# Assamese: Pronunciation characteristics



## hindiurdu

I see a few people on the forum who are native Bengali speakers and thought that we might take advantage of their knowledge. Am I correct in thinking that Bengalis can understand Assamese to some degree?

I would like to better understand the Assamese pronunciation system. In listening to Assamese on YouTube, I see a lot of x being used, including in the name of the language itself, Axomiiaa. Also,'ch' seems to be altered to 'ts', so I hear Ramachandra pronounced as Ramatsondro in Bihu songs. Also, there is a lot of R.

Can they please discuss this a bit and also shed some light on any regional variations within Assamese if they are aware? Are there Bengali dialects which are influenced by Assamese? Are there interim dialects between Assamese and Bengali?


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## Shounak

Hello,

Assamese speak same like Bengali, except that they have a typical accent while speak. In Bengali, it is called "bolo", say বলো, in Assamese they would say 'ko' same as say. In Bengali, 'closing eye' is called চোখ বন্ধও করেছি, in Assamese they would say চোখ মুদিচি. Assamese carry more or less the same words like Bengali, Hindi. You could guess. In Bengali if you say 'I am fine' you would say আমি ভালো আছি 'ami bhalo achi'. In Assamese it is মুঈ ভালো আসু, 'mui bhalo asu', where 'mui' is the same is me or 'ami' আমি. 'How are you?' in Bengali is 
তুমি কেমন আছো or আপনি কেমন আছেন? ('tumi kemon acho'/apni kemon achen') In Assamese it is তুমি কেনে আসা? (tumi kene asa?


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## Dib

hindiurdu said:


> I see a few people on the forum who are native Bengali speakers and thought that we might take advantage of their knowledge. Am I correct in thinking that Bengalis can understand Assamese to some degree?



I understand written formal Assamese to some extent. Spoken informal Assamese, not so much.



> I would like to better understand the Assamese pronunciation system. In listening to Assamese on YouTube, I see a lot of x being used, including in the name of the language itself, Axomiiaa. Also,'ch' seems to be altered to 'ts', so I hear Ramachandra pronounced as Ramatsondro in Bihu songs.



Yes, what is "s" in other Indian languages, has shifted to "x" in Assamese. Hence, the letters Bengali uses to write "s~sh" are usually pronounced as "x" in Assamese. But recent loanwords may not conform to this, as expected. Similarly "ch(h)" has shifted to "s" and the characters Bengali uses to write "ch" and "chh" are the usual characters Assamese uses to write "s".



> Also, there is a lot of R.
> Can they please discuss this a bit and also shed some light on any regional variations within Assamese if they are aware?



No idea.



> Are there Bengali dialects which are influenced by Assamese? Are there interim dialects between Assamese and Bengali?



"Influenced by Assamese" - I don't know, but at the level of dialects, in general, there are no language boundaries between Oriya, Bengali, Assamese, Rohingya, etc. All dialects pretty much blend into its neighbours. From my father's side I belong to a Bengali-Oriya transition zone (East Midnapore), and I understand spoken Oriya fairly well, as a result. I suppose, it works the same way with Assamese for the Bengalis having far-Eastern background, like Sylheti, etc.

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Shounak has, of course, illustrated some similarities between Assamese and Bengali. I'd like to add a bit of "commentary" to that, where I suspect things may not be so clear for non-Bengali/non-Assamese speakers.



Shounak said:


> In Bengali, it is called "bolo", say বলো, in Assamese they would say 'ko' same as say.



The word here is "say! tell!" The standard Bengali form is "bɔlo" with an open ɔ in the first syllable. Dialectally and poetically, "kɔo" is widespread in Bengali too (Bengali "kɔ" would correspond to Standard "bɔl"), including in my "paternal dialect". So, this will be easily understood by Bengalis indeed.



> In Bengali, 'closing eye' is called চোখ বন্ধও করেছি, in Assamese they would say চোখ মুদিচি.



To provide transliterations: Bengali "chokh bɔndho korechhi" = "I have closed (my) eyes". Assamese: "sokh mudisi". This will also be easily understood by many Bengalis as the "mud-" verb is used in poetic Bengali as well. The "ch/chh > (t)s" shift is common in Eastern Bengali dialects, and many Westerners also know of this as a typical Eastern Bengali speech habit.



> In Bengali if you say 'I am fine' you would say আমি ভালো আছি 'ami bhalo achi'. In Assamese it is মুঈ ভালো আসু, 'mui bhalo asu', where 'mui' is the same is me or 'ami' আমি.



Are you sure about the Assamese "mui"? I thought it was "mɔi", spelt "ম‌ই" in Standard Assamese? I don't really know Assamese though. So, I may well be wrong. Also, I'd expect Assamese "asu" to be spelt আছু or আচু; no? This is also well-understandable by Bengalis, because "mui" (=I) was used in older Bengali as well, plus it is still alive in many dialects (including mine), and has some currency in poetic Bengali. Assamese "ami", however, is "we", while Bengali "ami" is "I". Assamese is more conservative here.



> 'How are you?' in Bengali is তুমি কেমন আছো or আপনি কেমন আছেন? ('tumi kemon acho'/apni kemon achen') In Assamese it is তুমি কেনে আসা? (tumi kene asa?



What does "kiman" mean in Assamese? I was thinking, it was like Bengali "kæmon". Probably, I am wrong?

---

From this, it might seem that Bengalis can understand Assamese quite well. But, daily informal Assamese may often be totally unintelligible to people like us, who are strongly rooted in South-Western Bengal. Just to copy (unauthorizedly ) someone's comment showing up on my facebook timeline: "কাইটিক এইবাৰ দেউতাকে তাতে গৈ ভাল ট্রেনিং দিছেগৈ যেন পাইছো, ফোপাই পেলাইছে বেচেৰাই।" I haven't got the slightest clue what it may mean.


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## Dib

Oh that reminds me ... quite unlike most Indian languages, Assamese does not have dental-retroflex contrast in t, d, etc. Both the series have merged into one alveolar series, i.e. with the same place of articulation as English t, d, etc. This is the most conspicuous phonetic cue for me to detect native Assamese speakers speaking another Indian language.


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## Shounak

Hello
Dib, you have told it rightly. It is 'mui'. I have a Assamese colleague (from Silhet) in our organization. When she speaks, I could understand clearly. But there is a problem in terms of 'r'. I think, she is unable to pronounce 'r' in a proper manner as in Bengali 'r'. It might be specific to her. You are also right, it is 'kemon', my error while typing.

I have confirmed from her it is 'moi bhal asu'. (ami bhalo achi).
Thanks for your input. It is always learning.


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## Shounak

I could make it out from her:

কাইটিক এইবাৰ দেউতাকে তাতে গৈ ভাল ট্রেনিং দিছেগৈ যেন পাইছো, ফোপাই পেলাইছে বেচেৰাই

means:
*কার্তিক কে তার বাবা এবার ওখানে নিয়ে এবার ভালো ট্রেনিংগ দিয়েছে এটার জন্য ও হাপচ্ছে.*


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## hindiurdu

Thank you both for your responses. They are very helpful and informative. Sorry, I have become a bit busy at work. Will come back with more questions, I am sure


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## hindiurdu

Dib said:


> Oh that reminds me ... quite unlike most Indian languages, Assamese does not have dental-retroflex contrast in t, d, etc. Both the series have merged into one alveolar series, i.e. with the same place of articulation as English t, d, etc. This is the most conspicuous phonetic cue for me to detect native Assamese speakers speaking another Indian language.



I am not quite sure I understood this. Are you saying that t (त) and T (ट) is the same? Are they also written with the same letter?



Dib said:


> Yes, what is "s" in other Indian languages, has shifted to "x" in Assamese. Hence, the letters Bengali uses to write "s~sh" are usually pronounced as "x" in Assamese. But recent loanwords may not conform to this, as expected. Similarly "ch(h)" has shifted to "s" and the characters Bengali uses to write "ch" and "chh" are the usual characters Assamese uses to write "s".



Yes, I went back and listened to it again. You are right. रामाचन्द्रा > रॉमॉसॉन्द्रॉ.



Dib said:


> To provide transliterations: Bengali "chokh bɔndho korechhi" = "I have closed (my) eyes". Assamese: "sokh mudisi". This will also be easily understood by many Bengalis as the "mud-" verb is used in poetic Bengali as well. The "ch/chh > (t)s" shift is common in Eastern Bengali dialects, and many Westerners also know of this as a typical Eastern Bengali speech habit.



Interesting. mud- I guess is equivalent to the Hindi and Urdu muund. Also, so then for East Bengalis and Assamese, chaar (four) > saar, or rather (t)sor? This ch > ts thing seems really far reaching actually because it seems to occur (colloquially) all the way to Himachal actually. What about the 'j' sound? Is that altered at all?


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## Dib

hindiurdu said:


> Are you saying that t (त) and T (ट) is the same? Are they also written with the same letter



In pronunciation, t (त) and T (ट) have merged into one alveolar "t", but in spelling both the letters are still used. Which one to use where is determined by tradition/convention.



> Yes, I went back and listened to it again. You are right. रामाचन्द्रा > रॉमॉसॉन्द्रॉ.



I am surprised by the vowels. In Bengali pronunciation, we have three different vowels in this word. I am surprised if Assamese has fewer.



> Also, so then for East Bengalis and Assamese, chaar (four) > saar, or rather (t)sor?



Assamese actually retains the final vowel in this word. So, it is চারি/sari. Though the final -i is archaic in standard Bengali (so, normal "চার/char", archaic "চারি/chari"), dialects may still retain it. So, yes, in Eastern Bengali also, it is either sari/sar (sorry, I am not sure which one is correct).



> What about the 'j' sound? Is that altered at all?



In Eastern Bengali, it is regularly "z". But I am not sure about Assamese. I have come across conflicting information.


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## hindiurdu

Dib said:


> I am surprised by the vowels. In Bengali pronunciation, we have three different vowels in this word. I am surprised if Assamese has fewer.



I could easily have misheard the vowels. Will give it another listen. How would the vowels go in Bengali?



Dib said:


> Assamese actually retains the final vowel in this word. So, it is চারি/sari. Though the final -i is archaic in standard Bengali (so, normal "চার/char", archaic "চারি/chari"), dialects may still retain it. So, yes, in Eastern Bengali also, it is either sari/sar (sorry, I am not sure which one is correct).



Very interesting. I wonder if other languages also have this terminal vowel for four.



Dib said:


> In Eastern Bengali, it is regularly "z". But I am not sure about Assamese. I have come across conflicting information.



This is also consistent with Himachali. I wonder if Nepali shows this also. So definitely in several Himachal dialects j > z. Rohru jaanaa > Rohru zaanaa. Meri jaaniye > Meri zaaniye. Also, ch > ts. Kashmiri too has j > z extensively. I wonder if this is some underlying pattern in Pahari which has Western and Eastern offshoots. Are there any such elements in Northern Bengali (is there such a thing?).


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## Dib

hindiurdu said:


> How would the vowels go in Bengali?



ram(o)chɔndro



> Very interesting. I wonder if other languages also have this terminal vowel for four.



Yes, Oriya does - "chari" again. Literary Bengali also has lost it rather recently, so much so that educated Bengalis would still be familiar with it. The same about three - "tini". Interestingly, though modern standard Bengali has lost this final "-i", its effect is still seen in vowel harmony of the classifier "-Ta" added after these words in standard Western Bengali, based on the colloquial dialects of South-Western Bengal, e.g. pa~ch-Ta, chhɔ-Ta vs. tin-Te, char-Te.



> This is also consistent with Himachali. I wonder if Nepali shows this also. So definitely in several Himachal dialects j > z. Rohru jaanaa > Rohru zaanaa. Meri jaaniye > Meri zaaniye. Also, ch > ts. Kashmiri too has j > z extensively. I wonder if this is some underlying pattern in Pahari which has Western and Eastern offshoots.



I doubt, we need to assume any such thing. It has happened also in Marathi in certain phonetic environments. These are relatively common changes, that could easily have occurred independently.



> Are there any such elements in Northern Bengali (is there such a thing?).



Yes, Northern Bengali is indeed a distinct dialect group, spoken to the North of the Ganga-Padma and West of the Brahmaputra-Jamuna. Unfortunately, I have next to no idea about it. Eastern Bengali is relatively more familiar to standard Bengali-speakers, ultimately because the native dialect of Dhaka belongs to this group. North Bengali, unfortunately, lacks such "fire power".


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## Dib

Dib said:


> Though the final -i is archaic in standard Bengali (so, normal "চার/char", archaic "চারি/chari"), dialects may still retain it. So, yes, in Eastern Bengali also, it is either sari/sar (sorry, I am not sure which one is correct).



Okay, I suddenly remembered. At least some forms of Eastern Bengali (I believe, Dhakai included) have "(t)sair" for "four". This antecipatory "i" before the "r" is actually a very important part of linguistic history of Bengali in general, and is termed অপিনিহিতি (opinihiti) in Bengali grammar. However, as a Western Bengali speaker, I often forget it, as our dialects have undergone further changes obscuring its effects.


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## hindiurdu

Dib said:


> Okay, I suddenly remembered. At least some forms of Eastern Bengali (I believe, Dhakai included) have "(t)sair" for "four". This antecipatory "i" before the "r" is actually a very important part of linguistic history of Bengali in general, and is termed অপিনিহিতি (opinihiti) in Bengali grammar. However, as a Western Bengali speaker, I often forget it, as our dialects have undergone further changes obscuring its effects.



Very interesting. I wonder where and how this could have developed. Is this basically metathesis? If yes, we have a LOT of this in colloquial forms of Punjabi, Western Hindi/Urdu and Kashmiri too. Or is this something different? I tried looking into Opinihiti and Obhishruti but must confess that I do not really understand it - there seems to be more to it than just metathesis but I can't quite grasp what. Can you give some other examples of it? Also, does this influence how Bengalis and Assamese speak a language like Hindi?



Dib said:


> ram(o)chɔndro



I listened to it again. You are right. There are definitely variations in there. My mistake.


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## Dib

hindiurdu said:


> Very interesting. I wonder where and how this could have developed. Is this basically metathesis?



It is metathesis, but a very specific kind of metathesis, by which an i or u in a non-initial open syllable, moves to the syllable before it. In a related effect, a "y" can also introduce an extra i in the syllable before it, e.g. Sanskrit "tathya" is pronounced "toitthɔ" by many Eastern Bengali speakers. It seems to occur also in Assamese. I am not sure about the phonetic motivation for this change, but it may indicate that the consonants before i/y were palatalized (and before u, velarized) in Bengali/Assamese from the relevant period and the pre-posed i/u started off as a glide introducing such palatalized/velarized consonant. However, I am unaware of any other evidence to support this model, so it is very conjectural.



> I tried looking into Opinihiti and Obhishruti but must confess that I do not really understand it - there seems to be more to it than just metathesis but I can't quite grasp what. Can you give some other examples of it?



So, opinihiti is essentially just a metathesis of i (or u) to one syllable before, as indicated above. "obhishruti" is not a single sound change, but a series of changes that were kicked off by opinihiti in Western Bengali, leading ultimately to the emergence of modern standard Bengali on the Eastern shores of the Bhagirathi. Other dialects took part in it only partially, or they had somewhat divergent history. Eastern dialects normally didn't take part in obhishruti beyond the opinihiti stage.

Firstly, Western Bengali has mostly lost the opinihiti-induced preposed i/u, and thus the effect of opinihiti is generally not visible there any more, and the language has come closer to the dialects to its West, e.g. "today", archaic aji > aij > aj; "night" rati > rait > rat; "having done" (H. "kar-ke") koriya > koir(y)a (still in East) > korya (still in SW, e.g. Midnapore) > kore (standard), etc. These changes are clubbed together under obhishruti.

There is, however, one effect of opinihiti still quite visible in W. Bengali. When, after opinihiti, the initial syllable in a multisyllable word contained "ai", it shifted to "e" instead of "a" (as in monosyllabic aj, rat) in Western Bengali. Thus "having beaten/killed" (H. "maar-ke") mariya > mair(y)a (still in East) > merya (still in SW) > mere (standard). Similarly, it would be expected also in oblique forms of words like "rat", because they are multisyllable, but they have been leveled to, e.g. rater ("of night") in standard Bengali by analogy to "rat". However, there are indeed Western dialects where the expected outcome is visible: reter ("of night") ~ rat ("night") - in fact, right on the edge of the bastion of standard Bengali that is Kolkata, in 24 Parganas. I read that such forms were also part of the Kolkata colloquial some 100-150 years ago.



> Also, does this influence how Bengalis and Assamese speak a language like Hindi?



Definitely not Western Bengalis. opinihiti is no more operative in our dialects. It _may_ conceivably affect Eastern Bengalis' (and Assamese') pronunciation of -VCyV- sequences by introducing a glide before the C, like -ViCyV-. But I don't know for sure whether that actually happens.


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## SagirAhmed

Shounak said:


> Hello,
> 
> Assamese speak same like Bengali, except that they have a typical accent while speak. In Bengali, it is called "bolo", say বলো, in Assamese they would say 'ko' same as say. In Bengali, 'closing eye' is called চোখ বন্ধও করেছি, in Assamese they would say চোখ মুদিচি. Assamese carry more or less the same words like Bengali, Hindi. You could guess. In Bengali if you say 'I am fine' you would say আমি ভালো আছি 'ami bhalo achi'. In Assamese it is মুঈ ভালো আসু, 'mui bhalo asu', where 'mui' is the same is me or 'ami' আমি. 'How are you?' in Bengali is
> তুমি কেমন আছো or আপনি কেমন আছেন? ('tumi kemon acho'/apni kemon achen') In Assamese it is তুমি কেনে আসা? (tumi kene asa?


In Assamese
say: ক/কোৱা/কওক (kɔ/kʊwa/kɔʊk)

(I) closed (my) eyes : চকু মুদিছোঁ (sɔku mudisʊ)

i am fine: মই ভালে আছোঁ (mɔi bhale asʊ) ......(ভাল/bhal means "good" and ভালে/bhale means "almost good")

how are you: তুমি কেনে আছা? /আপুনি কেনে আছে? (tumi kene asa?/apuni kene ase?)


অ (अ) = ɔ
অ' (?) = o
আ (आ) = a
ঐ (ऐ) = ɔi
ঋ (ऋ) = ɹ
ও (ओ) = ʊ
ঔ (औ) = ɔu
শ, ষ, স (श, ब, स) = x, x, x(or xh)
চ, ছ (च, छ) = s, s(or ss, sh)
ৰ (र) = ɹ (same as english r : real, read, rock)
ৱ (व) = w
জ, য (ज, य) = z(or zh), z
ঝ (झ) = zh
য় (?) = y (IPA: j)
ক্ষ (क्ष) = khy
হ্ম (ह्म) = ‌hm
গু (गु) = gu
শু (शु) = xu/xhu
ণ্ড (ण्ड) = nd
ৰু (रु) = ɹu
ৰূ (रू) = ɹū
হু (हु) = hu
ঙ/ং (ङ/ङ्) = ŋ
ফ (फ) = f/ph
ড় (ड़) = ɹ
ঢ় (ढ़) = rh
ঞ (ञ) = n/y
শ্ব (श्व) = sh
স্ক (स्क) = sk
স্থ (स्थ) = sth
ক্স (क्स) = ks
ষ্ক (ष्क) = sk
ষ্ট (ष्ट) = st
ণ্ঠ (ण्ठ) = nth
ৰ্ষ (र्ष) = ɹx
জ্ঞ (ज्ञ) = gy
ঞ্জ (ञ्ज) = nz
ষ্ণ (ष्ञ) = sn
ঞ্চ/ঞ্ছ (ञ्च/ञ्छ) = ns/nss
ত্ব (त्व) = tw
ঙ্গ (ङ्ग) = ŋg
শ্ৰ (श्र) = ‌sr
চ্চ/চ্ছ (च्च/च्छ) = ss/sss
জ্জ (ज्ज) = zz
ত্ৰ (त्र) = tɹ
ক্ৰ (क्र) = kɹ
ভ্ৰ (भ्र) = bhɹ
ব্ৰু (ब्रु) = bɹu


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## Dib

Welcome SagirAhmed, and thanks a lot for setting the records straight.


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## SagirAhmed

Shounak said:


> I could make it out from her:
> 
> কাইটিক এইবাৰ দেউতাকে তাতে গৈ ভাল ট্রেনিং দিছেগৈ যেন পাইছো, ফোপাই পেলাইছে বেচেৰাই
> 
> means:
> *কার্তিক কে তার বাবা এবার ওখানে নিয়ে এবার ভালো ট্রেনিংগ দিয়েছে এটার জন্য ও হাপচ্ছে.*


I think it's ককাইটিক ... kɔkaiti or kaiti means elder brother in Assamese.


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## lachesisdecima

SagirAhmed said:


> In Assamese
> say: ক/কোৱা/কওক (kɔ/kʊwa/kɔʊk)
> 
> (I) closed (my) eyes : চকু মুদিছোঁ (sɔku mudisʊ)
> 
> i am fine: মই ভালে আছোঁ (mɔi bhale asʊ) ......(ভাল/bhal means "good" and ভালে/bhale means "almost good")
> 
> how are you: তুমি কেনে আছা? /আপুনি কেনে আছে? (tumi kene asa?/apuni kene ase?)
> 
> 
> অ (अ) = ɔ
> অ' (?) = o
> আ (आ) = a
> ঐ (ऐ) = ɔi
> ঋ (ऋ) = ɹ
> ও (ओ) = ʊ
> ঔ (औ) = ɔu
> শ, ষ, স (श, ब, स) = x, x, x(or xh)
> চ, ছ (च, छ) = s, s(or ss, sh)
> ৰ (र) = ɹ (same as english r : real, read, rock)
> ৱ (व) = w
> জ, য (ज, य) = z(or zh), z
> ঝ (झ) = zh
> য় (?) = y (IPA: j)
> ক্ষ (क्ष) = khy
> হ্ম (ह्म) = ‌hm
> গু (गु) = gu
> শু (शु) = xu/xhu
> ণ্ড (ण्ड) = nd
> ৰু (रु) = ɹu
> ৰূ (रू) = ɹū
> হু (हु) = hu
> ঙ/ং (ङ/ङ्) = ŋ
> ফ (फ) = f/ph
> ড় (ड़) = ɹ
> ঢ় (ढ़) = rh
> ঞ (ञ) = n/y
> শ্ব (श्व) = sh
> স্ক (स्क) = sk
> স্থ (स्थ) = sth
> ক্স (क्स) = ks
> ষ্ক (ष्क) = sk
> ষ্ট (ष्ट) = st
> ণ্ঠ (ण्ठ) = nth
> ৰ্ষ (र्ष) = ɹx
> জ্ঞ (ज्ञ) = gy
> ঞ্জ (ञ्ज) = nz
> ষ্ণ (ष्ञ) = sn
> ঞ্চ/ঞ্ছ (ञ्च/ञ्छ) = ns/nss
> ত্ব (त्व) = tw
> ঙ্গ (ङ्ग) = ŋg
> শ্ৰ (श्र) = ‌sr
> চ্চ/চ্ছ (च्च/च्छ) = ss/sss
> জ্জ (ज्ज) = zz
> ত্ৰ (त्र) = tɹ
> ক্ৰ (क्र) = kɹ
> ভ্ৰ (भ्र) = bhɹ
> ব্ৰু (ब्रु) = bɹu



Hey SagirAhmed. Thanks for your exposition. I would just like to clarify something else regarded to the Assamese pronunciation of the letters শ, ষ, স. This page: Assamese alphabet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia lists the pronunciation of these letters are being both the voiceless velar fricative (x) that you have mentioned as well as the "s" associated with চ and ছ in Assamese. Is this an acceptable variant pronunciation or simply a dialectal manner of pronunciation that is not the standard variant. If this indeed the case, is the phenomenon of pronouncing শ, ষ and স as "s" present in dialects nearer to Indian Bengal while Eastern Assamese dialects possess the voiceless velar fricative instead. Could you shed some light on this? Thanks


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## SagirAhmed

lachesisdecima said:


> Hey SagirAhmed. Thanks for your exposition. I would just like to clarify something else regarded to the Assamese pronunciation of the letters শ, ষ, স. This page: Assamese alphabet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia lists the pronunciation of these letters are being both the voiceless velar fricative (x) that you have mentioned as well as the "s" associated with চ and ছ in Assamese. Is this an acceptable variant pronunciation or simply a dialectal manner of pronunciation that is not the standard variant. If this indeed the case, is the phenomenon of pronouncing শ, ষ and স as "s" present in dialects nearer to Indian Bengal while Eastern Assamese dialects possess the voiceless velar fricative instead. Could you shed some light on this? Thanks


Hi Lachesisdesima. The pronunciation of শ, ষ and স is "x" and "s" in conjuct consonants, as you can see স্ক = skô instead of xkô. It's the standard form. All Assamese dialects have the 'x' sound except the western Goalpariya dialect which is considered as a dialect of North Bengali, while in East Goalpariya dialect which is very similar to west goalpariya dialect has the 'x' sound and it is considered as a dialect of Assamese.


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## rituparnahoymoy

hindiurdu said:


> I see a few people on the forum who are native Bengali speakers and thought that we might take advantage of their knowledge. Am I correct in thinking that Bengalis can understand Assamese to some degree?
> 
> I would like to better understand the Assamese pronunciation system. In listening to Assamese on YouTube, I see a lot of x being used, including in the name of the language itself, Axomiiaa. Also,'ch' seems to be altered to 'ts', so I hear Ramachandra pronounced as Ramatsondro in Bihu songs. Also, there is a lot of R.
> 
> Can they please discuss this a bit and also shed some light on any regional variations within Assamese if they are aware? Are there Bengali dialects which are influenced by Assamese? Are there interim dialects between Assamese and Bengali?



Assamese are worst when it comes to pronouncing  words which starts with letter "Sh" simply because in Assamese we have very few words which requires to pronounce with such sound. We have substituted "Sh" with xh or Kh. 90% of Hindi and Assamese words are same except that there is subtle difference in pronunciation.
A Pure Hindi speaker would have no problem in understanding Assamese in year or two. Assam was never influenced by Urdu since Mughals couldn't conquer the North east part of the land.  Ramchandra is pronounced as Rama-Chandra which is actually the original form of Sanskrit. RAM is called RAMA in Sanskrit. 

Assamese people can Understand Bengali , I mean pure Bengali spoken by people of West Bengal and Bangladesh and not those of illegal Migrants. God only knows In what language they talk to each other . It would be like you are watching Bollywood movie with Afghani translations.  But I am not sure if Bengali people can understand Assamese that well. There are large number Bengali both Muslims and Hindus that lives in Assam.


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## SagirAhmed

rituparnahoymoy said:


> Assamese are worst when it comes to pronouncing  words which starts with letter "Sh" simply because in Assamese we have very few words which requires to pronounce with such sound. We have substituted "Sh" with xh or Kh. 90% of Hindi and Assamese words are same except that there is subtle difference in pronunciation.
> A Pure Hindi speaker would have no problem in understanding Assamese in year or two. Assam was never influenced by Urdu since Mughals couldn't conquer the North east part of the land.  Ramchandra is pronounced as Rama-Chandra which is actually the original form of Sanskrit. RAM is called RAMA in Sanskrit.
> 
> Assamese people can Understand Bengali , I mean pure Bengali spoken by people of West Bengal and Bangladesh and not those of illegal Migrants. God only knows In what language they talk to each other . It would be like you are watching Bollywood movie with Afghani translations.  But I am not sure if Bengali people can understand Assamese that well. There are large number Bengali both Muslims and Hindus that lives in Assam.


Hi, the pronunciation of ৰামচন্দ্ৰ is "ramsôndrô (IPA: ɹamsɔndɹɔ)" in Assamese. Since Hindi and Urdu are almost same (Hindi has more Sanskrit words and Urdu has more Perso-Arabic words), modern Assamese is influenced by Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu), but Assamese has less Perso-Arabic-Turkic words than Hindi and Urdu. The Goalparia dialect was influenced by Urdu and Bengali since the Greater Goalpara Area/District was a part of Mughal kingdom and then British Bengal.
The languages spoken by illegal immigrants(from Bangladesh) are Bengali and its dialects( Mymensingha, Noakhalia, Dhakaya etc) and Sylheti. Most of their speakers came during British Raj, so most of them are not illegal and Sylhet was a part of Assam during British Raj. I hardly understand those Bengali dialects, but I understand Sylheti since my mother is a Sylheti (most of people, both Hindus, Muslims and others from Hojai district and Barak Valley speak Sylheti). Assamese and Sylheti are the only Indo-Aryan languages where the "x" sound is present.
Example:
1) English: What are you doing ?
Assamese: Tumi ki kôri as(h/s)a ?
Sylheti: Tumi kita xôrte asô ?
2) English: I am eating rice.
Assamese: Môi bhat khai as(h/s)û.
Sylheti: Ami bat xaite asi.
3) English: Is it true?
Assamese: Eitu xôsa ne?
Sylheti: Igu hasa ni?
4) English: Where are you going?
Assamese: Tumi kot gôi as(h/s)a?
Sylheti: Tumi xanô zaite asô?
5) English: I am going to Nagaon.
Assamese: Môi nôgaû gôi as(h/s)û.
Sylheti: Ami nuagao zaite asi.
6) English: I have problem.
Assamese: Mûr xômôisya(xômôsya) as(h/s)e.
Sylheti: Amar shômôissa(sômôsya) ase.
(Ignore my English grammatical errors)


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