
| Cases | Suffix | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Absolutive | none | ||
| Ergative | Note: The personal pronouns without a plural or other suffix are not marked. | ||
| Accusative | |||
| Genitive | |||
| Dative | |||
| Terminative | |||
| Instrumental | |||
| Locative |
| Number | Person | Gender | Pronouns | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Absolutive Ergative | Accusative Dative | Genitive | Locative | Dative | |||
| Singular | 1st | m/f (I) | moi | mwk | mwr | mwt | mwlói |
| 2nd | m/f (you) | toi ᵛ tumi ᶠ apuni ᵖ | twk twmak apwnak | twr twmar apwnar | twt twmat apwnat | twloi twmalói apwnaloi | |
| 3rd | m (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 | ||
| Plural | 1st | m/f (we) | ami | amak | amar | amat | amalói |
| 2nd | m/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 | |
| 3rd | m/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.
With consonant ending verb likh (write) and vowel ending verb kha (eat, drink, consume).
| Stem | Likh, Kha | |
|---|---|---|
| Gerund | Likha, khüa | |
| Causative | Likha, khüa | |
| Conjugative | Likhi, Khai & Kha | |
| Infinitive | Likhibo, Khabo | |
| Goal | Likhibólói, Khabólói | |
| Terminative | Likhibólóike, Khabólóike | |
| Agentive | Likhü̃ta np/Likhwra mi/Likhwri fi, Khawta np/Khawra mi/Khawri fi | |
| Converb | Likhü̃te, Khaü̃te | |
| Progressive | Likhü̃te likhü̃te, Khaü̃te khaü̃te | |
| Reason | Likhat, Khüat | |
| Likhilot, Khalot | ||
| Conditional | Likhile, Khale | |
| Perfective | Likhi, Khai | |
| Habitual | Likhi likhi, Khai khai |
For different types of verbs.
| Tense | Person | tho "put" | kha "consume" | pi "drink" | de "give" | dhu "wash" | kor "do" | randh "cook" | ah "come" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| + | - | + | - | + | - | + | - | + | - | + | - | + | - | + | - | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Simple Present | 1stper. | thoü | nothoü | khaü | nakhaü ~ nekhaü | piü | nipiü | diü | nidiü | dhüü | nüdhüü | korü | nokorü | randhü | narandhü ~ nerandhü | ahü | nahü | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2ndper.inf. | thoo | nothoo | khao | nakhao ~ nekhao | pio | nipio | dio | nidio | dhüo | nüdhüo | koro | nokoro | randho | narandho ~ nerandho | aho | naho | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2ndper.pol. | thüa | nüthüa | khüa | nükhüa | pia | nipia | dia | nidia | dhüa | nüdhüa | kora | nokora | randha | narandha ~ nerandha | aha | naha | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2ndper.hon.&3rdper. | thoe | nothoe | khae | nakhae ~ nekhae | pie | nipie | die | nidie | dhüe | nüdhüe | kore | nokore | randhe | narandhe ~ nerandhe | ahe | nahe | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Present continuous | 1st per. | thói asw | thoi thoka nai | khai asw | khai thoka nai | pi asu | pi thoka nai | di asw | di thoka nai | dhui asw | dhui thoka nai | kori asw | kóri thoka nai | randhi asw | randhi thoka nai | ahi asw | ahi thoka nai | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2ndper.inf. | thoi aso | khai aso | pi aso | di aso | dhui aso | kori aso | randhi aso | ahi aso | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2ndper.pol. | thoi asa | khai asa | pi asa | di asa | dhui asa | kori asa | randhi asa | ahi asa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2ndper.hon.&3rdper. | thoi ase | khai ase | pi ase | di ase | dhui ase | kori ase | randhi ase | ahi ase | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Present Perfect | 1st per. | thoisw | thwa nai | khaisw | khwa nai | pisw | pia nai | disw | dia nai | dhui asw | dhwa nai | korisw | kora nai | randhisw | rondha nai | ahi asw | oha nai | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2ndper.inf. | thóisó | khaisó | pisó | disó | dhuisó | kórisó | randhisó | ahisó | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2nd per. pol. | thoisa | khaisa | pisa | disa | dhuisa | korisa | randhisa | ahisa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2nd per. hon. & 3rd per. | thoise | khaise | pise | dise | dhuise | korise | randhise | ahise | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Recent Past | 1st per. | thölw | nothölw | khalw | nakhalw ~ nekhalw | pilw | nipilw | dilw | nidilw | dhulw | nudhulw | korilw | nokórilw | randhilw | narandhilw ~ nerandhilw | ahilw | nahilw | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2nd per. inf. | thöli | nothöli | khali | nakhali ~ nekhali | pili | nipili | dili | nidili | dhuli | nudhuli | kórili | nókórili | randhili | narandhili ~ nerandhili | ahilw | nahilw | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2nd per. pol. | thöla | nothöla | khala | nakhala ~ nekhala | pila | nipila | dila | nidila | dhula | nudhula | kórila | nókórila | randhila | narandhila ~ nerandhila | ahila | nahila | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2ndper.hon.&3rdper. | thöle | nothöle | khale | nakhale ~ nekhale | pile | nipile | dile | nidile | dhule | nudhule | kórile | nókórile | randhile | narandhile ~ nerandhile | ahile / ahiltr | nahile / nahiltr | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Distant Past | 1st per. | thoisilw | nothoisilw ~ thwa nasilw | khaisilw | nakhaisilw ~ nekhaisilw ~ khwa nasilw | pisilw | nipisilw ~ pia nasilw | disilw | nidisilw ~ dia nasilw | dhuisilw | nudhuisilw ~ dhüa nasilw | kórisilw | nókórisilw ~ kora nasilw | randhisilw | narandhisilw ~ nerandhisilw ~ rondha nasilw | ahisilw | nahisilw ~ oha nasilw | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2nd per. inf. | thoisili | nothóisili ~ thwa nasili | khaisili | nakhaisili ~ nekhaisili ~ khwa nasili | pisili | nipisili ~ pia nasili | disili | nidisili ~ dia nasili | dhuisili | nudhuisili ~ dhwa nasili | korisili | nokorisili ~ kora nasili | randhisili | narandhisili ~ nerandhisili ~ rondha nasili | ahisili | nahisili ~ oha nasili | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2nd per. pol. | thoisila | nothóisila ~ thwa nasila | khaisila | nakhaisila ~ nekhaisila ~ khüa nasila | pisila | nipisila ~ pia nasila | disila | nidisila ~ dia nasila | dhuisila | nudhuisila ~ dhwa nasila | korisila | nokorisila ~ kora nasila | randhisila | narandhisila ~ nerandhisila ~ rondha nasila | ahisila | nahisila ~ oha nasila | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2nd per. hon. & 3rd per. | thoisile | nothoisile ~ thwa nasile | khaisile | nakhaisile ~ nekhaisile ~ khwa nasile | pisile | nipisile ~ pia nasile | disile | nidisile ~ dia nasile | dhuisile | nudhuisile ~ dhüa nasile | korisile | nokorisile ~ kora nasile | randhisile | narandhisile ~ nerandhisile ~ rondha nasile | ahisile | nahisile ~ oha nasile | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Past continuous | 1st per. | thoi asilw | thoi thoka nasilw | khai asilw | khai thoka nasilw | pi asilw | pi thoka nasilw | di asilw | di thoka nasilw | dhui asils | dhui thoka nasils | kori asils | kori thoka nasils | randhi asils | randhi thoka nasils | ahi asils | ahi thoka nasils | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2nd per. inf. | thoi asili | thoi thoka nasili | khai asili | khai thoka nasili | pi asili | pi thoka nasili | di asili | di thoka nasili | dhui asili | dhui thoka nasili | kori asili | kori thoka nasili | randhi asili | randhi thoka nasili | ahi asili | ahi thoka nasili | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2nd per. pol. | thoi asila | thoi thoka nasila | khai asila | khai thoka nasila | pi asila | pi thoka nasila | di asila | di thoka nasila | dhui asila | dhui thoka nasila | kori asila | kori thoka nasila | randhi asila | randhi thoka nasila | ahi asila | ahi 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 asilRelationship suffixes
DialectsRegional dialectsThe 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:
SamplesCollected 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 dialectsAssamese 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:
LiteratureSee 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
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