History
Assamese originated in Old Indo-Aryan dialects, though the exact nature of its origin and growth is not clear yet. It is generally believed that Assamese and the Kamatapuri lects derive from the Kamarupi dialect of Eastern Magadhi Prakrit"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)." though some authors contest a close connection of Assamese with Magadhi Prakrit. 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. 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."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." Based on the 7th-century Chinese traveler Xuanzang's observations, suggests that the Indo-Aryan vernacular differentiated itself in Kamarupa before it did in Bengal, and that these differences could be attributed to non-Indo-Aryan speakers adopting the language. The newly differentiated vernacular, from which Assamese eventually emerged, is evident in the Prakritisms present in the Sanskrit of the Kamarupa inscriptions.Magadhan and Gauda-Kamarupa stages
The earliest forms of Assamese in literature are found in the 9th-century Buddhist verses calledEarly 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''. In the 14th-century, Madhava Kandali translated theMiddle Assamese
The language moved to the court of the Ahom kingdom in the seventeenth century,"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." 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. Most importantly this was also when Assamese developed a standardized prose in the Buranjis—documents related to the Ahom state dealing with diplomatic writings, administrative records and general history. 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. The Buranjis, dealing with statecraft, was also the vehicle by which Arabic and Persian elements crept into the language in abundance. Due to the influence of the Ahom state the speech in eastern Assam took a homogeneous and standard form. 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 theStandardisation
In the extant medieval Assamese manuscripts the orthography was not uniform. The ABM had evolved aGeographical distribution
Assamese is native to Assam. It is also spoken in states of Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. The Assamese script can be found in of present-day Burma. TheOfficial 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.Phonology
The Assamese phonemic inventory consists of eightConsonant clusters
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. 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 easternVoiceless velar fricative
Assamese is unusual among Eastern Indo-Aryan languages for the presence of the (it varies between velar () and a uvular () pronunciations, depending on the speaker and speech register), due historically to the MIA sibilants'Velar nasal
Assamese, Odia, and Bengali, in contrast to other Indo-Aryan languages, use theVowel inventory
Eastern Indic languages like Assamese, Bengali,Vowel harmony
Assamese has vowel harmony. The vowels and cause the preceding mid vowels and the high back vowels to change to and and respectively. Assamese is one of the few languages spoken in India which exhibit a systematic process of vowel harmonySchwa deletion
The schwa in modern Assamese, represented by //, is generally deleted in the final position unless it is (1) /w/ (); or (2) /y/ () after higher vowels like /i/ () or /u/ (). The final schwa was not deleted inWriting system
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. 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 ofSample text
The following is a sample text in Assamese of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Assamese in Assamese alphabet : 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 SRA2 Romanisation :Prothom onussed: Jonmogotovawe xokolu' manuh morjjoda aru odhikarot xoman aru sotontro. Teulu'kor bibek ase, buddhi ase. Teulu'ke proitteke proittekok vratrivawe bewohar kora usit. Assamese in CCRA 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 theMorphology and grammar
The Assamese language has the following characteristic morphological features: * Gender and number are not grammatically marked. * There is a lexical distinction of gender in the third person pronoun. * Transitive verbs are distinguished from intransitive. * The agentive case is overtly marked as distinct from the accusative. * Kinship nouns are inflected for personal pronominal possession. * Adverbs can be derived from the verb roots. * A passive construction may be employed idiomatically.Negation process
Verbs in Assamese are negated by adding before the verb, with picking up the initial vowel of the verb. For example: * 'do(es) not want' (1st, 2nd and 3rd persons) * 'will not write' (1st person) * 'will not nibble' (1st person) * 'does not count' (3rd person) * 'do not do' (2nd person)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: *"''zɔn''" is used to signify a person, male with some amount of respect **E.g., manuh-''zɔn'' – "the man" *"''zɔni''" (female) is used after a noun or pronoun to indicate human beings **E.g., manuh-''zɔni'' – "the woman" *"''zɔni''" is also used to express the non-human feminine **E.g., sɔɹai ''zɔni'' – "the bird", pɔɹuwa-''zɔni'' – "the ant" *"''zɔna''" and "''gɔɹaki''" are used to express high respect for both man and woman **E.g., kɔbi-''zɔna'' – "the poet", gʊxaɪ-''zɔna'' – "the goddess", rastrapati-''gɔɹaki'' – "the president", tiɹʊta-''gɔɹaki'' – "the woman" *"''tʊ''" has three forms: ''tʊ'', ''ta'', ''ti'' **(a) tʊ: is used to specify something, although the case of someone, e.g., loɹa-''tʊ'' – "the particular boy", is impolite **(b) ta: is used only after numerals, e.g., ɛ''ta'', du''ta'', tini''ta'' – "one, two, three" **(c) ti: is the diminutive form, e.g., kesua-''ti'' – "the infant, besides expressing more affection or attachment to *"''kɔsa''", "''mɔtʰa''" and "''taɹ''" are used for things in bunches **E.g., sabi-''kɔsa'' - "the bunch of key", saul-''mɔtʰa'' – "a handful of rice", suli-''taɹi'' or suli ''kɔsa'' – "the bunch of hair" *''dal'', ''dali'', are used after nouns to indicate something long but round and solid **E.g., bãʱ-''dal'' - "the bamboo", katʰ-''dal'' – "the piece of wood", bãʱ-''dali'' – "the piece of bamboo" In Assamese, classifiers are generally used in the ''numeral + classifier + noun'' (e.g. ejon manuh 'one man') or the ''noun + numeral + classifier'' (e.g. manuh ejon 'one man') forms.Nominalization
Most verbs can be converted into nouns by the addition of the suffix . For example, ('to eat') can be converted to khaon ('good eating').Grammatical cases
Assamese has 8 grammatical cases:Pronouns
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). For different types of verbs. {, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" align="center" style="font-size:80%; , - !rowspan="2", Tense !rowspan="2", Person !colspan="2", tho "put" !colspan="2", kha "consume" !colspan="2", pi "drink" !colspan="2", de "give" !colspan="2", dhu "wash" !colspan="2", kor "do" !colspan="2", randh "cook" !colspan="2", ah "come" , - !+ !- !+ !- !+ !- !+ !- !+ !- !+ !- !+ !- !+ !- , - !rowspan="4", Simple Present !1stper. , thow , nothow , khaw , nakhaw ~ nekhaw , piw , nipiw , diw , nidiw , dhw , nudhw , korw , nokorw , randhw , narandhw ~ nerandhw , ahw , nahw , - !2ndper.inf. , thwa , nothwa , khwa , nakhwa ~ nekhwa , piua , nipiua , dia , nidia , dhua , nudhua , kora , nokora , randha , narandha ~ nerandha , aha , naha , - !2ndper.pol. , thwa , nwthwa , khwa , nwkhwa , piua , nipiua , dia , nidia , dhwa , nwdhwa , kora , nokora , randha , narandha ~ nerandha , aha , naha , - !2ndper.hon.&3rdper. , thoe , nothoe , khae , nakhae ~ nekhae , pie , nipie , die , nidie , dhwe , nudhwe , kore , nokore , randhe , narandhe ~ nerandhe , ahe , nahe , - !rowspan="4", Present continuous !1st per. , thói asw , rowspan="4", thoi thoka nai , khai asw , rowspan="4", khai thoka nai , pi asu , rowspan="4", pi thoka nai , di asw , rowspan="4", di thoka nai , dhui asw , rowspan="4", dhui thoka nai , kori asw , rowspan="4", kóri thoka nai , randhi asw , rowspan="4", randhi thoka nai , ahi asw , rowspan="4", 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 , - !rowspan="4", Present Perfect !1st per. , thoisw , rowspan="4", thwa nai , khaisw , rowspan="4", khwa nai , pisw , rowspan="4", pia nai , disw , rowspan="4", dia nai , dhui asw , rowspan="4", dhwa nai , korisw , rowspan="4", kora nai , randhisw , rowspan="4", rondha nai , ahi asw , rowspan="4", 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 , - !rowspan="4", 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 , - !rowspan="4", 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 , - , - !rowspan="4", 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 asil{e) , ahi thoka nasil(e) , - !rowspan="4", Simple Future !1st per. , thöm , nothöm , kham , nakham ~ nekham , pim , nipim , dim , nidim , dhum , nudhum , korim , nokorim , randhim , narandhim ~ nerandhim , ahim , nahim , - !2nd per. inf. , thöbi , nothöbi , khabi , nakhabi ~ nekhabi , pibi , nipibi , dibi , nidibi , dhubi , nudhubi , koribi , nokoribi , randhibi , narandhibi ~ nerandhibi , ahibi , nahibi , - !2nd per. pol. , thöba , nothöba , khaba , nakhaba ~ nekhaba , piba , nipiba , diba , nidiba , dhuba , nudhuba , koriba , nókóriba , randhiba , narandhiba ~ nerandhiba , ahiba , nahiba , - !2ndper.hon.&3rdper. , thöbo , nothöbo , khabo , nakhabo ~ nekhabo , pibo , nipibo , dibo , nidibo , dhubo , nudhubo , koribo , nokoribo , randhibo , narandhibo ~ nerandhibo , ahibo , nahibo , - !rowspan="4", Future continuous !1st per. , thoi thakim , thoi nathakim/nethakim , khai thakim , khai nathakim/nethakim , pi thakim , pi nathakim/nethakim , di thakim , di nathakim/nethakim , dhui thakim , dhui nathakim/nethakim , kori thakim , kori nathakim/nethakim , randhi thakim , randhi nathakim/nethakim , ahi thakim , ahi nathakim/nethakim , - !2nd per. inf. , thoi thakibi , thoi nathakibi/nethakibi , khai thakibi , khai nathakibi/nethakibi , pi thakibi , pi nathakibi/nethakibi , di thakibi , di nathakibi/nethakibi , dhui thakibi , dhui nathakibi/nethakibi , kori thakibi , kori nathakibi/nethakibi , randhi thakibi , randhi nathakibi/nethakibi , ahi thakibi , ahi nathakibi/nethakibi , - !2nd per. pol. , thoi thakiba , thoi nathakiba/nethakiba , khai thakiba , khai nathakiba/nethakiba , pi thakiba , pi nathakiba/nethakiba , di thakiba , di nathakiba/nethakiba , dhui thakiba , dhui nathakiba/nethakiba , kori thakiba , kori nathakiba/nethakiba , randhi thakiba , randhi nathakiba/nethakiba , ahi thakiba , ahi nathakiba/nethakiba , - !2ndper.hon.&3rdper. , thoi thakibo , thoi nathakibo/nethakibo , khai thakibo , khai nathakibo/nethakibo , pi thakibo , pi nathakibo/nethakibo , di thakibo , di nathakibo/nethakibo , dhui thakibo , dhui nathakibo/nethakibo , kori thakibo , kori nathakibo/nethakibo , randhi thakibo , randhi nathakibo/nethakibo , ahi thakibo , ahi nathakibo/nethakibo , -Relationship suffixes
{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" align="center" style="font-size:80%; , - ! Persons !! Suffix !! Example !! English translation , - ! 1st person , none , Mwr/Amar ma, bap, kokai, vai, ba, voni , My/Our mother, father, elder-brother, younger-brother, elder-sister, younger-sister , - ! 2nd personDialects
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, 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: * Eastern group in and around the undivided Sivasagar district ( Golaghat, Jorhat,Samples
Collected from the book, ''Assamese – Its formation and development''. 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) andLiterature
There is a growing and strong body of literature in this language. The first characteristics of this language are seen in theSee also
* Indo-Aryan languages * Languages of India * Languages with official status in India * List of Indian languages by total speakers * List of languages by number of native speakers * Kamrupi litterateurs * Assamese Language Movement * Assamese peopleNotes
References
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